what do honeycomb and cake have to do with cracks in your foundation?

we recently visited a home in SW Calgary and came across some unconsolidated areas in their foundation (bottom right in the pic above.) we call it ‘honeycomb’.

these areas formed because when the concrete was poured, it didn’t come together as a homogenous mixture. To explain how this happens and why it’s a problem, we’re gonna head to the kitchen.

making concrete and pouring a foundation is a lot like baking a cake: you need the right ingredients in the right proportions, mixed in the right order and way to ensure the recipe works.  

first, the ingredients. concrete is made up of three of them: water, cement and aggregate. within the aggregate, there is sand and silt to bind the mixture together.

once the concrete is mixed, it gets pumped into a form. just like cake batter, prior to the mixture setting, air bubbles need to be removed. when making a cake, you tap the pan down to help the mixture settle; when mixing concrete, you need to vibrate it to remove the air bubbles.

so what happens if you don’t vibrate the mixture enough? the aggregate may cure (harden) and create these unconsolidated areas or honeycomb. why could this be a problem? because WATER can get through it and we know that water can create some serious damage if it gets inside your home.

ff you notice any of these Honeycomb areas in your foundation (they can form inside or outside on the foundation), check for water penetration and then give us a call!