I have a friend who owns a house who believes it was built in 1968. The basement is in immaculate condition-- completely dry. The walls are poured cement and you can see where the forms were taken off the wall after it was poured. My question -- did they pour walls back in 1968 or was cinder block the building material used? I think the house was renovated within the last 15 years. My friend and I are baffled. Thanks!
Glue is not going to work for you... You should put a vapour barrier down first (under the bottom plate). This can be 'Sill gasket' (which is foam on a roll about 6 wide...) or tar paper or even just 6 mil plastic. This will prevent the bottom plate from 'drawing moisture' through the concrete. Usually a basement floor is only a few inches (at best) deep of concrete and then there's stone and dirt below that. Moisture will pass through concrete over time and if the conditions are right, mould will grow in a few years... in your bottom plate and lower studs. I always use tar paper, set the position of the bottom plate, drill with a concrete bit and then use a hammer-in type anchor... These anchors work like a pin driven down through a hollow shaft that expands. You drill right through the bottom plate and the floor, set one of these in the top of the board and whack it with a hammer to pound the pin into the hollow shaft that you stuck in the hole in the wood... works awesome, easier and cheaper than tapcons and really strong at one every 16 or so (between the vertical studs). Home Depot has them by the box in different sizes... Good Luck!
They have used concrete since the 1800s. Foundation walls are probably original.
Yes we had concrete back then, and yes they did pour walls, in 1968, cement was used in the days of the Romans, I am 70 yrs old and in 1968 i was getting discharged from the Army, [19 yrs old ] cinder block wasn't,t used for foundation ,s al tho most people think , we were still in the dark ages back then, we had cars that got 30 to 40 mpg, wages were $4.50 an hr we walked to school. and didn't, lock our Doors at night. and had to pump our water, and split wood for heat,
Yes (and as 2 other people already said) Concrete was in use long before then, in fact it is very much in use then, also if the walls are in real good shape that means they didn't pour cheap and let it cure long enough before moving on! Pour cheap basically means that when pouring concrete you mix several ingredients and if you cheapen the mix (more for non load bearing walls) or don't let it cure long enough (which final curing takes years) (see sources below for better explaining) Another way to find out if they re-poured 15 years ago is to look for support beams that look like they have been clamped onto!
