So here's an esoteric question for any engineers out there. My wife and I are looking at buying a house that, at least within a few years, should have the hundred year old concrete perimeter foundation replaced. There is a very awkward basement with little access, and given the landscaping around it and access issues in the basement, it will be a logistical bear to do the typical thing of digging out around it, bracing, cutting out the old foundation, putting in rebar, forming and pouring new and sliding a mudsill above. The basement by the way is awkward, very low in height and has no working equipment in it. The furnace there could be left to rot and ductless heat pumps used mounted on the roof.
A friend told me he was in a similar position once and just pumped the basement full of concrete. Expensive in material as it was a ton of concrete, but it left him feeling secure. On the one hand this sounds ludicrous to me, but I want to make sure I'm not missing a potentially more straightforward way to address this soft foundation. Anyone try this?
