r/DIYUK • u/SickPuppy01 • 2d ago

Structural Engineer needed? Or something else?

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I posted about these loose stones in my foundation before and I was going to pack everything with lime mortar. But on attempting that some other things have come to light.

This area is about 3-4 foot long and the loose stones go down about a foot. The part that is worrying me is the stones bulge out 2-3" compared to the rest of the wall.

Back story - there decking here and it was attached to the wall with a ledger board. You can make out the line of where it was. The decking was badly designed and water gathered in this corner so the ledger board rotted out here. This then washed out the lime mortar. Along the rest of the wall the stones were cement rendered and the render seems solid (so I'm guessing the mortar is ok behind it - fingers crossed)

There is very little other clues to indicate big movement other than a hairline crack up to the bottom corner of the window. Looking back at the photos of when we bought the house 2 years ago that crack hasn't changed in size.

Do I need to get a structural engineer or can I go straight to hiring a stone mason or someone else to fix it? What should i be looking for when I hire them?

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u/InvertedAligator 2d ago edited 2d ago

Needs pointing back up. You don’t have deep foundations, more likely have compacted earth or some other historic foundation technology. I’ve found earthen mortar used below ground before so that may explain why they’re now loose.

I reckon they excavated down when they put the decking in which has exposed the originally below-ground course

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u/SickPuppy01 2d ago

I have packed everything with lime mortar as much as a can. Some of the gaps are over 2" wide at their widest so I had to do it in layers and pack them down.

What worries me is that the stones that are sticking out are solid and dont move at all. Its just the stones ones around them move - some can be removed totally.

The lack of portland cement render in this section makes me wonder where the render went? No render came away with the ledger board. Could it have washed away? Could the stones have been sticking out before the deck was built approx 15 years ago and they didnt render it?

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u/InvertedAligator 2d ago

No I think they dug down to accommodate the deck. The render would have originally been right to the ground. Some houses they used a hard Portland cement render to try and create a waterproof jacket for the house

It’s normal for the foundation stones to step out from the wall