Stone House Foundation

[DaveRR]

I recently bought an old house (1870), and I'm doing some work in the basement.

The foundation is made of dry stacked stones, and I'm planning on filling the gaps between the stones to keep air drafts out. We have very well drained soil, and water infiltration is not really a problem. After a heavy rainfall, there's only one small area in the basement that gets damp.

Are there any alternatives to mortar out there, for a job like this?

 

[MrJimi]

I have one word for you!
U G L the only and best waterproofer in the world
Jim

 

[riptides]

Hey,

Welcome to TBN. Don't know about your mortar. Do know about the stacked stones. Mine actually went into the ground three to four feet and were stacked tight enough that I had a hard time pulling some out.
Was told only the corners are important.....

I planned on just using a box store mortar mix to make ours looki a little neater.

I found and find it facsinating how these old foundations and indeed the houses went up in those days.

-Mike Z.

 

[DaveRR]

MrJimi: I checked out UGL's website, and I'm not sure they make something that'll help me in this situation. I'll do some more looking. Thanks very much!

riptides: I agree, I think the old stone foundations are pretty neat, and that's interesting to know about the corners of the foundation. I recently took down the top 3 feet of one of the walls, so I could access and excavate a crawl space under an old addition. Those stones were packed tightly, and heavy! I'm also amazed by how big the posts and beams are. This house sure isn't going anywhere!

I was planning on using a mortar mix for the gaps too, but I thought I'd see if there was anything out there that's less time consuming.

 

[psuedofarmer]

i own a circa 1740 farm house. i just started working on a few of the basement corners (same construction as yours). unfortunately, i think the best method is the tried-and-true mortar. having said this, i am VERY tempted to use the masonry caulk in some of the gaps. not sure of the brand name, but it's grey in color and is applied with a typical caulk gun.

i've used this around the barn foundation with good results, so it will probably work well. the only drawback is the cost.. much more $ than mixing your own mortar. then again, time is $.. it's VERY time consuming to deal with all the gaps in an old foundation.

good luck.

pf

 

[Tony_S]

Howdy,
A mortar /grout bag will cut down on the time it takes to fill all those gaps. I have a similar foundation under my house and I did a repoint on the front where the mortar had turned into what could be considered dirt.
It has been a few years..I used a mix of sand and portland, but cannot remember the recipe. Most any good contractor supply house could probably give you the correct formula.
HTH,
Tony S.

 

[DaveRR]

Thanks again guys!

It looks like UGL makes that masonary caulk that you mention, PS. Like you say, though, I'd need so much of it that it's not really cost effective.

I'll probably just pick up some mortar mix and one of those grout bags, and work on it here and there over the course of the summer, as I have extra time.