1. Caulk small cracks
Check the joints between the foundations of your home and your patios and verandas. If there is a gap, clean the area Foundation Repairs with a brush.
Then use a caulking gun with a tube of urethane or modified silicone and acrylic concrete sealant to fill the gap. Smooth to blend it with the surrounding surfaces.In the same way, caulk the holes between the foundations and the exterior siding. Also caulk cracks in the foundation itself if it is less than 3 millimetres .To seal cracks and gaps between the foundation and siding, use a mirror to see under the edge of the siding and avoid bending over. You may need to lay the mirror on a block of wood to position it at an optimal angle.
2. Examine the crawl space
It’s easy to forget what happens in a crawl space, but if you do, you risk paying the price later. Trapped moisture can damage the wood structure of your home.If your home sits on perimeter foundation walls with an earthen crawl space, keep that space dry with a vapour barrier of 6 millimetres (1/4 inch) of polyethylene film.To install, dig a trench 5 centimetres (2 inches) deep around the inside perimeter of the crawl space.
Lay the sheets of polythene film on the ground, overlapping them by at least 0.6 metres (2 feet) and extending their outer edges into the trench.
Place the excavated soil back into the trench to hold the plastic in place. If you can’t dig a trench, weigh down the plastic with gravel or bricks.Crawling through a cramped crawl space is much easier if you wear a headlamp on your head and keep your hands free. These are sold at camping and mountaineering supply stores. They are ideal for any job that requires a flashlight.
3. Fix the biggest cracks
Repair any cracks in your foundation greater than 3 millimetres (1/8 inch). If it extends below ground level, dig a small trench to reach it, saving soil to fill the trench at the end.Wear a dust mask, safety glasses and work gloves, then scrape up all the dirt around the crack.Then, clean the area with a stiff bristle brush and spray with water from a spray bottle.Remove all loose materials with a cold chisel and hammer.Next, chisel the crack in order to trim the edges and make the crack wider on the inside than on the outside surface. This traps the patching material as it hardens.Prepare some patching cement by adding enough water to make it malleable, but not runny.
Use a pointed trowel to work the mixture into the crack, overlapping slightly.
Then smooth the surface with the trowel so that the cement blends into the surrounding surface.Once the cement has hardened, seal the surface with a waterproof masonry coating.Allow to dry, then paint the same colour as the surrounding surface.
4. Seal
To prevent water from seeping through the stone foundation to the earth floor of the crawl space, seal the joints between the stones on the outside and inside.Wear gloves and safety glasses.Outside, scrape up loose mortar using a hammer and chisel and clean the surface with a stiff brush.Wet the joints and fill the gaps with a mixture of commercial mortar, as for repointing an exposed brick wall.
Repeat the process inside the crawl space.
Then, seal the interior surface with a waterproof masonry coating.
If you don’t mind sacrificing the look of natural stone, you can also waterproof the exterior surface and paint over the water-repellent coating.Many of us who own or work in a consulting firm have been there: We do everything we can to make sure our clients’ personal information is safe and secure. We train staff in confidentiality, we purchase expensive cabinets to house client records and related documentation, and we may even have an electronic medical records system in order Foundation Repairs to be in compliance with all privacy laws. . But then, sitting in our office, we notice that we can practically hear the clinician’s heartbeat in the office next door. How can we maintain privacy for our customers if the sound transfer is so bad?
If you’re building or remodelling, there’s a lot you can do, and we’ll explore some of those ideas in a bit. But what if you already have an office and you can’t afford or don’t have the right to do a complete remodel? Fear not, there Foundation Repairs are a few steps you can take to reduce sound transfer without breaking the bank. The best part is that most of them are easily undone if you leave your current digs.
