r/stonemasonry:

u/BrimstoneOmega

DO NOT WIRE BRUSH CULTURED STONE
u/BrimstoneOmega

You again? And you’re wildly wrong again? Color me surprised….
u/BrimstoneOmega

For sure!
u/BrimstoneOmega

Yes. Good drainage stopping the water before it gets in will always help. Make sure the gutters are good (or even exist) and stop any water that may pool against the house from doing so. I’ve done masonry for 20 years. I wouldn’t let that foundation be the reason I didn’t buy this house. Looks fine to me.
u/BrimstoneOmega

It’s all hypothetical right now, because that place could be perfectly fine. But no, you can’t fix something like that from the inside. Trying to do so would not address the main issues and could even lead to trapping water in the wall which would be bad. The foundation would need to be excavated. The damaged walls rebuilt or repaired. House may need to be lifted off the foundation. Horror show. I don’t think any of that is the case with this place though. But I’m not there, and also just a random on the internet. This is an enormous decision for you. If something in your gut is telling you to run, then run.
u/BrimstoneOmega

I get what you’re saying. And yes this could be a sign of water coming in. Yes, efflorescence comes predominantly from water intrusion, but can also come from condensation between the brick and interior walls or even just condensation forming in the basement. If you have any reservations, I would maybe look at a different place. If it is bad, or on its way to becoming bad, this is not an insubstantial repair. Will likely cost upwards of $40-100k to actually fix. But this isn’t because they are brick. A brick or block foundation isn’t inherently bad. Bad work is bad.
u/BrimstoneOmega

Not if it’s done right. But that could be said about a lot of things. Homes in England are made completely from brick at times. And those times are centuries ago. That said, water intrusion is damage. If water is getting in that’s a problem, but it is not exclusive to brick. Any foundation, regardless of material, with water coming in is going to be a problem down the road.
u/BrimstoneOmega

Looks fine. Do you notice any damage anywhere? Hard to tell in the pictures but it looks fine to me.
u/BrimstoneOmega

Lol, no.
u/BrimstoneOmega

And I’ve taught 15 year old girls to do it. But you see, that’s just it; both the 15 year old and the 70 year old had an instructor with them to teach them how to do it. This happened because someone that isn’t a mason painted the bricks. Could have been a DIYer. The amount of things that can go wrong, or be done wrong, or make the issue worse is why I say no. Is it hard? Nope. Is it something that needs to be done right? Yes. Edit: every damn time I type need and am not paying attention it turns into nerd lol