Crumbling Walls? We Can Help

Now that winter has really settled in, you might notice that your house is a little chilly even with the heat on full blast. This can be especially noticeable if you have a difficult to insulate basement - like stone walls. Fieldstone walls can create all kinds of problems once they start to deteriorate, and one of them is allowing cold air into your basement (and after that, your home).

The problem is that, once a stone wall starts to decay, it’s difficult to fix it. Poured or even block walls at least provide a flat, smooth surface that can be repaired and covered. Stone walls are just large stones held together with mortar. And then eventually stones not held together with mortar.

So how do you combat it? Add more insulation? Crank up the heat and just start having your paycheck sent directly to Consumer’s Energy? Fill the cracks and holes with caulk and call it good? (I wouldn’t mention it if we hadn’t seen it before). It can be frustrating and even scary to see your basement start to fall apart and not know how, or even if, you can fix it.

But I have good news. You don’t need to patch or fix the walls - because honestly, you can’t - you just need new walls.

“You just need new walls,” you’re probably saying in a mocking voice, and I understand, because it sounds daunting. But it really doesn’t have to be.

With our Shotcrete process, we can literally build new walls in place without the danger or inconvenience of lifting the house to pour a new foundation. Here’s how it works:

1. We build a framework on the existing wall. This steel structure is attached right to the wall to ensure security.

2. Using a special high-pressure hose, the Shotcrete material is sprayed onto the framework. The force of the spraying helps the Shotcrete compact and provide strength to the wall.

3. The walls are smoothed as the Shotcrete is sprayed, and left to cure for a day or two.

4. There is no step 4 - you’re done.

Now, Shotcrete will never give you the same picture-perfect wall that you get from poured concrete; pouring is the only way to achieve that. You will also lose a few square feet of space in the basement, depending on how many walls need treatment, due to the new walls.

But Shotcrete is also significantly less expensive and far safer and more convenient than any other wall replacement method. You won’t have to move out of your house (which is often required when pouring a new foundation due to the need to lift the house), and the entire process will be completed in a few days.

Foundations problems are scary; seemingly unsolvable foundation problems are terrifying. It might seem hopeless when your stone walls start to crumble, but there’s an easy solution, and we can help you through it. Call today to ask about Shotcrete and schedule your free inspection.