Advice needed on foundation wall

[trainguy]

Guys,

1) Are there any methods for locating the presence of re-bar in a foundation wall?

2) On a rectangular detached home, I'm looking at a basement wall, near a corner, where there is a garage door on the perpendicular wall, and subjected to soil pressure.

The poured concrete wall shows 3 polyurethane filled cracks, making an 8 foot high letter Y, with the lower part of the Y below grade. All brick work is intact. It seems that the rest of the foundation wall is also intact, all around.

I'm considering purchasing this home, if a decent repair can be done. Am I crazy? The home meets our needs in every other respect...

tg

 

[ishvaaag]

If superficial enough a cheap handheld metal detector maybe $3-5 worth can work. Even more likely with those used to search coins, I think.

 

[bridgebuster]

You can hire a testing lab and they'll send someone with a pachometer.

Corner crack - probably resulted from the original concrete placement. Did you have the house inspected by an engineer? Most lenders require it these days.


If the crack appears to be stable, probably nothing to worry about. The thing is to maintain the caulking to prevent water intrusion.

 

[dirtydude]

You may want to go with the stronger one mentioned by ishvaaag, the one for coins. Just in case the poured concrete walls used slag as one of their mix components, it could throw of the cheap hanheld detector.

 

[trainguy]

bridgebuster,

I actually am a structural engineer, looking for a second opinion from people who have done a lot of residential foundation troubleshooting.

The home has been inspected by another SE, who was apparently OK with it- it's just that I don't yet believe him...

I need to read his report - I'm going on hearsay at this point. The Canadian housing market is alive and kicking, to the point that we need to react within hours of seeing a potential home, or it will be grabbed by others.

Talk about stress...

tg

 

[bridgebuster]

GOOD LUCK

 

[oldestguy]

Surveyors use an electronic stake finding device that I have used and it worked pretty well for deep re-bars. Why not rent one from a surveyor?

 

[msquared48]

I purchased a handheld rebar detector I have used for many years now from Ace Hardware. Can't remember what I paid for it, but it was not expensive. It only detects rebar to about 2" down. Should work OK for a 6" thick wall. Questionable for an 8" wall. I used it a lot on Tilt-up buildings with 5.5" walls.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
Motto: KISS
Motivation: Don't ask

 

[TDAA]

Plenty of housing in the US ;(

If it is not moving, then it is likely OK. The problem is that it may take a while to move (seasonally, etc.). Is the area known for a lot of issues? If not, it is probably a one time deal, and not an issue.

 

[trainguy]

I may not have been as clear as I should have, but the cracks extend the full height of the wall, such that there is a 6 foot long by 8 foot high piece of "separate" foundation wall, considering the adjacent garage door opening.

Would you guys be OK with this? I guess it would be very useful to know if the wall is at all reinforced.

tg

 

[Prepakt1]

Remove the cracked area underpin ,dowel into the existing and repour that part of the foundation.
This will cost, but if you dont fix it correctly .The crack will just reduce the price of the house or put off buyers when you try to sell, may as well do it properly.

Intrusion Prepakt /marineconcrete.com

 

[trainguy]

Thanks everyone.

I'm actually the potential buyer who's been put-off. Ironically, this house will still be sold in the next 3-4 days, just thankfully not to me...

tg

 

[oneintheeye]

post a photo

 

[trainguy]

Hi guys.

The latest news on this is that the owner was lying about the inspector's report, which actually stated that the house needs underpinning.

My wife has finally acknowledged that I was right about something...

As I write this, these is a foundation repair firm's truck parked at the site!

Thanks for all the comments!

tg

 

[bridgebuster]

A wife finally acknowleging that a husband is right - call the Guiness Book of World Records!

 

[jhoulette]

A little late, but there are companies who can X-ray the foundation wall so you know exactly what is in there. I don't think it would have been needed for your situation just another option I didn't see anyone else post. Also, it costs a fair amount, about $500 for 4 x-rays (minimum for a company I spoke with a few months ago).

Jim Houlette PE
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