Parging · Ottawa
Parging repair in Ottawa
Korvex Construction repairs and replaces parging on foundation walls across Ottawa: the cement coating on the strip of foundation between the soil and your siding. We take off what is cracked or hollow, deal with the water behind it and re-coat the wall. Book a free on-site estimate for a written price.
- Parging coat
- Foundation wall
- Finished grade
Looking at the foot of an exterior wall, from the siding down to the soil.
- Siding or stuccoThe parging stops at its bottom edge; the joint is checked for gaps.Joint checked
- Parging coatTroweled onto the exposed band of the foundation wall.Troweled on in coats
- Foundation wallHollow and loose coating removed down to sound concrete or block.Sounded and cleaned
- Finished gradeShaped to fall away from the wall, so water does not sit at its foot.Falls away from the wall
What goes wrong
Why parging cracks and falls off in Ottawa
Parging is a thin layer of cement-based mortar troweled onto the exposed part of a foundation wall, from the soil line up to the siding. It gives the concrete or block a finished look and protects its surface. It is a rigid coat bonded to a wall that gets wet and moves, and Ottawa winters find every weak spot in that bond.
Water is the cause most of the time. Water that soaks into the coating, or collects behind it, expands as it freezes, and each cycle opens cracks and loosens the bond a little more. Soil that slopes toward the house, a downspout that empties at the wall or a garden bed piled against the foundation keeps the coating wet. Parging that runs below the soil line stays damp and usually fails there first.
The other causes are a coat that never bonded well because the wall was not prepared, and movement in the wall behind it. A crack in the parging can be a crack in the coating only, or it can follow a crack in the concrete. Telling the two apart comes before any new coat goes on.
The signs are easy to spot on a walk around the house: hairline cracks running across the band, pieces that have fallen off and left bare concrete or block, patches that sound hollow when tapped, white powdery deposits on the surface, and a gap opening between the parging and the siding above it.
A proper repair fixes the water first, then takes off every hollow and loose piece down to sound wall, prepares the surface and re-coats it. The result is a clean, even band along the foot of the house that sheds water and holds through the freeze and thaw.
How we build it
What a parging repair involves
New parging lasts when it goes onto sound, prepared wall and the water that ruined the old coat has somewhere else to go. Most of a good repair is preparation; the trowel work comes last.
- Sound it out
The wall is tapped along its length. Hollow-sounding coating has lost its bond, even where it looks whole.
- Find the water
Grade, downspouts, beds against the wall and window wells are checked, because water behind the coat is what pried it off.
- Down to sound wall
Loose material comes off and the surface is cleaned, so the new coat bonds to the wall itself.
- Clear the foot of the wall
Soil, mulch or stone piled against the parging is pulled back where it keeps the coating wet.
- Read the cracks
Cracks that run into the concrete are flagged before they are covered.
- Weather
Parging goes on above freezing and is protected from the weather while it sets.
What we build
Parging repair: the work we take on
Patch repairs
Cracked, hollow or spalled areas cut back to sound coating and sound wall, then re-parged to blend with the rest of the band.
Full re-parging
Where the coating has let go along much of a wall, the old parging comes off the exposed band and the wall is parged again.
Where parging meets siding or stucco
The coating is finished up to the bottom edge of the siding or stucco, and the joint between them is checked for gaps that let water behind.
When the ground is opened
When drainage, grading or patio work opens the ground along the house, the foundation it exposes can be looked at and parged while it is accessible.
Around vents, pipes and window wells
The coating is cut back and finished around everything that passes through the wall, where cracks tend to start.
Behind steps and beside patios
Foundation walls behind steps, beside patios and under low decks are part of the walk-around: water collects in those corners, and the coating there is easy to miss.
Cracks in the wall behind
A crack that continues into the concrete is pointed out before any coating goes over it, with our view on whether it needs a closer look first.
Related projects
Often part of the same job
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Related services
Often built together
Service areas
Parging repair across the Ottawa area
Soil, lot grading rules and house age change from one part of Ottawa to the next. Here is what that means for this work in each area.
On request: Gloucester, Carp, Richmond, Russell, Embrun. To check your street, call or text 613-880-7679.
- OttawaDownspouts on tight lots
Downspouts should discharge onto grass at least four feet from the foundation, and never onto a neighbour's yard or the sidewalk. On a narrow lot that leaves little room, so the downspout is planned together with the patio or deck.
FAQ
What homeowners ask about parging repair
What is parging?
Parging is a thin coat of cement-based mortar on the exposed part of a foundation wall, from the soil line up to the siding. It covers the bare concrete or block with an even finish and protects its surface from the weather. On most Ottawa houses it is the grey band you see along the bottom of the walls. It is a finish and a protective skin, separate from the damp-proofing on the buried part of the wall.
Why is my parging cracking and falling off?
Water gets into or behind the coating and freezes, which opens cracks and breaks the bond, and Ottawa winters repeat that many times. Soil sloping toward the house, a downspout at the wall, beds piled against the foundation and parging that runs below the soil line keep it wet. A poor bond from the start and movement in the wall behind also make it let go.
Will new parging stop water in my basement?
Parging protects the face of the wall, and it is not waterproofing: it cannot hold back water under pressure or stop moisture coming up through the soil. A dry basement depends on grading, drainage and the damp-proofing on the buried part of the wall. If water is coming in, Korvex looks at where it enters, and grading or drainage work may be the fix that matters.
Can you patch my parging, or does it all have to come off?
Patching works when most of the coating is still bonded: the cracked and hollow areas are cut back to sound material and re-coated. When the coating sounds hollow along much of the wall or falls off in sheets, patches keep letting go at their edges, and re-parging the band is the better repair. We tap the wall at the estimate and show you where it has let go. A fresh patch is usually a different shade from old parging at first.
Is a crack in my parging a crack in my foundation?
Sometimes. A crack can be in the coating only, or it can follow a crack in the concrete or block behind it. Korvex looks at where cracks run, how wide they are and whether they continue past the parging. Where a crack points to the wall itself, we tell you before covering it, and a significant one may call for a foundation specialist or a structural engineer to look first.
What do you check at a parging estimate?
We walk the foundation with you and tap the coating for hollow spots, look at every crack and where it goes, and check what keeps the wall wet: the slope of the ground, downspouts, garden beds, window wells, and soil or siding touching the parging. You get a written quote that says what comes off, what gets coated and what should be fixed around it.
When can parging be done in Ottawa?
Parging is mortar, and mortar needs temperatures above freezing to set, so on most Ottawa sites it is a spring-to-fall job. Rain or frost in the forecast also moves the day. The schedule comes with the written quote.
How is parging repair priced?
By the length of wall to be coated, how much old parging has to come off, what has to be fixed around it and how easily the wall can be reached. Korvex Construction sees the foundation in person anywhere in Ottawa and the suburbs, and the written price follows that visit. It also names what around the wall should be fixed first, such as a downspout or the slope of the ground, so the new coat does not fail the way the old one did.
Book a free parging estimate
Tell us what you want built and send a few photos. We come out, look at what sits under the job, and give you the scope and the price in writing.