I am building a detached two car garage and just had the footings, foundation walls, and slab/apron poured. After the walls were poured, I thought that everything was hunky dory as the contractor said that the forms were level and they marked it before they poured.
Fast forward a few weeks and my dad and I used a transit level and story pole to get the level of the foundation all the way around just to be sure. Turns out there was about a 1.3-1.5 inch difference between the height of the rear and front of the foundation walls. This out-of-level was pretty common all the way around the foundation.
Anyway, I asked the contractor to come fix it, so he came by and used this stuff to try and patch it and feather it to the high points:
I measured the level again today and it's still not perfect and in some cases it's not even close. What's most alarming to me is I've never framed anything before and I need to start in the next few weeks but I'm concerned that the state that this foundation is in is going to cause a lot of issues.
Here's some more pictures from after the "fix."
Do any of you all have advice on how to fix this myself or on how to explain to the contractor how it needs to be fixed? Or, is it okay how it is and the framed walls just need to be shimmed somehow?
Best Answer
Concrete that's "fixed" like this is sure to begin crumbling right after the contractor moves out of state. I'd be dissatisfied with this. As far as I'm concerned this is a breach of contract and is the contractor's responsibility, even as far as removing the entire thing and doing it over. That's out of scope for this site, though.
The only fix I'd DIY is to level the top wall plates and cut the studs custom to fit below. You'll then have to deal with the situation when you install siding, etc., so it is all parallel with the top plate. I would not fiddle with concrete repairs that may not hold up well.
One possible fix by others that I might deem satisfactory would be to have a skilled mason lay a shorty block row on the footings, level on top, and built up with mortar below where needed. That could be poured full of concrete to retain the integrity of the current foundation.