Hole in Foundation

cougar01 · 06-05-2009, 09:40 PM

My one front corner of the garage was always damp. The previous owners at one time had the driveway repaved and all they did was put down another layer of asphalt on top of the existing one. The driveway is built up and actually slopes back toward the concrete pad in front of the garage door.

Anyways, I was rebuilding a retainer wall next to the garage door, and dug down about 6 inches or so to lay some limestone gravel for the base of the blocks. Well, when I got down below the soil surface I discovered the mortar joint between 2 blocks on the foundation was missing! Looks like when the water drained from the yard and drivewy, it found its way into this hole. I dropped a small pebble into the joint and heard a "splash". Obviously filled with some water. When I stuck my finger down into the hole, I couldn't feel any water, but the splash was distinctive.

Question is, if I patch this hole with hydraulic cement, will the water inside the block eventually find its way out and dry up? I do plan on improving the surface drainage to get the water away from the house.

Just Bill · 06-06-2009, 07:16 AM

Definitely, fix the gap in the mortar. The water will eventually dissipate into the block or soil.

cougar01 · 06-06-2009, 08:59 AM

THANKS!

All of the mortar is missing between the 2 blocks (vertical joint), and a small corner of 1 of the blocks is missing. I was hoping for the reply that you gave and didn't want to have to dig down to the footer and drill a hole in the block to allow the water to drain.

Thanks, again for the reply! Off to mix up some hydraulic cement.