no mortar joints in block foundation

[Anonymous]

Hi,

My husband and I are shopping around for a house and we veiwed one today but had some concerns with the foundation. It is a cinder block foundation but there are no mortar joints. I think the blocks were stacked and then mortar poured into them. We could see some mortar spilling out in a few areas. Is this type of foundation construction normal? I think the mortar must have been less thick to accomplish this and therefore probably weaker.

Any comments appreciated
Sandy Jones

[Rich]

I was going to wait until Shanley got here but I'll give it a go. I think is what you're seeing is a full cell fill wall. I don't think it should cause any due concern if it is that way - it's more like a cast in place concrete wall then.
Anyway - hopefully Shanley will stop by and give his professional opinion.

[Shanley]

Your right, the grout (Cement,fine aggregate, water) typically used to fill the cells of the block is wetter than mortar. We pour grout in commerical building block bearing walls with an 8-10 slump. This does not weaken grout because the very porous block absorbs the water so rapidly that the high water/cement ratio is negated. I would verify that the walls are grouted and, if so, they should be fine.

[Anonymous]

Ah, sounds reasonable. Thank you so much for your advice. We will confirm with the current homeowner and eventually have an architectural inspector inspect this house.


Thanks
Sandy Jones