DIY brick foundation repair

In detail: DIY repair of a brick foundation from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

During operation, the building may shrink, this can be determined by the cracks that have appeared on the base, basement and walls. Repair of the foundation of a brick private house can be done with your own hands, having studied the technology for performing construction work. It is not advisable to postpone restoration work for a long time. First of all, you need to understand the causes of shrinkage. Only after identifying what caused the deformation to determine the scope of work and begin to eliminate the defect.

There are many reasons why a house can shrink unevenly:

  • Non-compliance with construction technology. If the foundation is laid without taking into account the level of freezing of the soil, during frost heaving, the soil can push it out.
  • Groundwater, located close to the surface, washes away the soil under the building, and the house, as it were, falls into voids.
  • Excavation work or large vibrations near the foundations of the house.
  • Areas that have soil with inclusions of limestone and marl are not famous for the density of the soil.

In areas where mining is carried out, there are voids underground, leading to uneven shrinkage of housing construction.

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Cracks in masonry

Deflections, cracks, faults in the form of an inverted Y indicate an error when laying the foundation. The designers miscalculated the parameters, depending on the composition of the soil and the impact on the base of groundwater and rainwater.

If the depth of the foundation is incorrectly calculated, depending on the level of frost heaving of the soil, the base may bend. With frost heaving, the volume of the soil increases, and it pushes the structure outward. Cracks appear that resemble the letter V. To prevent this from happening, you need to bury the building below the freezing point of the soil.

Video (click to play).

Tilting and twisting occurs when using poor quality building materials.

During operation, almost every building shrinks, it can be uniform or uneven. With uneven shrinkage, a distortion of the house-building occurs, and cracks are formed.

When cracks are found on the house, it is necessary to identify the cause that causes them, and determine the speed of the process of violating the integrity of the building.

Laboratory testing is expensive, so private home owners rarely use their services. There are several simple ways to diagnose:

  • With the help of beacons, it is determined how quickly the structure deforms. A cement-gypsum mortar is prepared, applied from above and below to the crack, in the transverse direction. The horizontal width of the mark should be 100-120 mm, the height - from 30 to 50 mm. Then they monitor the lighthouses, determine how fast cracks will appear on them, and which part of the house is deformed more strongly.
  • Tape a piece of paper over the crack and observe it for two weeks. If no breaks have occurred, it is enough to perform cosmetic repairs by filling the break with a brick break mixed with cement mortar.
  • They dig at least two holes in the places of the greatest destruction. They should be deeper than the foundation point. Determine the condition of the base, its depth, the presence of waterproofing, the proximity of the location of underground sources.

With the help of these methods, it is quite easy to determine the cause of the destruction of the house and the speed of the shrinkage process.

If the situation is not running, the foundation can be repaired at minimal cost.

Having identified the cause of the deformation, you can correctly determine what work needs to be done.

If the groundwater is close to the surface of the earth, a drainage system must be arranged.

Instructions for the installation of the drainage system:

  1. Around the entire perimeter of the building, a trench is dug deeper than the location of the sole of the base.
  2. The pit should be located at a slope in the chosen direction. For every 200 cm, the slope is 10-50 mm.
  3. Waterproofing the foundation.
  4. Broken brick or sand is poured onto the bottom, with a layer of 50-100 mm. Make sure that the level of the slope remains the same.
  5. Spread out geotextiles.
  6. A layer of gravel is poured 100 mm.
  7. Perforated pipes are laid, which will serve to drain water.
  8. Inspection wells are provided in the corners of the building, thanks to this it will be easy to flush the system if it becomes clogged with silt.
  9. A layer of gravel is poured, at least 100 mm thick. Cover it with geotextiles.
  10. The remaining space is filled with rubble, earth, pebbles.
  11. Water collection tanks are installed 4-6 m from the building. They dig a hole to a depth of 2.5-3 m. Install a barrel or a wide pipe in it. A water drainage system is brought to it.
  12. The space between the walls of the container is filled with earth.

You can repair the foundation of a brick house with your own hands. To accurately assess the degree of destruction and identify its causes, it is better to contact a specialist.

If the destruction occurs due to incorrect calculations when determining the depth of the foundation, you need to try to make the structure deeper.

To do this, a trench is dug around the perimeter of the basement. Its bottom is well compacted and covered with coarse sand or crushed stone. Then, measures are taken for heat and waterproofing. After that, a concrete blind area is poured around the house.

If the lighthouses installed on the cracks burst within 2 weeks, you should try to strengthen the soil under the house. Do this after identifying the causes of shrinkage.

You need to dig a hole with an angle of inclination of about 35 degrees, insert a metal or asbestos-cement pipe with a diameter of 250-300 mm into it. A liquid cement slurry is fed through this pit until the soil is completely saturated with it. If the concrete has completely absorbed after a few hours, repeat the procedure again until the soil stops absorbing it.

After several days, beacons are installed on the cracks and they see if the deformation of the house continues. If the paper is torn, continue to cement the soil.

If the position of the beacons does not change or minor deviations occur, proceed to the next stage:

  1. A trench is dug along the perimeter of the base, 200-350 mm wide.
  2. Plank formwork is installed.
  3. Steel pins are hammered in and a metal mesh is attached to them, which will serve as reinforcement.
  4. Concrete with crushed stone or gravel is poured into the formwork.

Such a structure will be a reliable support for a crumbling house-building site. The method is suitable for strengthening strip, columnar, pile foundations.

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Repair of the strip foundation

In case of severe destruction, it will be necessary to replace the entire foundation or its individual sections. To carry out such work, it is better to invite specialists with work experience.

The first step is to unload the base:

  • props made of solid wood are laid perpendicular to the foundation beds;
  • erecting temporary brick supports.

Replacement and overhaul of the brick foundation is carried out in parts, the area to be replaced should not exceed 2 m. Before work is carried out, beacons are installed on the walls, by which it is possible to determine the deformation caused by the repair work. The walls are fixed with struts.

  1. Undermine the base. The walls of the trench are reinforced with boards, which are secured with supports from a bar.
  2. They clean the released structure from earth and dust.
  3. The walls around the perimeter of the foundation are trimmed with wood, according to the type of formwork.
  4. A reinforced frame is mounted.
  5. A cement-sand mortar is prepared with the addition of crushed stone. It is poured into the formwork layer by layer. Make sure that there are no voids. The solution is compacted with a bayonet or with a vibrator.

It turns out gravy of the foundation for the old base. The height of the new structure must be the same as the old base.

Sometimes more serious repairs are required. It includes the installation of a screed from a reinforced belt. Metal pins are drilled into the base so that their edge protrudes 20 cm above the surface. Reinforcement bars are welded to them or screwed with wire.

How to repair a brick foundation with your own hands, you can watch the video:


Before repairing the foundation of a private house with your own hands, you need to consult with specialists and choose the most suitable work technology for each specific case.

The walls of the house, built of bricks, transfer heavy loads to the foundation. If it is incorrectly calculated or built with deviations from the design, the case will end in the destruction of the supporting structure.

In addition to subjective reasons, there are also objective ones that are beyond human control. These include geological changes in the construction area of ​​the building.

Repairing the foundation of a brick private house is the only way to save the entire structure.

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The appearance of depressions and cracks at the base of the foundation is a sure sign of its destruction. However, you should be aware that during the settling period of the house, the foundation can also crack.

To check how dangerous cracks are, you need to stick beacons across them - strips of paper. If within 10 days the strip does not break, then there is nothing to worry about. The resulting voids are tightly clogged with broken bricks and concreted.

If you see that the beacon is torn, it means that the destructive processes continue, and you have to repair the foundation of the brick house as soon as possible.

And if the brickwork of the walls begins to crack, repair work must begin immediately.

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Violation of the construction process is in the first place in the list of reasons for the loss of foundation stability. But it is also the most difficult to install, especially if the homeowner has bought a finished building.

Another factor causing the destruction of the base of the structure is an increase in the level of groundwater. Repair of the foundation of a brick house should be carried out in this case, taking into account the changed characteristics of the base on which the base of the foundation rests.

The third factor belongs to the category of design errors: the adopted foundation design may not correspond to the geological conditions.

An example of this is strip foundations erected on moving or dissimilar soils. The correct choice in such cases is the device of a pile or pile - screw foundation (pile - screw foundation. Its pros and cons).

Before proceeding with the repair, it is necessary to conduct soil studies. Making decisions on strengthening the foundation of a brick house without having the results of research on hand is a gross mistake.

This can lead not only to waste of money and effort, but also to aggravate the problem.

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There are several ways to strengthen a damaged foundation:
  • shotcrete - with concrete;
  • by arranging a reinforced concrete shirt;
  • bored piles;
  • expansion of the sole of the base;
  • brick;
  • the classical method.

However, the basic rule applies to any of them: the foundation is strengthened only by expanding it. No disassembly of the existing structure should be performed.

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The easiest way to do it yourself is to repair the foundation of a brick house in the classical way.

Its essence is as follows:

  • at the corners of the monolithic tape, pits are dug in the form of a cube, the side of which is one meter;
  • four frames with a cell of 20x20x20 cm are knitted from a reinforcing mesh;
  • prepared frames are lowered into pits and poured with concrete.

Concrete composition:

  • sand - 3 parts;
  • crushed stone - 1 part;
  • cement - 2 parts;
  • water - 2 parts.

Actually, on this, the repair of the foundation of a brick house with your own hands is considered complete.

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If the strip foundation collapses along the entire perimeter, then it can be strengthened as follows:
  • a trench 200-350 mm wide is dug along the tape. Its bottom and outer wall are laid out with boards - formwork;
  • holes are drilled in the monolith with a step of 1 meter, into which steel pins are then driven;
  • a reinforcing cage is welded to them;
  • the trench is poured with concrete.

It happens that no measures taken on their own do not stop the destructive process. If new cracks appear on the walls, you need to call on professional builders for help.

And the most correct thing is to try to get advice from them before starting the repair work.

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Video about repairing the foundation of a brick private house.