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Concrete foundation sides blistering

| Posted in General Discussion on March 18, 2005 04:22am

HELP! The edge of my concrete foundation is blistering off. I appears to be connected to the paint job done on the house 2 years ago (I did not do the painting!). I live in central Arizona and we rarely experience freezing however, we did get ‘alot’ of rain this year. What can I do to fix the problem; I’m quite handy.

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  1. calvin | Mar 18, 2005 05:00am | #1

    was it painted and is that what's coming off?

    you mention edge of, could you post a picture of the problem area?

    Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

    Quittin' Time

    1. User avater
      BillHartmann | Mar 18, 2005 05:21am | #2

      Also is the is a poured foundation or is it block with a parged coating?Also what is the age of the house.

    2. spencil | Mar 20, 2005 07:16pm | #4

      Calvin, I'm, attempting to attach a couple of photos of the concrete foundation edges of my house (having trouble uploading pictures though). One picture looks like the paint is seperating from the concrete. In the other though, it appears that concrete is pulling off with paint (kind of like it is crumbling). Either way, there is a white powdery substance that is left behind in both circumstances.

      The foundation has been in place since 1985, and I had not noticed this problem untile recently. Any suggestions?

      Thanks in advance, Spencil

      1. DanH | Mar 20, 2005 09:11pm | #5

        The white powdery substance is efflorescence (sp?), the result of moisture leaching through the concrete and bringing lime with it. The white powder is lime leached from the concrete. The lime (in this case) crystalizes inside the outermost layer of concrete and that forces the concrete to split.The paint on the foundation likely is "helping" this by trapping the moisture inside the concrete, giving it longer to leach, but there may be a moisture problem in the crawl or with the soil around the foundation.In any event, before recoating the surface you should give it a mild acid wash to remove the powder.

      2. calvin | Mar 20, 2005 09:20pm | #6

        So, this is for sure a concrete poured foundation, v. a block foundation with a parged coating on it?  And it's not a thoroseal type coating applied later?

        To be honest, I've never seen exterior spalling/efflorescence above grade that wasn't a result of moisture rising from below grade.  I didn't go back and read the first post (but will) to be sure you are talking exterior side.  Most effl. is visible on the interior and is a result of moisture working its way in.  Exterior spalling could be a result of water freezing and forcing the loosely bonded concrete apart.  Same goes for a coating or parging.  I'd better quit now b/4 I confuse myself.  Be back after reading your first post.

        edit:  Boy, shows where my memory went.  Az., so no real ice problem.  And water?  maybe this is the situation.  Is the foundation waterproofed, have no idea about SOP is Az.  Do you have a basement in this house?

        Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

        Quittin' Time

        Edited 3/20/2005 2:23 pm ET by calvin

      3. calvin | Mar 20, 2005 09:26pm | #7

        for the pics you need to wait a bit while they load.  When done loading, a msg will appear on the top of the prompt area.  Hit done and you will be directed back to the post box.  Hit post.  Try to send as jpg. and keep them around 100 MB.Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

        Quittin' Time

        1. User avater
          BillHartmann | Mar 20, 2005 09:54pm | #8

          "Try to send as jpg. and keep them around 100 MB."That sound about the right size <G>.Now we know how come you had 9,990 sheets of DW left over from that 10 sheet job.

          1. calvin | Mar 20, 2005 10:02pm | #9

            beats the #### outta me bill, what's the right "B" ?  K, M, L, O, P,...........Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

            Quittin' Time

      4. spencil | Mar 23, 2005 02:46am | #10

        I think the picture attachment was successful this time

        1. User avater
          IMERC | Mar 23, 2005 08:51am | #11

          sir...

          Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming

          WOW!!!   What a Ride!

        2. rez | Mar 23, 2005 08:57am | #12

           

           

          1. DanH | Mar 23, 2005 07:22pm | #16

            The second picture is a little hard to make out, but the first one looks about like what I'd expect if a foundation were painted with a waterproof coating. This is based on the impression that what's peeling off is less than 1/4" and is mostly paint/coating with an occasional bit of concrete adhering.

        3. rez | Mar 23, 2005 09:01am | #13

           

          Greetings spencil, and a Welcome to Breaktime.

          Just thought I'd fill you in on an easy pic posting technique.

          http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=24441.1

          is an old thread here on Breaktime that includes a lot of data on posting pics and the Irfanview download.

          Dialup patrons of the forum cannot download real large files or it will take excessive time.

          Two things are necessary to assist the dialups with your photos. Making sure that the set file association is set to jpgs if you are using the Irfanview system.

          The other is to keep the KB picture size to preferably under 100kbs.

          Someone might start downloading a pic only to go get a cup of coffee, heat it up, come back and find the file is only half done downloading.

          Cheers

           

          Edited 3/23/2005 2:02 am ET by the razzman

          Edited 3/23/2005 1:51 pm ET by the razzman

        4. calvin | Mar 23, 2005 02:18pm | #15

          My apologies on posting mb's instead of kb's.  I intended the smaller b's of the two. 

          Is the sidewall finish stucco?  Do you think the paint is oil based or perhaps a foundation paint?  It appears the coating was pushed off by moisture from behind.  If stucco, are there any penetrations above the location of this problem that would allow water to get in and work its way down to the foundation?  Did they caulk the joint between the paint and stucco flashing?  Does the pealing go below grade?  How much area are we talking pealing off?

          Is that the sill / bottom plate we see just above the concrete/slab?   Sorry for all the questions, the pics help immensly in viewing the problem.  Just a bit more info and folks here might be able to find the source.

          Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

          Quittin' Time

          Edited 3/23/2005 7:27 am ET by calvin

  2. DanH | Mar 18, 2005 07:04am | #3

    Sounds like you're describing "spalling" -- the top surface of concrete splitting off. In most cases this is only cosmetic, but if there isn't sound concrete behind the spalled area then you may have a problem.

    The usual causes for this are improper pouring/curing and freezing.

    Or it may be your parging (if any) that is peeling off. This is a thin layer of a cement-based paint or plaster that is applied to the concrete to provide a uniform surface. It can blister and peel if the parging mixture is wrong or the concrete surface is not properly prepared before parging. It may also blister if a water-proof paint is applied to it, as this will trap moisture.

    So long as the spalling/peeling is no deeper than about an inch into the concrete, and so long as any areas of actual spalling (vs peeling parging) are relatively limited in size (ie, not an entire side) then you don't have a structural problem. However, it's a good ideas to get it fixed to prevent further weathering of the surface.

    Repair is generally simple. If the parging is peeling, you scrape it off to a solid surface, then reapply the parging. If you have actually spalling the fix is similar, except that you use a patching mortar. Generally you just follow label directions, though obviously it takes a little practice to get the finish to come out right.

  3. dIrishInMe | Mar 23, 2005 01:03pm | #14

    Were you the owner of the house when it was painted?  Did you sya how old the house is?  After looking at the pics, my guess would be a combination improper paint prep, and water seeping into the foundation from above or below (efflorescence shows this).  Now that it is peeling, you have kind of a mess. 

    I'd think proper paint prep would include sand blasting or something similarly severe.  After all the loose material is removed, a fiber parge might be a good bet.  My guess is that the concrete was spalled out before and parged, and part of what you are seeing is the parge falling off. 
     

    Matt



    Edited 3/23/2005 6:07 am ET by DIRISHINME

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