Good morning,

My husband and I bought our first house together in the fall/winter of 2005. We had an inspection, and were never aware of any major problems. About 8 or 9 months ago we started having very damp and musty smells in the house, and bought a de-humidifier to see if it would help. It did take the smell out of the house, but after more inspection and investigating we came to realize it was dampness in our crawlspace basement that was the issue. This issue has also lead to deterioration in some bricks in a supporting wall, and there was a thin layer of ice build-up on the wall that was pointed out to use by an engineer that came for an inspection one day. I have spoken to two companies so far, who are giving me two different stories. One says YES YES, waterproof your basement, but we have to excavate around all 4 walls (it is only really one corner and part of one wall that is the problem). Another company is telling me that they would never recommend to waterproof a block wall foundation, and they want to lift the house and replace the whole foundation. While our first concern is the safety and security of the house, money is also an issue. We are newly married and cannot afford a complete makeover of the foundation. We want to do what is necessary to take care of the problem, but want to know what is best to do to take care of it. I hope I am making sense, and would so greatly appreciate any feedback anyone can offer me.

Thank you and have a great day.

quote:

(it is only really one corner and part of one wall that is the problem)

There's your answer. If that part of your wall is the problem, then all you will need to do is dig there and waterproof the wall there.

To be certain, you might do a hose test to eliminate other parts of the foundation as problem areas. If you scroll back through this thread. you'll find the procedure explained many times, both for the hose test, and for the waterproofing.

And any good mason can repair the parts of your wall that may have been damaged.