Ask a Building Trades Professional

[Cutlass]

It really depends on how damp your basement is, and what the sources of that dampness is. You need to work that out. Concrete is essentially always somewhat porous. If you have a very slight problem, you might get way with painting all the walls with a product like Drylock. Which would be a barrier to slight dampness. But if you had a major problem, then you really need to solve that on the exterior of your foundation, not the interior.

As you hadn't mentioned any problem before a broken pipe, it doesn't seem at all likely that you have a major groundwater problem.

 

[warpus]

Okay, so I showed the new company that I got a quote from (company B) the quote from company A, or at least the affected parts. I normally would prefer not to show my hand like that, but this particular guy runs a family business, claims to be a "Christian man", and claims to pride himself on his honesty and good work. So I told him, "I probably shouldn't be showing you this, but here it is. What do you make of it?".. Well, he says that sometimes a company will enter stuff in the system that's priced in the same way - to enter hours worked.. So for example, if the system doesn't have an item for . . man hours put in.. I have no idea why it wouldn't.. but if it doesn't, you use something that's at the same price point - and in this case it ended up being "roof felt".

Or he says it's possible they padded the quote with BS items, since insurance will just glance over the document and approve it. Mind you, then it would seem silly to use ROOFING to commit your act of fraud, especially since the job is for a basement. ..

I gave him the item-by-item document to sift through, and he is going to update his quote to include any items that his quote initially didn't have - but company A's quote does. We'll see how that pans out.... I suppose if he tries to jib me, which I don't think he will, I will be able to compare his old quote to his new one, and see if there's any discrepancies.

 

[Narz]

Before you met your wife did you ever have an flirtatious clients?

My ex slept with the guy who repaired her computer, seems like a common culturally thing. Male with fix-it skills helps damsel in distress & gets rewarded.

 

[ReindeerThistle]

Before you met your wife did you ever have an flirtatious clients?

My ex slept with the guy who repaired her computer, seems like a common culturally thing. Male with fix-it skills helps damsel in distress & gets rewarded.

Yes.

But nothing happened. My entire building trades profession has been as an organizer. So, waaaay too busy.

Edit: However, plenty happened with the women organizers on my work crews...

 

[warpus]

My lawn is a mess, but the fence IS BACK.

The poletops are going to be cut off like muffintops on monday. And.. at some point they will get hats.

 

[Cutlass]

 

[warpus]

I have an issue that is probably easy to fix, but I'm not really sure where to begin. Let me start by posting a crudely drawn MSpaint diagram of what's happening:

This is my front porch. (imagine a door and steps, etc.) As you can probably see, the corner has over the years started to crack and now it looks like it's almost starting to separate from the rest of the concrete. When this happens it looks like I might have a problem with the post that doesn't appear to be structural in nature, but it would complicate the fix-up if that corner piece fell off, I think.

My current plan is just to buy some of that.. cement/putty stuff or whatever it is, and just put some concrete in the crack, all around. The problem is that the corner is slightly sticking out, so I'm not sure if I'd be able to really align everything so that you can't tell there was a crack there. Or if that approach will even work. Basically I think I have to put concrete in the cracks, even everything out, and then push the corner back in place, and hold it there somehow. I think?

My neighbour had the exact same problem and he had to remove the post even and re-do everythin from scratch. However, his setup is a bit more complex, so I am hoping that I can avoid rebuilding everything (including the post).

What's the best way to attach that corner and make sure it doesn't fall off in the near future? I think what happens is water gets in that crack, and in the winter it freezes and then thaws in the spring, and makes the crack larger, each year.

Any tips?

I will provide photos later today, if requested.

 

[ReindeerThistle]

Provide photos, please.

Is the post set IN the concrete?

 

[warpus]

Yeah, it is. Will post a photo as soon as I get home.

 

[Silurian]

Well the crack could have been caused by a number of things and unless you solve them the crack will just reopen. This may not be a problem if it takes a long time.

There could be a bolt etc connecting the post to the concrete that has rusted. When it rusts it expands and can push the concrete apart.

If the crack is only a few mm wide you could just brush some cement from a freshly opened bag into the top of the crack when the concrete is dry. The cement will react with the damp in the concrete and fill the crack so that the water cannot get into freeze to such an extent. The outside of the crack could be sealed with neat cement with a little water or 1:4 cement sand mix. Push it in with a trowel and rub it smooth with a bit of polystyrene.

If the crack is larger you could pour some cement grout into the crack.

 

[Cutlass]

You may have to remove the post, support the roof with a temp post, and repair the concrete then. And then put in a new post on top of the concrete rather than into it.

 

[warpus]

Silurian, the crack is larger than just a few mm but it isn't large either. What would I do though if I wanted to follow your cement mix instructions, but also wanted the corner to line up properly again? Right now it's a bit off due to the crack, it's sort of sticking out. Not much, but it is.

Cutlass, that's what my neighbour ended up doing after his corner fell off. Now his post looks like crap (because he had to put together a new one and he did it himself).. I'm hoping to avoid doing that if possible

Pictures in spoiler

Spoiler :

 

[Cutlass]

OK, here's the trick. Wood gets wet, it wants to expand. That wet wood then freezes in a Canadian winter, and it will expand. Concrete surrounding something that is expanding is going to crack. In short, bad design. Any fix that has that wooden post in the concrete will be temporary.

Fix the concrete, then use whichever of these post bases best suits your needs and the style of the house. https://www.google.com/search?q=4x4...Zn4yAIVBXY-Ch176QTH&biw=1120&bih=538&dpr=1.71

 

[Silurian]

As well as the timber expanding concrete is prone to shrinking at changes in section. The stresses concentrate there. So a square opening, from a post, will induce a crack. Acute angles on a slab of concrete, also tend to end up cracking off especially in unreinforced concrete.

The crack looks to be about 5mm wide and it looks like the portion that has separated has moved up slightly in relation to the rest of the slab. I would assume that the post is resting on the slab below and the concrete slab that has cracked was cast around it. If this is the case it is probable that the post will stay supporting the porch until it rots out.

If the concrete that has cracked is not rocking I would leave it for now. It is unlikely that you will be able to push the concrete so that it lines up again as there will be grit in the crack.

I would fill the vertical and underside part of the crack first thing in the morning with a neat cement paste or sand and cement.. Then in the afternoon pour some neat cement grout into the top of the crack. The crack does not look wide enough to push cement paste far into it and sand cement would go in less than that. Make a little dam either side of the crack, use could a couple of bricks with some tape to seal the bottom of the bricks. Make sure you have at least two plastic containers to mix grout in, you could use some plastic bottles that you have cut the top off and completely cleaned. (Sugar stops cement from setting). Mix the neat cement with water until it is a bit runnier than honey at room temperature, and make at least twice as much as you think you will need. There could well be a gap under the section that has cracked off. Gentle pour the grout into one point at the crack, do not pour it back and forward along the crack as you will trap the air in the bottom. Poke a thin bit of plastic into the grout as you pour it in and jiggle it back and forward to encourage it to move down and along the crack. If the crack stops taking grout, at the point where you started pouring it in, then move along the crack a little bit. Keep a look out for leaks when you are pouring.

When the crack is full up leave it for 30mins or so then go and look at it. Air bubbles may have come out of the crack so you will then have to top up with some cement paste or make some more grout in the second container.

Next day first thing clean up the mess you have made with a stiff brush and water. The longer you leave the harder it will be. The existing concrete has an exposed aggregate finish. You could get the crack to look like that by brushing across the mortar horizontally.

The grout will fill the crack so that the water will have to start the freeze thaw cycle again.

You could grout the crack with epoxy or polyester resin but it will cost more and is likely to stand out more.

If you decide to replace the concrete now or in the future make sure you buy a foot for the other post as well at the same time. Buy zinc plated feet and bolts.
Make sure you drill all the holes for the foot before casting the concrete. In the new concrete you could use in some polystyrene then grout in a bolt or push a bolt into the wet concrete. What you do will depend on what foot you chose from Cutlass’s pictures. I would pour the concrete in the afternoon. You will have to leave the concrete for 45mins or so after floating it off before forming the trowel mark along the edge of the concrete and the angle on the corner. Then next day strike the form. Then with a brush gently brush horizontally to expose the aggregate to match the existing concrete, using a little bit of water to wash away the cement. You will have to see how much of the surface you are removing when you start if it is too much come back in a few hours and see how much it is harder it has got. If you leave it too long you will have to use a steel brush.

I assume it is freezing there at night, or getting below 3C, most nights which is too cold for concrete or mortar, unless you can wrap your work up to keep warm. If that is the case it is a job for the spring. I have not put my heating yet here in the south of the UK.

 

[ReindeerThistle]

I endorse Cutlass' solution.

 

[warpus]

So I basically wait through the winter and hire someone to fix this for me in the spring? i.e. remove the post, install a new one, fix the concrete, etc.

I don't trust myself to put in a new post - my neighbour put in a new one, and it looks like crap. And he's more handy than me. I'd want a professional to do it. It doesn't seem like it'd be a cheap job, though, so I wouldn't be against a temporary solution.. and then when the concrete falls off in a couple years time, I can hire someone to re-do everything then.

Would that be a good approach? Wait until the spring and follow Silurian's advice above and temporarily fix it up.. and then when/if it all falls off, hire someone to do a proper fix-up for me?

Or should I just bite the bullet, wait through the winter, and in the spring hire someone to do a proper fix for me?

There are 2 issues for me here: 1. I just did a crazy Norwegian trip and I'm still paying for it.. 2. This is the front of my house, so I want it to look professional .. and while a temporary fix wouldn't be super professional, it sounds like it wouldn't be so bad either. Then again, if I could hire someone to re-do everything for me and fix it up properly for $200.. I would do it. But it seems like it'll be more than that. The downspout is also connected to the post, but maybe that is not such a big deal.. in my mind it adds to the cost, I just don't know how much.

Either way though I guess I have until the spring "to sleep on it" ?

Thanks a lot for your input guys, you helped me understand why this happened in the first place.. and what my options sort of are.

 

[Cutlass]

Silurian understands and describes the repair of concrete better than I can. The question for that, being November in Canada, is whether you have several days of warm enough weather to do the concrete repairs. If you haven't got the weather, you're waiting until spring anyways.

As to the post, it looks like a common 4x4. That's not difficult to work with. So if you fix the concrete, then take a post base similar to this:

And put your post on that, and then take a trim piece such as this:

To put around the base to hide your work, it should look fine.

 

[warpus]

Won't I need a completely new post though, if this one is embedded in the concrete? Or are you saying I should take it out, cut it so that it fits exactly in between the roof and the (new) concrete, and put it back on after the new concrete has set? (in the spring, I am positive that there won't be enough warm days left this year to complete the rapairs before the winter)

 

[Cutlass]

If the wood is in good shape, you can reuse it. If it's in poor shape, it appears to be just a stock 4x4. Unless the rest of it looks different from the base? If you replace it, you could even go with a PT 4x4, and not have to worry about it rotting in the future.

(PT wood that's to be painted should be primed first. They often don't take paint well).

 

[warpus]

Hmmm okay, I guess I am going to have to revisit this in the spring. I still don't feel comfortable doing this on my own though (even though it now sounds a bit more doable)! But maybe I should just watch some youtube videos and try to get 'er done. I'll keep you guys updated on what happens