Foundation Renovation

Hello, I have an old farmhouse and over time the concrete foundation has eroded (see photo). How do I repair something like this? Just brush off the dirt, apply a concrete primer, and then put new concrete in front? Will that hold?

Hello Merli,
by foundation you mean the lower base area that extends to the lowest point of the foundation sole. It is already great that the horizontal barrier layer can be seen, i.e. that rising water is blocked below the clinker base and cannot rise up the walls. Now you "only" have to take care of the vertical barrier. Basically, the entire wall would have to be completely excavated for this (caution with buildings with basements and deep trenches, possibly consider shoring and the angle/distance of the backfill to the trench!).

Then chip off the old plaster / damaged concrete, clean the wall from soil and roots and let it dry as long as possible. Then apply a cement mortar plaster in 20mm thickness or up to the required height of the wall (good moistening of the old wall should be sufficient) and create it as a smooth plaster. Various sealing methods can then be applied to the dried plaster, from bitumen coating to sealing slurries and silicification to perimeter insulation with insulation boards. This depends on your needs and the building - whether it has a basement or not and whether there is living space behind the wall or just a "normal" basement etc. You can also consider drainage. The alternative to infiltration and draining is sealing the ground around the house and draining rainwater away from the walls on the regular slope of the sealing (paving, slabs, etc.).

Regards
Allrounder

Hello, I have an old farmhouse and over time the concrete foundation has eroded (see photo). How do I repair something like this? Simply brush off dirt, apply concrete primer and then new concrete in front? Will that hold?

It does hold, but it no longer fulfills the purpose of a foundation.

Regards Waldemar