Hello Byggahus,
Been reading a lot on the forum in recent years but haven't contributed until now, that changes today.
I live in a house built in 1938 in central Sweden. The basement has cast walls with coarse stones mixed in, and the binder is very light, possibly lime-rich? The plaster on the exterior basement wall has taken quite a beating after a moisture buildup in the corner of the house. This has been addressed, and I'm thinking of tackling the cracks on the edge before it gets worse. Quite a bit of hollow where the plaster could be taken off. The plaster is gray and hard, so unfortunately, they probably used something with quite a bit of cement when it was last plastered
In isolated places, there are tennis ball-sized holes in the cast foundation. I assume that water entered due to the moisture and cracks, causing the foundation to weather. It seems to be localized, so I thought I'd just fill it in, possibly drill in some smaller reinforcement where it's worst. However, I'm completely unclear on what type of mortar I should use directly on the concrete and stones in the deepest holes. Do you think the foundation would be damaged with an A mortar? Hydraulic lime perhaps? I'm thinking innermost, while for the plaster, I plan to finish with something lime-rich or at most C-mortar. The damage is a bit above ground level (the plinth is quite high), and moisture should no longer be a problem. I'll take a picture when I have the chance.
Grateful for your thoughts!
Been reading a lot on the forum in recent years but haven't contributed until now, that changes today.
I live in a house built in 1938 in central Sweden. The basement has cast walls with coarse stones mixed in, and the binder is very light, possibly lime-rich? The plaster on the exterior basement wall has taken quite a beating after a moisture buildup in the corner of the house. This has been addressed, and I'm thinking of tackling the cracks on the edge before it gets worse. Quite a bit of hollow where the plaster could be taken off. The plaster is gray and hard, so unfortunately, they probably used something with quite a bit of cement when it was last plastered
In isolated places, there are tennis ball-sized holes in the cast foundation. I assume that water entered due to the moisture and cracks, causing the foundation to weather. It seems to be localized, so I thought I'd just fill it in, possibly drill in some smaller reinforcement where it's worst. However, I'm completely unclear on what type of mortar I should use directly on the concrete and stones in the deepest holes. Do you think the foundation would be damaged with an A mortar? Hydraulic lime perhaps? I'm thinking innermost, while for the plaster, I plan to finish with something lime-rich or at most C-mortar. The damage is a bit above ground level (the plinth is quite high), and moisture should no longer be a problem. I'll take a picture when I have the chance.Grateful for your thoughts!