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Paint Building a Home Exterior

Any foundation wall finish advice?

last year

We had the foundation poured with a brick pattern and thought it would look good with our exterior colors. It needs something. Any advice would be appreciated. Originally thought about paint or stain but contractor recommended against it. Could do stone veneer but already over budget.

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Comments (13)

PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
last year
What does your contractor recommend?
Joe Blow
Original Author
last year
He mentioned possibly a stucco or some type of veneer... just said he hadnt seen a concrete paint or stain that looks good over time
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The crew that formed and poured for an outbuilding on our property framed 2x4's 16" o.c. and skinned with 1/2"osb. The ties were placed 6"from the corners and where the forms butted, and every 16" in the field of the forms.They used 3/8" rebar. After the footings were poured, they formed the whole stemwall and poured the stemwall complete.If you can do this, it would probably be a better pour, as pouring sections might result in weak joints where the existing and new come together. Have you considered block foundation? Looks great,you can work it at your leisure, and will support the weight of your structure easily, although i would still fill each cavity with crete.Jon's advise of getting ready mixed is great advise as a stemwall would be hard to keep up with using a mixer ,especially if your flying solo!
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It can be done. Looks like a reworked/re-purposed porch that used 4x4 treated post for the foundation. It appears as if the 2x4's were just used to hold the plywood skirting. If this is the case. A steel I beam or 4x4 post could be slid under the joist behind the wall (back about 24" from the outside wall. Cribbing and jacks then used to raise the room slightly (enough to remove all of the wood) and support the room. Now it gets expensive.. Trench it for a concrete footer to be poured. Lay block, cap block and Ground contact treated 2x8 on top of it for the wall to be lowered onto. Remove the beam and cribbing. It takes a person in the know, some careful planning and measuring in order to get the room to sit level on top of the new foundation once lowered onto it. Only people that should tackle such a project are ones that work in the concrete and block laying industry with experience in constructing block foundations. ==== And to add>> >> If you jack a room or house up enough to remove the old foundation and install new. Some sheetrock damage on the inside walls may occur and should be expected..
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PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
last year
That is good advice.
kl23
last year
Ugh! I feel your pain! Too bad the contractor didn't think about the color of the concrete when he was pouring it, especially since the concrete is SO visible. I do think it was smart to use a form that makes a brick look. I have a block pattern put on my foundation. In your vision, what color would you make the foundation if you could? The mud color? Any chance it will age nicely? Any chance the foundation plantings will cover it? Any chance you will be adding a patio or other concrete that will help it fit in? Any chance you can live with it awhile to see if it ages ok? If not, maybe you can add stone veneer later.
kl23
last year
Ugh! I feel your pain! Too bad the contractor didn't think about the color of the concrete when he was pouring it, especially since the concrete is SO visible. I do think it was smart to use a form that makes a brick look. I have a block pattern put on my foundation. In your vision, what color would you make the foundation if you could? The mud color? Any chance it will age nicely? Any chance the foundation plantings will cover it? Any chance you will be adding a patio or other concrete that will help it fit in? Any chance you can live with it awhile to see if it ages ok? If not, maybe you can add stone veneer later.
Joe Blow
Original Author
last year
Once we put in septic we will grade up and hide some of the height you see currently. We can probably hide some with landscaping but the licht concrete is so stark i think it needs something even if we had mature landscaping.
Sigrid
last year
Foundation shrubs
cat_ky
last year
I would like that foundation the same color as your house is. I have to agree with you, its too stark. It may be more maintenance, but, I would paint it.
kl23
last year
Been thinking about this... How about this plan. Shop around for the stone veneer you hope to put on. Choose a paint color as close to the stone color as you can get, a dark charcoal grey maybe? Paint the foundation. Save up for the veneer.
WestCoast Hopeful
last year
On the backside of our house there is more exposed concrete than I imagined. We are working on adding more plants to help with it. But we will keep them in pots as I don’t want plants right up against the house
functionthenlook
last year
I don't like concrete stain either. It acts more of a paint than a stain. I've used it before and it doesn't last. I know it sounds unorthodox, but I use wood stain on concrete. I've done a driveway and walkway with wood stain and it held up well. It doesn't chip or peel like paint. I also used wood stain on the concrete figures I have in the yard at camp.
PRO
Charles Ross Homes
last year
Concrete is porous. I'd recommend waterproofing of the above-grade portion of the foundation as well as below grade--albeit with different materials. One material to consider for the exposed portion is UGL Drylok Concrete and Masonry Waterproofer which can be tinted https://www.drylok.com/products/drylok-original-masonry-waterproofer
kl23
last year
Sorry. Should clarify. I said paint. I meant color. I don't know what the best colorant would be

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