I work on many 80+ year old homes in the Northern New Jersey area. I’ve come across a similar problem in several homes. I’ve found a swelling up of concrete basement floors. Could this be due to poor drainage or a leaky waste pipe?
Would the solution be to jackhammer the specific area and repour concrete?
Replies
I'm thinking the foundation settled some, while the basement floor did not.
Sounds like a clay subsoil to me. That usually goes along with poor drainage by definition. The hydraulic power of clay is not to be sneezed at.
I am not an expert in subsoils except in having lived in a community which had a clay base. Every house had cracked floors in the basement and cracks in the ceilings on the main floor.
That being said, if there is a vein of clay that could be removed, maybe there is a chance of success.
Good luck
Alan Jones
The clay comment is correct. Also, many of these basement slabs are 3/4" to 1" of concrete poured directly on the soil, with no drain or subbase material at all.
...that's not a mistake, it's rustic
Edited 5/21/2002 7:35:10 AM ET by Bungalow Jeff
Sounds like clay subsoil to me also.
Solution - if you want to correct this completely, you need some sort of compacting base, a perimeter drain, sump, and a new slab.