Slab efflorescence at garage and outdoors

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

How would you report this?



Here's the outside of the house. It's like this pretty much everywhere. Yes, drainage could be improved. Do you think it is "significant"? I pulled back the carpet at many areas on perimeter walls and saw no signs of moisture.

[Mark E. Northrup]

Joe
Is there a crawlspace. In most cases the efflorescence shows up on the dry side. If it is a slab i would be concerned about the barrier underneath the slab. Do you have underground aquafers there. Is there any settling. From the pics it appears to be a slab foundation. Here we get alot of rain. And from the outside the foundation is stained and usually has moss/algae growing on it. And the efflorescence is on the inside. If it is a slab it maybe wicking moisture from underneath to the outside.
what does the ground look like is it swampy or is it frozen. How old is the house.
Mark

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

Originally Posted by mnorthrup

Joe
Is there a crawlspace. In most cases the efflorescence shows up on the dry side. If it is a slab i would be concerned about the barrier underneath the slab. Do you have underground aquafers there. Is there any settling. From the pics it appears to be a slab foundation. Here we get alot of rain. And from the outside the foundation is stained and usually has moss/algae growing on it. And the efflorescence is on the inside. If it is a slab it maybe wicking moisture from underneath to the outside.
what does the ground look like is it swampy or is it frozen. How old is the house.
Mark

Good questions. House < 10 years old. Slab foundation. CMU at the perimeter of the slab. Grading could be improved (relatively flat at the back and 1 side), but there was no standing water. House was sorta up on a small elevation compared to the surrounding properties. No settling. No cracks. I think it has to do with the CMU perimeter wall....that's what's soaking up the moisture. The wall has been parge coated and it is spalling off.

[Jeffery L. Haynes]

I had the same thing happen to a house in Charlotte I inspected......it became a deal killer.......... the client and the agent were both happy on how I reported it and they moved onto another deal.

I simply stated the following;
While the grade around the foundation is satisfactory, there is significant spalling to the exterior block veneer and extensive efflorescence to the interior of the garage foundation walls; this is indicative that moisture is wicking into the foundation. Presently there are no indications that this condition has affected the structural integrity of the foundation however further evaluation by a licensed general contractor is warranted to determine the origination of the moisture and what remedies may be necessary.

Privately I advised the client to have the homeowner to provide the last 12 months utility (water) bill to see if there may be an leak as well as speaking with neighbors about to see if they are aware of any underground springs in the area. When all was said and done they felt that there was an underground spring based upon the fact that the utility bills were about average for the neighborhood and the neighbors themselves said the yard was pretty much wet year long. The house by the way was 10 years old.

Hope that helps...

Jeff

PS. The house in Charlotte was on Waverly Lynn.......it has the same siding that your has...... it would be funny if its the same house. lol

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Joe, I might be off base here, but that interior pic sure looks like concrete when I blow up the picture.
Guessing from what I see, the broom and hoses, they might be washing the floor a lot and the car.
The perimeter joint floor to wall should be caulked to avoid all that water from migrating in the concrete which is enough to cause that efflorescence that we see.
Why it is yellow on the outside is beyond me, but if the grade would have been lower, the lawn mower wheels would stop scuffing the siding.