Basement Wall Damage

[markreme]

All,

I have a client who had a 6" concrete patio removed that was adjacent to thier CMU basement wall. The contractor used a backhoe to break up the slab, and that evening noticed horizontal cracks along the mortar joints in in the wall. The most damage appears to have occured at the same elevation as the removed slab. At that location the crack is about 1/4" wide, and there appears to be 1/4" dicplacement of the lower portion of the wall inward. The horzontal cracks run the whole length of where the slab was removed (they extend from the elevation that the slab was removed and step downward through the joints).

There are no other cracks anywhere elese in the basement, no signs of water damange anywhere (sump is also dry as a bone), and no signs of settlement anywhere else in the structure.

What is the best mothod of repair for this type of damage?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

 

[Stillerz]

support the floor framing above with a temporary wall in the basement or with a temporary beam between supports in the basement and tear out the block and relay it properly. re-parge and tar the outside and backfill. Anything else is a jury-rig job. A good mason can do this job in a day.

 

[oldestguy]

You may get many different ideas here.

I'd stand by for the different ideas a while before moving on something.

Unless you are selling, think about doing nothing. It doesn't sound like a failure is immenint.

 

[msquared48]

Some thoughts here...

I trust the contractor is going to pay for the damage since the removal of the slab caused it.

Another option is using the homeowner's insurance, if covered, and letting them go after the contractor.

As previously mentioned, I would do it right with a complete replacement of the damaged areas, and do it before the statute of limitations for the damage expires.

Even if the owner is not selling now, a lack of repair will affect the selling price in the future.

As an alternative, a pressure injected epoxy grout could work too, along with Volclay panels on the outside of the wall for water intrusion control.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering