Hello,
I hope this question is in the right place.
I have a somewhat general question that has come up as we look at houses. Several older houses have moisture in the basement due to inadequate drainage.
If a house has a foundation that is poured (poured slab or poured basement floor in a split-level, can the walls in the foundation be masonry?) and the foundation has been poorly drained for a couple of decades, resulting in moisture intrusion in the basement floor and walls. Can there be damage to the foundation?
Of course, surface layers (plaster, paint, etc.) are destroyed, but can the quality of the foundation itself, mechanical properties, etc., be affected?
If drainage is done according to best practices, drying out, etc., is the foundation then in OK structural condition? Or could it have taken damage like wood that has rotted?
// Viktor
I hope this question is in the right place.
I have a somewhat general question that has come up as we look at houses. Several older houses have moisture in the basement due to inadequate drainage.
If a house has a foundation that is poured (poured slab or poured basement floor in a split-level, can the walls in the foundation be masonry?) and the foundation has been poorly drained for a couple of decades, resulting in moisture intrusion in the basement floor and walls. Can there be damage to the foundation?
Of course, surface layers (plaster, paint, etc.) are destroyed, but can the quality of the foundation itself, mechanical properties, etc., be affected?
If drainage is done according to best practices, drying out, etc., is the foundation then in OK structural condition? Or could it have taken damage like wood that has rotted?
// Viktor
If the water seeping in contains various salts and minerals, it might affect the durability of the plaster on the wall, causing the plaster to crack and come loose.
Perhaps the same thing if it's really old concrete, from before the war, that it's of low quality and reacts the same way, but it would take a lot.
Perhaps the same thing if it's really old concrete, from before the war, that it's of low quality and reacts the same way, but it would take a lot.
Even concrete ages due to moisture. But if the foundation is damaged, there were probably other construction problems that are worse. In extreme cases, the upper part can freeze and break apart.