Parging: Foundation Coating That Protects

An ICF foundation (insulated concrete form) is poured inside foam blocks, and that foam stays exposed above the ground once the house is backfilled. Sunlight breaks the foam down and it dents easily, so it needs a hard coat: parging. Foam moves with heat and cold more than concrete does, and a parge coat put straight on it cracks along the block joints and the plastic ties. So the coat has two parts: a base coat with fibreglass mesh embedded in it goes over the foam first, then the parging over the mesh, in the same texture as regular parging. Whole-perimeter jobs, new builds and older ICF homes alike. Send a few photos showing how much foam is exposed and we'll quote from them.

A new house comes with bare concrete showing above the ground: form-tie holes, seams and a rough top edge. New parging covers the whole perimeter with a cement coating that seals the concrete against water and gives the foundation a finished look under the siding or stucco. Proper waterproofing of the basement windows is included as standard on a new parging. Send a photo of the foundation and we'll quote from it.

Parging sections that have cracked, hollowed or fallen away needs attention, as it leads to a lack of protection for the foundation. Especially cracks on foundation walls would lead to water seepage into the foundation. We repair both.

The old coating comes off entirely and the wall gets prepped properly before anything new goes on. There's nothing like a new parging to protect the foundation. Proper waterproofing of the basement windows is included as standard on a new parging.

This is where we apply an acrylic stucco finish coat over the foundation walls instead of cement based parging. Acrylic parging is costlier, but it's also beautiful with it's smooth texture, durable and allows for the freedom to choose a color for your parging.