We’ve been fixing stone basements and doing stone foundation repair projects throughout the state of Michigan for almost two decades. I’m going to share the typical costs of stone basement repair projects that we’ve completed over the years. If your here looking for a stone basement repair contractor and want to set up an assessment and stone basement repair quote visit Here. We work exclusively on stone basements and stone crawl spaces, many of our projects are pre-1900 farm houses. Several companies offer solutions nowadays for stone basements which range from problematic to downright unnecessary. I’ll talk about some of those as well and share why you might want to avoid those.
Stone Basement Tuckpointing Costs
Much of the work we do on stone foundations is tuck-pointing. A lot of our customers have stone basements and crawl spaces where the mortar joints between the stones have deteriorated, are crumbling and creating a mess on floor below, or are missing altogether. Basement that are older than around 1910 tend to run less than 400 sq’ to 500 sq’. Often times they are around 18’x25′, so they are small compared to today’s standards. These older home almost always have several additions and usually those are crawl spaces.
Projects over the last 20 years or so that fall in this 1910 or older category have a cost range of $4300-$6500 dollars for spot repairs and extensive tuck-pointing. This range reflects foundation repair projects where the walls are basically where they need to be, there isn’t any bowing or areas of collapse. Tuckpointing and small spot repairs are all that are needed. These projects typcally take 2-3 days depending on the size of the crew.
Cost Summary for Tuckpointing Stone Basement Repairs
- Pre 1910 Projects typically take 2-3 days
- Spot repairs and extensive tuck-pointing are needed
- Walls are intact and where they are supposed to be (no collapse)
- Stones are basketball size or smaller
- Cost range is $4500-$6500
Larger Stone Basement Repair Project Costs
We do a lot repair on stone basements that are much larger than a few hundred square foot. It seems like the foundations that were built between 1910-1930 were much larger. Sometimes these approach 2000 sq’ and have several different rooms. Tuckpointing isn’t rocket science, but it’s pretty tedious and it takes longer when the basement is larger. The size of the stones in the wall make a huge difference in the cost because smaller stone take about twice as long tuck-point compared to stone that are larger than a basketball. One thing we’ve noticed is that these larger basements often use larger stones and helps to offset the costs that come with a larger basement with more wall area.
These larger stone basements (800-2000 sq’) that require spot repairs and tuck-pointing have a cost range of $5800 to $8500 typically. Keep in mind this doesn’t take into account any extensive repairs or re laying stone, fixing collapsed walls, adding glass block windows, or difficult to enter areas.
How to not Waste Money Fixing Your Stone Basement
Over the last few years we have been seeing a few companies offering different services on stone foundations that are probably a really bad idea. One that comes to mind is applying spray foam over the wall surface to “hold it all together”… This is a horrible idea and I strongly recommend against it. When you go to see your home or get a loan against it, your inspection report will be unable to address the structural integrity of the foundation and that will be a big problem.
Another thing we’ve seen recently is companies offering shotcrete. They basically put some rebar agains the wall and shot Crete the surface. This works in some situations. We sometimes use it on basements that have an earthen berm around the perimeter. Using it on the entire wall surface of a stone basement where the walls are where they need to be and it is structurally sound is complete waste of money. It’s just not needed. And it’s pretty expensive. Stone doesn’t rot and simply maintaining the mortar joints with proper tuck-pointing methods is a much better choice and it costs a fraction of the money.