Three questions to any masons on my new concrete block foundation and crawl space:
First- My mason “forgot” to place rebar joining the new foundation to my existing house foundation as called for in the plans. His reply was that the new foundation is only several courses of block and that no harm will come from this.
Second- He back filled without first applying any waterproofing to the block. Is there any concerns here? Again it is a crawl space.
Last- He did not place any vent as required , but did place two access points for me. The Crawl space will have a large (18X 24 inch) opening leading into my homes basement. Any thoughts?
Edited 5/15/2006 7:02 pm ET by ayers0129
Replies
Greetings a,
This post, in response to your question, will bump the thread through the 'recent discussion' listing again.
Perhaps it will catch someone's attention that can help you with advice.
Cheers
half of good living is staying out of bad situations
time to get the original mason back to fix it or get acces to his accounts payble to send the back charges to...
First- My mason "forgot" to place rebar joining......... seam / joint may open, slip or the wall may tip...
Second- He back filled without first applying........... fix it.. or have it done... even though it is crawl space you don't need damp under yur abode...
Last- He did not place any vent as required....... have it put in... it is required...
a hunch says you were cost cutted...
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!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Make this mason remove the backfill, and apply parging if he did not do so and foundation coating.Have him remove the blocks that require vents and install the vents.As far as tie in to the footings with rebar, you probably are ok without it.
Many times no rebar is required for a footing, I always install 3 # 4 bars in the footing ,whether it calls for reinforcing or not. As far as it ties into the old footing, consult the architect for direction . My first thought that is not a big deal that he missed it. The architect may have a specific reason for it on your addition.
Possibly, rebar can be added to the side of the footing with ell shaped bars and tied into the existing .Then additional concrete to make this connection.
Keep a closer eye on the rest of the work being done.
mike
I'd ask an engineer about the rebar. Depending on soils, maybe not a big deal.
I'd insist that the foundation be dug up and waterproofing applied. This is important.
I'd skip the crawlspace venting. We don't vent basements. Why do we vent crawlspaces? Well, in an often misguided attempt to avoid moisture issues. I don't know where you are, but in climates where it gets warm and humid, it's likely you can keep more moisture out by not venting than by venting. Bring warm, humid summer air into a cool crawlspace, and the effect is wetting, not drying. Couple this fact with the other one that your basement communicates with the crawlspace, and venting makes no sense whatsoever.
There's a caveat here, though. You must install a vapor barrier on the ground to keep moisture from rising. Six mil plastic topped with a rat slab is fine. Run that by the building inspector. If he doesn't buy it, do the vb and the slab, and install the vents. When you see his taillights, close them permanently. Rigid foam does this well.Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein
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I agree with andy. I'd thank him for not putting in the vents. Condition the crawl. Place rigid insulation on the walls with drywall (for fireblock) over the rigid drop a duct in and all is good.
This way you dont have to try and insulate the floors in a dark crawl on your back with the fiberglas falling down on you, and you wont have cold floors.
If you fill out your profile so that we can respond appropriately...
Crawl space venting is, as Andy mentioned, climate-specific. In central CA, the foundations with the inadequate venting are the ones with the moisture problems. Mine's well vented and try as a bone. Of course, a hard frost - high 20's - is as low as it gets and we don't know what summer humidity is (if you don't count the fog).
Sounds like you have venting on the rest of the house. Any moisture problems?
Foundation sealing is a similar thing. Foundations are pretty shallow here and typically not sealed (average annual rainfall less than 30"). Soil conditions & grade are the big drivers (top of the hill or bottom or in a swamp or...?).
Now, ties of old foundation to new... in earthquake country he's coming back for a complete re-do on that one!
As I was saying - fill out your profile - location is a huge factor in giving relevant advice.