December 25, 2025
Recently, I inspected a 150 year old home located exactly next to a busy road – a state highway in fact.
When the house was first built, the road was only a dirt road, and only hosted horses and carriages.
But over the years, the road was built up, encroaching ever closer to the house. And then the automobile came along, and soon we had paved roads.
150 years ago, homes were constructed with granite blocks and fieldstones. The fieldstones were literally taken from the surrounding fields located around the home.
The fieldstones were dry-stacked along the around the perimeter of the excavated basement cavity. And then the house was framed on top of the foundation.
And typically, barring any severe incidents of erosion or water intrusion, these types of foundations can last indefinitely if not disturbed, altered and/or updated.
However, this type of foundation can be problematic in modern times.
First of all, as we impose larger weight loads inside these older home in the form of larger pieces of furniture and big screen tv’s, we change the dynamic of the house. The heavier loads push down on the foundation, which was not constructed to support heavy loads.
Secondly, as previously mentioned, home inspectors often encounter foundations that have been altered. By altered, we are referring to when the joints / openings between the fieldstones are filled in, often times in at attempt to prevent water and air infiltration.
And lastly, when one of these older homes is located too close to a busy road, the vibrations from passing cars, and even more so passing semi-trucks, can actually cause portions of the foundation to be vibrated loose / dislodged.
How do you correct for this type of situation?
Alterations or upgrades to the foundation need to be made to correct for the damage caused by the vibrations. Poured Concrete buttresses can be installed around the interior perimeter of the basement to hold the fieldstone foundation in place.
The bottom line is, older foundations are a fixture of many of the homes we have here in New Hampshire as well as throughout New England. We just need to treat these old homes and foundations with more consideration.
Merry Christmas to all!
Mike McCarty
First Choice Home & Commercial Inspection Services
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