What could cause this...

[Richard A. Moran, 2nd]

While doing a HUD inspection in a foreclosed home yesterday I found something very odd in the basement. As I was going down the steps I thought I saw what looked like bullet holes in the block foundation. It is not unusual to find crazy stuff in foreclosed homes. Upon closer examination I discovered that the source was not from "my" side of the wall but from inside the brick or from the "other" home next door. These homes share a party wall. This condition was only on that one wall. My first guess was somebody was doing work on the other side and shot something into the wall. This is cinder block and as such would be 6-10" thick so my second guess is that something has reacted with stuff in the block and expanded it causing the stuff near the surface to break through.
Anyone ever see something like this?

[Marcel Gratton]

*Pyrite*

http://www.consommateur.qc.ca/acqc/PyriHouse.pdf

[Richard A. Moran, 2nd]

Thanks Marcel for the quick reply. It looks similar but the conditions are not the same. The home I inspected does not have any backfill behind the wall in question. The walls that are backfilled are OK. The wall in question is the party wall between two townhome basements. I would guess that these cinder blocks are hollow and maybe have concrete and rebar inserted during construction to strengthen the wall but I am not sure. I looks like the material that was used to build the blocks was contaminated but why only this wall and not the other three?

[Jeffrey R. Jonas]

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/...your-basement/

[Richard A. Moran, 2nd]

Hi Jeff. Funny.....

My mother was from Meire Grove MN
[http://www.city-data.com/city/Meire-...innesota.html]


Thanks and stay warm...

[Doug Edwards]

Ah, the good old days when you could shoot your guns in your own basement. Today you would set off such a panic the SWAT guys would descend on you like a herd of locusts and the hue and the cry for more gun controls would permeate the airwaves for months. There would be Congressional investigations and committees set up to study this basement shooting gallery thingy and wackos who own guns for sport shooting or just plinking beer cans. They would blame Bush, Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney for the resurgence in recreational shooting due to their involvement with the NRA and hunting. I can see it all now.....a new crisis!

[Martin A. Jorgensen]

Basement Shooting Gallery Czar!

[Doug Edwards]

lol....exactly! Where you live on the island? I used to live up in Waianae, about half way up a ridge line of one of the mountains overlooking Pokai Bay. Best sunsets in the world, every night. I miss living there. If not for my bride we would be living there today. Florida girl had to come home.