Stone wall restoration

[BandLben]

I am looking for information on products and construction procedures related to the restoration of a 100+ year old stone wall. The stone wall is at on the shore line, is typically 6' high, may see water up to about 4' high and does see some wave action (Thousand Island Seeway). There are areas where the stone has fallen out of the wall, which need to be repaired and I am looking for a structural grout/mortar that would allow repairs on small to medium voids in the wall, 12"x12"x12" up to 3'x4'x3'.

Thanks for the help,
Ben

 

[cvg]

there are many types of grout and mortar that could be successfully used, however you need to determine the cause of failure first before attempting to fix it. Do you have settlement, stability problems, freeze thaw damage, poor drainage, piping and loss of backfill, rock deterioration, severe wave damage? Depending on your failure mode(s), the repair will be different.

 

[BandLben]

Settlement - no
Stability - no
Freeze/Thaw damage - possibly, explained below
Poor Drainage - yes
Piping - not familier, there are no weeps in the wall
Loss of backfill - essentially no
Rock Deterioration - no
Severe wave damage - not really

There does seem to be a drainage problem, as I don't think there were any weeps installed. I am fairly certain that the mortar that was originally used was lime based. So I think the water coming through the wall (some areas that are retained are very steep with rock at or near the surface) has washed away much of the lime and just left a sandy mixture. Water that has entered the wall may freeze and thaw during the winter months.

I don't think there is alot of wave damage, but it is very close to the Seaway. The channel does freeze in the winter which may cause the stones to shift and damage the wall at the waterline.

We expect that we will install drains through the wall, but there isn't anything we can do about the waves or ice.

Ben

 

[cvg]

http://www.usace.army.mil/inet/usace-docs/eng-manuals/

Army Corps of Engineers Manual - EM 1110-2-2002 "Evaluation and Repair of Concrete Structures"

This manual has a lot of useful information on grout and mortar design and use. It can help you evaluate why the mortar disintegrated in the first place and proper design to avoid it in the future.

It sounds like your problems are most likely related to poor drainage of water which collects behind the wall. This can cause the concrete and rocks to pop out of the wall due to hydrostatic pressure. Disintegration of the mortar could also be a chemical reaction and lab tests of the mortar and the native soil can be used to determine the cause.