We are looking at buying a condominium with a full basement. The inspection was mostly uneventful except for this area shown in the pictures below. There is an I-beam that spans the entire length of the basement and ties into each of the poured foundation walls. The tie-in area at the opposite wall looks fine.
Initially I thought the beam and wall must have moved relative to each other, but the wall seems to be straight. Another guess was that water entered the foundation in this area and froze, expanding and fracturing the concrete around the beam.
I’d love to hear if anyone has seen this before, and what it might indicate about the integrity of the foundation. The floors in the house are level and there is no obvious sagging above this area.
John it appears that the wall was parged in an effort to make it cosmetically more acceptable. There is a water stain that is present, but it doesn’t appear to be of any consequence unless it’s a continuous flow of water. It’s difficult to determine by your pictures. I’m not an engineer but it seems ok… I would venture to say that if something were failing you would have more indication than what I see. A broader picture would be helpful.
Thanks, Rick. Here are the only other pics I have. The concrete below the beam fell out easily after I poked it, hence the difference in appearance in some of the pictures. Also, the wood blocks adjacent to the steel beam were not firmly attached and were basically floating in the space.
Let me know if you have any further thoughts on this.
Recommend a Foundation Contractor to repair accordingly and provide a proper grouted bearing for that beam and remove that wood. That attempt to spray a waterproofing failed through thermal movement and cohesion.
