My mother in law wants me ( yeah I know) to finish her basement walls its the old fieldstone that at some time was cemeted or a cover up attempt with some plaster looking cement, anyone have experience finishing fieldstone walls interior, what do i use , she is adament that whatever i use the surface will stay in tact and not start to crumble and loosen up, all caulky and sandy as it is now. its my mother in law so i have to get it right
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Form and pour new walls inside the old walls, the ONLY sure fire fix.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj_oEx4-Mc4
I thought the only sure fire fix was making sure the mother in law was behind the new wall as it went up. a la The Cask of Amontillado.Well, it is the season for Mr. Poe, no?'Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt man doing it' ~ Chinese proverb
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It IS that season, my favorite.
Talk about a paradoxical time, Harvest the crops, and let go of the uneeded. Both gathering and letting go simultaneously.
Back to topic, I had 2 MIL's in my life, and they were both the best of friends with me, lucky I guess.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj_oEx4-Mc4
True, true. After all, they are someone's mother. But back to the hijack at hand. There is no better season than Fall. Halloween, Thanksgiving, ghosts, goblins, hoarfrost, candy, it's all dandy. Got to have that descent into darkness before you get to the hallway of light.There's a fellow that comes to Alexandria every Halloween that's a Poe impersonator. Quite good, too. http://www.davidkeltz.com/latestnews3.html'Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt man doing it' ~ Chinese proverb
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you could frame new walls in front and finish that way
The biggest problem is that moisture wants to wick through the masonry, leaching the lime out of the morar in the process causing the crumbly mess. Taking care of exterior drainage, like digging it out and using a waterproofing membrane on the outside, and providing excellent drainage, is the only way I know of to keep the interior perfectly dry and intact.
Tell her the only way to do that is to replace those crappy walls with new re-inforced crete.
Does she also have a '64 Dodge Dart she would like you to wave a wand over and turn it into a 2008 Lexus?
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I'm assuming you mean finishing as in a "finished basement".
Then everyone is right, but if you mean to keep it a basement just
point them.
she wants the fieldstone finished with cement not finished by installing walls, studs and sheetrock
Won't stay up as she has already seen.
She wants a succesful job and wants to say how to do it. Sounds like about 50% of average clients. Charge her more. DanT
Seriously, charge her more. We learn through pain or money. Some people never learn.
But at least you get duly compensated for your time.
Edited 10/26/2008 8:47 pm ET by popawheelie
Metal studs and sheetrock.I have gone over what we call rubble walls,similar to fieldstone with 1 -1/2" up to 2-1/2" metal studs. If the basement has any dampness,try to take care of that externally. Then I would use galvanized metal studs instead of plain metal.
mike
Knock all of the loose stuff off/out - repoint joints as required. Thoroseal the whole mess.
Jeff
Cold chisels and lump hammer. Get the chisels with the loose rubber grips, a couple of likely sizes. You might want to try a couple of different weights of hammer too.
As much as possible, work at chest level to keep muscle fatigue in check. Wear leather gloves and safety glasses or goggles. Work lights may help.
There are numerous pre-mixed motar products, some with epoxy, which are formulated to bond well with cruddy old motar. Check working time before buying.
Get a quality pointing trowel and a small hawk.
Kill MIL with trowel and allow hawk to feed before disposing of body. Know your Poe and your foe, bro. ;)
Don't forget the all important- Shop vac the
heck out of it. Use rather dry mud to avoid smearing on the face. PS
Still haven't dealt with the moisture problem...
PSStill haven't dealt with the moisture problem...
O.K.....P.S. Use a quality sealing product after the new motar has cured (suitably authoritative but vague enough to avoid responsibility).
That's an excellent, previously-unknown, use for a hawk.
Jeff