Foundation Wall Dress Up is about how this Architect firm can value engineer methods to improve the appearance of foundation walls on a low budget.
Above is one view of the final installed result. It also includes a new Solar Equipment Utility Yard as part of it. Incorporates aesthetic niceties such as the new foundation top trim board continuing off the foundation wall and becoming part of the new utility fence. Nice artistic treatments.
This is what the foundation wall looked like BEFORE it was “dressed up.” The original masons didn’t bother much with trying to make the concrete block wall mortar very neat.
The homeowners wanted to spend a small amount to dress up the existing painting concrete block foundation wall (which the original masons did not waste much time in finishing 6 years ago). One expensive way would have been to coat the foundation wall with either native stone, or cultured stone. The price for the cultured stone delivered, would have been around $14,000 (including cultured stone, galvanized lath and type S mortar). The labor on top of that would have been around $11,000. So around $25,000 to coat the 2 foundation walls from the edge of the garage wall, around the corner and to the inside corner under the dining room cantilever. Unfortunately, that’s about $24,000 MORE than the owners wanted to spend. In other words, the owners wanted this dress up to cost around $1,000.
What? How would that be possible? Well: here’s how:
A. The Architect creatively conceived an artistic solution to improve the appearance of a portion of the existing foundation wall for a minimal cost.
1. Owner already had the very high quality 5 gallon bucket of Olympic 10 year solid Stain & Sealant in the desired color (russet). Cost was around $223.
2. 24 PT 2x12x8 #1 SYP cladding boards. Plus one #2 SYP PT 2x6x8. Plus one #1 SYP PT 2x12x10. Cost around $600.
3. Tapcons 3/16″ x 3-1/4″ star drive screws to secure the 2×12 trim boards to the foundation wall. 300. Cost around $275.
4. Two 5-paks of Bosch 6″ long hammer drill bits. Lowes. Approximately $20.
Total material & tool costs $1,118.
Labor costs: sweat equity of owner.
This project for one person took along time. Started in the late fall, ripping a 45 degree angle along one edge of the 2×12 boards. See photo below:
Note: this is hard to do. And dangerous. Not recommended for one person. The boards try to pull out of square along the guide rail. Best to hire a licensed Contractor. And all this saw blade usage adds up. You have to replace the blade at some point.
Then winter came and the boards were covered with a tarp.
Come spring, Owner stained the boards. See below:
Come summer, the owner drilled holes for the screws in the boards, then laid up the boards, one row at a time, using small pieces of wood blocking to hold them in place while the owner drilled through the holes in the boards and into the concrete block foundation wall, then screwed in the tapcons. See below:
Then, the owner sanded the holes to remove rough spots. Also used an orbital sander to even out rough spots between boards.
Then filled the sanded holes with DAP sealant (already had in his garage storage). Then had to install more sealant, as the first layer sunk in.
Then sanded the final layer of sealant.
Then stained the boards a final time for a nice finish coat.
Projects like this are not for the faint-hearted. That’s about a half-ton of boards. Lots of walking back and forth. Lots of sweat and sore muscles.
And the corner trim board: and important step. And having a DeWalt compound miter-chop-saw is useful.
SEE THE HOME ARCHITECTS TO DESIGN YOUR NEXT CUSTOM HOME.