Just stumbled onto this site. I love the forums and will definitely be lurking around learning as much as a can. I have some questions regarding my next project though.
I recently bought my house. During inspection, I noticed there were some cracks in between the corner cinder blocks right under a damaged gutter downspout.
I hired a professional structural engineer to come take a look and he said there wasn't much movement that that I shouldn't worry, the house was structurally sound.
He mentioned that to avoid water seeping in, I should dig a trench around the area, and fill in the cracks with the proper material and do the same on the inside of the finished basement wall.
I've been working around the house for many months now repairing many things. This however will be my biggest project.
I'm rather at a complete loss a to what I have to do. My Plan was as follows.
1)Dig Trench around corner of house, 8 feet alongside largest wall and 2-3 feet along other wall to confirm no damage there.
2) Use Pressure washer to clean wall and cracks thoroughly and allow to dry
3) Seal cracks with ??????
4) paint whole cinder block wall with dry lock or similar to avoid any moisture getting in.
5) cover trench again and do same on inside walls after ripping off dry wall.
My questions are:
*Should I try to dig by hand? if so how long will this take me? What are the requirements/costs involved in renting a small back hoe? What if I hire a bunch of workers to help me dig?
*Is my plan as outlined above OK? should I powerwash? What material should I use in cracks?
*Sealing the cinder blocks seems precautionary. Still, is dry lock enough or should I look into something else?
I am a poor college student and I've been doing a lot of work to the house to add value and maybe come out ahead in another 2 years when I move to my final job. I'm willing to work and unless its undoable, I would like to avoid hiring someone to do this.
I'm looking for some photos and I'll add them as soon as I can. Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks for all your help guys!
I recently bought my house. During inspection, I noticed there were some cracks in between the corner cinder blocks right under a damaged gutter downspout.
I hired a professional structural engineer to come take a look and he said there wasn't much movement that that I shouldn't worry, the house was structurally sound.
He mentioned that to avoid water seeping in, I should dig a trench around the area, and fill in the cracks with the proper material and do the same on the inside of the finished basement wall.
I've been working around the house for many months now repairing many things. This however will be my biggest project.
I'm rather at a complete loss a to what I have to do. My Plan was as follows.
1)Dig Trench around corner of house, 8 feet alongside largest wall and 2-3 feet along other wall to confirm no damage there.
2) Use Pressure washer to clean wall and cracks thoroughly and allow to dry
3) Seal cracks with ??????
4) paint whole cinder block wall with dry lock or similar to avoid any moisture getting in.
5) cover trench again and do same on inside walls after ripping off dry wall.
My questions are:
*Should I try to dig by hand? if so how long will this take me? What are the requirements/costs involved in renting a small back hoe? What if I hire a bunch of workers to help me dig?
*Is my plan as outlined above OK? should I powerwash? What material should I use in cracks?
*Sealing the cinder blocks seems precautionary. Still, is dry lock enough or should I look into something else?
I am a poor college student and I've been doing a lot of work to the house to add value and maybe come out ahead in another 2 years when I move to my final job. I'm willing to work and unless its undoable, I would like to avoid hiring someone to do this.
I'm looking for some photos and I'll add them as soon as I can. Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks for all your help guys!