Parging?

[dodgecharger-fan]

Has anyone ever redone the parging on their house foundation?

We're getting quote and they're all over the map. $1200, $1800 and $3100

The idea is pretty straightforward, I'm just not sure how much I'd be biting off if I tried to tackle it myself.

I'm just figuring out rough square footage right now so I can take a guess at how much material I'll need.

From what I understand, the basic steps are:

Remove any loose parging. Anything that comes off. Tap everywhere, if it sounds hollow, get it off. Use a pressure washer to help lift it.

Then pressure wash everything that's left.

Muriatic acid is used to clean further and to roughen any smooth surfaces (this is about the only part I'm not too keen on goofing with. I used to clean cement pools with this stuff. Blech.)

An adhesion promoter (glue) is then brushed on.

A parging mix is then troweled on. Should be specific for parging rather than just a ton of extra sand mixed in with cement.

Should go about 6 inches below grade starting thin at the bottom and then feathering out as you come up. My understanding is that this helps keep the frozen ground from catching the bottom edge and lifting the parging during a frost heave.

I gathered this info from talking with the three companies that provided quotes today and my many hours of watching Holmes on Homes.

I guess I just need someone to tell me it's not that tough to do.... and then I'll still need some convincing. 

The other thing I'm worried about is not being able to get it all done in one shot. Can I stop parging and start again another day?

There's a couple of spots that'll need to be pinned as well. The ends of stair well going down to the basement - this is basically two poured foundation walls coming straight out from the main foundation and capped with about a 2 foot wall of brick.

[Khyron]

I thought this was about bulimia for a second

[Charger666]

I thought this was about bulimia for a second

LOL.  Yeah, it's close to purging.

[derailed]

I did my whole inside and 2 walls outside with surface bond with the fiberglass resin. I cant say enough good about it. Its not hard to do. you can do it yourself and stop and pick up where you left off or maybe do one wall a day. First off youll want to pick up a small electric mixer. Get yourself one of those plastic rectangular tubs also. What I did was mix a half bag at a time in the tub and trowl it up out of the tub from the bottom of the wall to the top working it in. After a few batches youll get the mix down just right. As far as the prep work goes I wouldnt worry about acid washing. A good pressure wash will do fine as well as chipping out the cracked loose areas. Never heard of adhesion promoting glue? Once its cured its hard to tell its a block wall. In some areas they dry stack block walls just using this stuff with no mortar in between the block. 

[jayco91]

That is how my cellar is. I just dry stacked 10 inch block and then parged both the inside and outside of the wall and core filled blocks by the corners and windows. Just fyi a lot of people dont know that there are 2 types of parge material. Around here we call it block bond. There is an above grade which is mostly for looks and keeps out rainwater, bugs etc.. The stuff I used is a below grade spec and has lots of fiberglass strands in it for strength. I think just the pressure washing should be good. I'm curious why your stuff is flaking off? Make sure your block is wet when you apply and do not apply in direct sunlight. Like all concrete products a slow cure is a stronger cure.

[derailed]

My block was flaking apart on the outside. Over the years it cracked and moisture would get into the crack and break off pieces.Good point about wetting down the wall first also. The stuff I bought was at lowes called surface bond. It has alot of the fiberglass in it. I think it comes in grey or white. I saw a study one time where they took a wrecking ball to a wall with and a wall without surface bond. The one without blew apart. The one with it just a had a small whole knocked in it where the ball hit. Pretty amazing.

[dodgecharger-fan]

Great info. Thanks very much.

In my case, the parging is mostly for looks above grade. I have a poured foundation.

I've been doing some research and there are three main reasons why this stuff cracks and flakes off around here:

1. Poor job of applying it in the first place. Granted, this house is almost 30 years old, but this stuff has been cracking for at least 8 years already. The point is, looking at it now that it is coming off, you can see where they made mistakes. First is tht there are smooth parts and rough parts to the foundation underneath the parging. Just a difference in adhesion is a recipe for cracks.

2. The cure is a big part of reason 1 as well. Enough that it can be it's own reason. I live in a neighbourhood of "custom" built homes - but all by the same builder. The contractors tore through here getting paid by the house not by the hour. They didn't worry about keeping the parging damp for three days after application. ( I say "custom" in quotes because there are only a handful of different layouts and elevations but no 2 are exactly alike. It's not like the cookie cutter developments I see going up today, but they're not all full-on custom designed homes.)

3. Frost heave. A lot of times, as the ground heaves in the winter time, it will catch the bottom lip of the parging coat and push up, causing cracks.

[dodgecharger-fan]

Oh, and I asked here because I did a lot of googling beforehand and really didn't find any good information on doing-it-yourself.

Everything I've learned is from the guys that have come out to provide quotes and from reading product datasheets.

[b5blue]

The adhesion promoter is called "LINK", usually for putting a thin coat of concrete over a slab to build it up or level it.

[Shakey]

Oh, and I asked here because I did a lot of googling beforehand and really didn't find any good information on doing-it-yourself.

Everything I've learned is from the guys that have come out to provide quotes and from reading product datasheets.

See if there is any information on the Holmes on Homes web site.

I've found some useful information there inclusing vendors names.

I've used the spray foam insulation guys and I know another member that used the electricians and the HVAC guys.