Looking for new home

Posted by desgnr on October 9, 2009, 10:38 am

Is it safe to buy a home with Cinder Block basement walls instead of Poured
Concrete ?

--
Dell Inspiron
Pentium dual-core 2.2 GHz
2 GB DDR2 SDRAM
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1

Posted by dpb on October 9, 2009, 10:44 am

desgnr wrote:

> Is it safe to buy a home with Cinder Block basement walls instead of
> Poured Concrete ?

What's your definition of "safe"????

They're only several millions of them in the US...

--

Posted by Ralph Mowery on October 9, 2009, 11:54 am

> Is it safe to buy a home with Cinder Block basement walls instead of
> Poured Concrete ?

If done correctly I don't see why it would not be.

My parents built a house in 1977 and the whole basement was under ground.
Never any water inside it. They passed away a few years ago so can't say
for now, but ok in 2000.

I bought a house built about 1980 about 5 years ago. The basement is a
walkout on one side and the other side is in the ground. No problems with
so far and no water inside on the floor.
Both houses have cinder block walls.

I have seen other houses that have had lots of water on the floor after a
hard rain.

I would look for cracks in the wall and see if there is any water on the
floor after several days of rain.

Posted by Van Chocstraw on October 9, 2009, 12:31 pm

desgnr wrote:

> Is it safe to buy a home with Cinder Block basement walls instead of
> Poured Concrete ?
>

If you have a good footing, good mortar job and good fill around it that
drains the water 'away' from the foundation then it should be fine.

A cinder block foundation would be more susceptible to cracking and
separation with ground movement than poured foundations with rebar.

Posted by on October 9, 2009, 12:34 pm

On Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:31:25 -0400, Van Chocstraw

>desgnr wrote:

>> Is it safe to buy a home with Cinder Block basement walls instead of
>> Poured Concrete ?
>>

>If you have a good footing, good mortar job and good fill around it that
>drains the water 'away' from the foundation then it should be fine.
>A cinder block foundation would be more susceptible to cracking and
>separation with ground movement than poured foundations with rebar.

Cinder blocks haven't been used in a LONG time. If the foundation has
lasted this long in good shape, I think you can consider it pretty
stable.

Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 > last >>

Similar Threads	Posted
AlarmForce \| home alarms, home security alarms, home monitoring system, residential alarm system	April 17, 2008, 5:19 am
Would appreciate some first time home buying advice..re home inspection and negotiation	February 8, 2005, 1:03 am
Home Inspectors, Home Warranties, and Sellerr Paid Items	December 13, 2005, 6:07 pm
Home repair yes, home security light, not bright-update	December 19, 2005, 9:47 pm
Home Warranty companies - National Home Protection update	May 22, 2008, 2:15 pm
Re: Home Building Renovation Remodeling Green Home Contractor.	June 16, 2008, 4:04 pm
Home repair yes, home security light, not bright!	December 16, 2005, 10:06 pm
FREE Home Depot Home Improvement How-To-Guide	June 2, 2006, 12:40 pm
Home Depot - Home Services Experiences	August 7, 2007, 7:34 pm
Does not heating home damage home?	February 18, 2006, 3:21 pm