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I am having a house built and the foundation went in last week. We have 8′ walls and I inspected the pour after the forms were stripped and noticed what some call “honeycombing”. It’s about 2′ by 2′ in size and is about three feet from the bottom of the wall. Is this going to be trouble later down the road? or is it normal and they crew just did sloppy work here. I think it’s caused from not vibrating the air out of the concrete after it’s poured. It just looks awful and unstable. Any advice or comments appreciated.
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Hi Max,
You forgot to indicate the depth of the honeycombing and whether its interior or exterior.
If its shallow, not to worry, patch it and move on.
If you can see through it, fill it and once dry, apply a membrane patch on the exterior and coat with waterproofing spray.
Yes, it can be a product of sloppy workmanship or can just be bad luck.
Will your wall fall down, not likely.
Relax and enjoy your new home.
Gabe
*Hi Max,Honeycombing happens from time to time. The fact that you only had one spot instead of many probably means your crew had a little bad luck rather than it being poor workmanship. What Gabe said is right. If just a little bit of the aggregate is exposed, the crew can easily patch this area with some portland cement and a trowel.Even if the honeycombing depth is "slight", still have them patch it regardless. The smoother the exterior wall, the less chance for moisture to find a place to penetrate.Don't know what area you live in, and what waterproofing methods are used there, but at the very least, your foundation walls should be coated with tar, before backfilling. A waterproof membrane attached to the walls and then tarred overtop would be even better.And remember, the "key" to having a dry foundation, is to provide ample drainage lines that drain away from the homesite. Rainwater that gets carried away by french drains don't have a chance to penetrate your walls.Good luck on your new house.Davo
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Gabe
Thanks for yoour commnets - its about 1" in depth at the most and the total width of the wall is 8". I was unable to inspect the outside of the wall before it got backfilled so this spot is on the inside. Your right in that it was probably bad luck. Thanks.
*DavoWe are in the northeast, I can see the walls were coated with tar and drainage lines were placed at the footers. We have good slope around the house which is needed because the soil is all medium clay - no sand or gravel here. Thanks for your comments.
*Honeycomb is due to lack of proper vibration. Check the depth of the honeycomb by getting a hammer and chipping away to sound concrete. If it is just superficial (i.e. less than 1 1/2 inches) then use a dry pack mortar to patch the area. If the rebar can be seen, then this can affect the structural integrity of the wall. This can still be patched so long as you chip out ALL unsound concrete. Larger patches should use concrete rather than just mortar to repair.
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I am having a house built and the foundation went in last week. We have 8' walls and I inspected the pour after the forms were stripped and noticed what some call "honeycombing". It's about 2' by 2' in size and is about three feet from the bottom of the wall. Is this going to be trouble later down the road? or is it normal and they crew just did sloppy work here. I think it's caused from not vibrating the air out of the concrete after it's poured. It just looks awful and unstable. Any advice or comments appreciated.