Stone Foundations: Basic guide

Dan Bloom, June 9, 2015

What is a foundation?
A foundation is a structure that creates a strong, level base on which to
build. It’s critically important that the foundation is properly built and
levelled, otherwise there will be serious problems elsewhere in the house.
Improperly done foundations caus e settlement issues, wall cracking,
bowing, water penetration and a host of other issues.

Natural stone has been used for thousands of years until as recently as
about the 1940s. Its main attributes are high compressive strength,
incredible durability and local availability.

The type of stone foundations we deal with in the Ottawa area are all built
the same way: Two walls (or wythes) of stone each 8 inches thick are
built facing opposite directions with a 4 -inch space in between. This space
is filled with grout; essentially a liquid lime based mortar and the stone
wythes are pointed up and sealed. Almost all the stone foundations in
Ottawa are made with the same stone, local limestone.

Many different qualities of stonework are used, depending on the

structure and the mason. Most of the ones in the Ottawa area are
described below.

Fully Pitched Scotch Bond – This was the Cadillac of stone foundations in the
19th and early 20th century. All stones are mostly squared and they have
the faces pitched. This creat es the “breasted” look and allows a straighter
building line. Each stone is carefully worked by the mason at various
angles and a series of rules is followed when laying out the pattern.
Roughly Squared Scotch Bond – The is a medium grade of stonework. The
stones are squared, but with a relaxed tolerance. Some stones are joined
at matching angles, if convenient. The faces of the stones are pitched
only when necessary to get the stones in the wall line so the breasti ng is
less apparent.
Random Rubble – The lowest grade of stonework, but also an art form if
done properly. This pattern involved simply using whatever stone was on
the top of the pile and laying it where it fit. Corners would be built with
the largest and most square stones. The very littl e cutting that was done
was usually with a stone hammer to simply to knock off a chunk to make
a piece fit. The beauty of random rubble is that is was usually built with
materials found on the site itself.
Almost all interior walls foundation walls are random rubble of varying
degrees. People didn’t care what the inside walls looked like, especially
since they were often parged, painted or whitewashed anyway.

Typical stonework on interior foundation wall

A stone foundation has some special characteristics when compared to

other foundation types (concrete, block or site mix).
1. Water penetration
A stone foundation is great at dealing with water for a few reasons. Since
it’s so thick (20″+), small amounts of water that penetrate into cracks
simply get absorbed and evaporated out by the mass of masonry. Try
spraying a hose on a stone foundation, or dumping a jug of water on it
and you will see it disappear. It’s amazing how much water the wall can
absorb before the saturation point. The grouted centre is usually bone dry
and crumbly, and this also helps sponge up the water as it penetrate the
stone. The water is then evaporated out naturally.

2. Compressive strength
Natural stone has one of the highest compressive strengths of all the
building materials. Since the stone is formed in layers built up over
millions of years and squeezed together by clima te changes, heat and
pressure, the final product is densely compressed. You would have to
stack up blocks of stone 3km high before the block on the bottom got
crushed. This is why it’s great for foundations.

3. Durabilty
Of all masonry products (brick, con crete, block, man-made products, etc.)
natural stone is by far the most durable. Bricks and concrete both
deteriorate with water penetration; bricks cannot be placed below grade
and are usually hollow on the inside; concrete always pits and cracks and
is hard to repair. Stone, on the other hand, will almost never experience
the same problems. It came from the ground and it can be buried for
1,000 years and it will still look the same. It rarely erodes, it is easily
repaired and is a natural product.

Stone foundations haven’t been used much since the 1950s because new,
cheaper methods were discovered, such as poured concrete and concrete
block. Both these types are faster to construct and require less skilled
labour. But they also don’t last as long. So if yo ur stone foundation is
over 100 years old, don’t worry: with a little maintenance, it will easily
last another 100 years and beyond!