Terry Beck
11-12-2008, 12:19 PM
What's your general opinion on durability of foundations (crawlspace) of bricks?
I am used to seeing a lot of old (1890 - 1920) rock and mortar foundations, some good, some very bad. Anything around here before that would have had to be a teepee. So I am curious to hear from folks that see a lot or REALLY old houses.
Did a house yesterday, original portions were circa 1905-1910, with brick foundation, I presume fired bricks. From inside the crawl, some areas looked ok, even though it was only slightly above grade (and obviously not a deep foundation. Did have some other issues however, needless to say.) Parts had been overlaid with a thick layer of cement for protection. I could push my hand through a hole in another area that did not have the concrete exterior.
As a rule of thumb, everything else being equal, should I expect to see a lot more problems with a brick foundation versus a rock & mortar foundation?
I am used to seeing a lot of old (1890 - 1920) rock and mortar foundations, some good, some very bad. Anything around here before that would have had to be a teepee. So I am curious to hear from folks that see a lot or REALLY old houses.
Did a house yesterday, original portions were circa 1905-1910, with brick foundation, I presume fired bricks. From inside the crawl, some areas looked ok, even though it was only slightly above grade (and obviously not a deep foundation. Did have some other issues however, needless to say.) Parts had been overlaid with a thick layer of cement for protection. I could push my hand through a hole in another area that did not have the concrete exterior.
As a rule of thumb, everything else being equal, should I expect to see a lot more problems with a brick foundation versus a rock & mortar foundation?