Repairing Stone Walls

Last week, we talked about the differences (and similarities) between block and poured wall foundations. Now it’s time to talk about stone walls, which, while pretty, offer a whole new world of problems.

When a block or poured foundation undergoes some type of stress, be it from water or just soil pressure, cracks form. They may be horizontal or vertical in a poured wall, or stair step in a block wall. When dealing with stone, however, the result is usually crumbling of the mortar between the stones.

This crumbling often leaves homeowners at a loss - you can’t exactly brace a wall that’s literally crumbling to dust, and the more mortar that comes out, the less support the wall has from the weight of the home. This is where people often look into replacing their foundation altogether, which is costly, inconvenient, and opens up the possibility for new structural issues from the process of lifting the home.

But never fear! Just as we have multiple brace and anchor options for block and poured walls, we have a solution for those pretty but problematic stone walls as well. It’s called Shotcrete.

The Shotcrete process doesn’t replace your walls - it builds new ones. First, a framework is built over top of the existing walls. Then concrete is sprayed onto the framework and smoothed into place - the best way to describe the process is “concrete through a fire hose” - and allowed to cure. At the end of a few days, you have new walls and all you’ve lost is a few square feet of basement space.

Now that you know how it works, here’s why Shotcrete is better:

It’s quick! From start to finish, most projects can be completed in a few days.

It’s convenient! Other than a little noise, there’s no disturbance to the rest of your home. And you don’t have to move out.

It’s cost-effective! No pricey home lifts here.

If you have a crumbling stone basement, all hope is not lost. Call today for your free inspection.