# Filling in old basement door entrance



## dedward (Jul 27, 2009)

Hi,
Trying to figure out my options for filling in an old basement door entrance. Previous owner secured a piece of chipboard to the exterior of the house by back filling it in with sand. They used insulation, vapour barrier and finally, another sheet of chipboard and caulking on the interior. It rotted. Wondering if I can do the same using pressure treated ply and better materials or if I should fill it in with cement. It is an older cement/crushed rock foundation. I have little experience working with cement but have a feeling that this would be the way to go. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks


----------



## Just Bill (Dec 21, 2008)

Not sure I understand what you are doing. Is that stuff in the old entrance?? If yes, it should be blocked up, tying the block into the existing wall, wood won't survive long.


----------



## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Is there already outside access to the basement?
I would never use any wood product - will not last long term

Most people want to dig out for access to the basement
Keep in mind any equipment down there that may need to be replaced/serviced
Our service man enters thru the basement to clean/sevice our boiler


----------



## dedward (Jul 27, 2009)

Yes, the previous owner closed the access by using wood products and backfilled the outside entrance with loads of sand. Unfortunately, they didn't quit there. They also built a deck over top of the area making it impossible to do any work on this project from the outside without ripping up the deck and removing all the sand. When I removed the rotting wood, some of that sand caved in to the basement. I have removed enough now that it would be possible to slide a sheet of ply wood between the sand and the entrance door. This may create an opportunity to build a form and fill with concrete from inside. Sorry if this sounds so confusing. It is such a mess! I've tried to attach a picture. Thanks


----------



## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

You really need to drill the sides of the existing wall & insert rebar to hold the new concrete in

I would pour concrete in sections to fix this
I would build a small form at the bottom & then pour concrete
Insert rebar in the sides (drilled) & in the top pointing up for the next section
Allow to dry, backfill & tamp as needed

Then cut out the next section & repeat the process

Cutting out too much at once could cause a collapse


----------

