mthomas1 Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Can anyone enlighten me about this foundation wall material and style of construction? House is Winnetka IL, and per tax records was built in 1917. - Thanks Click to Enlarge 52.28 KB Click to Enlarge 69.42 KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Hi, Similar past discussions here on TIJ: https://www.inspectorsjournal.com/forum ... erra,cotta https://www.inspectorsjournal.com/forum ... erra,cotta https://www.inspectorsjournal.com/forum ... erra,cotta ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mthomas1 Posted March 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Thanks, it certainly looked like vitrified clay tile in that pic by the water meter but I'd never before seen VCT without a "ribbed" surface, and large unit size and slightly curved edges in the pic by the dryer left me wondering if I could be looking at some sort of cast concrete block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 What street? It'll hold up houses just fine, but it's wet. Water always, unless it's in pure sand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mthomas1 Posted March 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Cherry E. of Green Bay and W. of ridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kibbel Posted March 26, 2010 Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 Thanks, it certainly looked like vitrified clay tile in that pic by the water meter but I'd never before seen VCT without a "ribbed" surface, and large unit size and slightly curved edges in the pic by the dryer left me wondering if I could be looking at some sort of cast concrete block. Structural terra cotta, unless it is intended to be exposed to the exterior (like silo tile), isn't vitrified. Terra cotta conduit was vitrified, but was never manufactured to be used as a building material. Obviously it has and has performed quite well. I've read that it was probably used in foundations and buildings in Chicago more than elsewhere. There's a rural area in South Jersey, near where much of the conduit was manufactured, where a large collection of different buildings were constructed with surplus and reject conduit. Click to Enlarge 24.09 KB Click to Enlarge 28.21 KB Click to Enlarge 29.19 KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted March 26, 2010 Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 Cherry E. of Green Bay and W. of ridge. Ridge, Green Bay, and Cherry all sort of come together right there in a triangle; can't be east of GB and W. of Ridge. No matter. There used to be a bunch of those all through that neighborhood. Lots of folks did an interior concrete wall with drain tiles, so a lot of them are no longer visible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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