Browse Forums Paving & Concreting 1 Dec 20, 2011 12:45 am Hi all, Under our house at the lowest point we seem to have excess water. I removed a lot of dirt to help dry things out as it was always damp. It turns out our footings are directly on sandstone, and the water follows the sandstone until it hits the footings. So its a bit like a small swimming pool. Walking on the soil is like walking on a water bed. This presents a few problems, mainly how to get out through the footings to let the water drain. But I was going to ask if anyone knew of the effects of constant water on concrete and mortar? We have one pier where mortar was used instead on concrete to go down around a meter to the sandstone. The concrete footings, although wet, is as hard as blue metal. Would a problem like this need immediate attention? Any idea's how to go about fixing it would be great. Thanks, steve Re: The effects of constant water on concrete and mortar 2Dec 20, 2011 5:06 am Water doesn't have any effect on cement so there shouldn't be a rush to do something. If you can't drain the water away I suppose you could make a sump and put a small submersible pump in it and use the water to water your garden. The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Recently I moved to a 30 year old house and found within few months there are small brown nests in the brick mortar and few small round holes in few places of brick… 0 22672 Grab a hose, insert it at the top of the inlet/down pipe and turn the water on and see where the water is escaping from. Then you'll know. 3 8452 Hi, I am planning to select San Selmo reclaimed original for the fascade of my build. I have seen many photos on line of the brick varying from a rustic to a neat finish.… 0 4569 |