Like a lot of people here, I have a water issue in my basement. It is a poured concrete wall and the water comes from the wall/floor joint with some water coming in the cracks in the basement floor. BTW I only get water down there on a hard rain. I'd love to excavate the outside and waterproof the foundation wall and put in a drain tile but this isn't feasible because I have an attached garage that with a thickened slab on one end of my house so I know if I just dig the three sides I'm still going to get some water on that 4th side where the garage is connected.

Now I would love to finish my basement but obviously have to get this dealt with first. My plan is to seal the cracks in the floor (I haven't decided on what yet). I then plan to install ceremic tile on the whole basement floor, hopefully sealing the floor. Now I have to deal with the water coming in along the edge of the wall. I've thought about the baseboard method but I'm far from sold on that. I could do the interior drain tile but that seems like a lot of work for something that I'm not sure will work or not. I'm just going around in circles with this. I know folks have differing opinions on interior vs exterior fixes but realistically, those guys who have done interior work - have you seen pretty decent success rates? Being that the water seems to be coming up through the floor, I'm not even sure an outside fix would work. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Jay: I don't like the baseboard systems,although I have seen some use them with limited sucess. I would suggest an interior gravel and tile system with the perforated tile plumbed to a sump pit[perforated, 30 in. deep and packed in clean gravel] That should be discharged away from the home to an existing drainage/wherever local code requires. It is a lot of work, but this is what is done in new homes in my area[Ohio]The tile should be next to the footer not on top of it, and should also be packed in clean washed gravel.I also like to use a 2 pump system, with the primary pump in the bottom of the crock,and the secondary pump a little higher. This way if the primary fails the secondary will pick up the slack.Some of My customers like to also have that secondary pump be a battery powered or d.c. pump in case of apower outage. You can find qualified contractors in your area that will be able to show you all the options available[inside,baseboard,outside] by going to www.nawsrc.org,it's a good source of info.Respectfully, Frank O'Pinion

Wow frank, that is a great website, thanks a million.

lolol, hey, if thats such a great site, why are you guys, and some other Inside co posting over here? And then to come on here and post under erroneous nics, then change back to their other nic and answers quest`s and make it sound like inside systems are what people need is pure bs, talk about playing games with the public, you guys are good at that

folks, sure, go over there and ask questions, you`ll find that most-just about all of their answers/supposed-best-solutions to your problems will be the use of inside systems.yup, you want an inside system call Frank & the others... you want 'ALL' the facts ya better call someone else... got milk?

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061203/NEWS/612030416


6th para..........
http://www.yodergroup.com/concrete.asp


City of Shaker Heights, OHIO
--WET BASEMENTS Q-A 1 and 5....

http://www.shakeronline.com/dept/building/FAQ.asp


--damage caused by clay-expanding-contracting SOIL on the Outside of Bsmt Walls, roots can also damage a wall. --BASEMENT WALLS

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/publications/marineclay.htm#2

You see/read where they tell ya you need an Inside Drain Tile System or an Inside Baseboard System....huh? lol, hardly!

Hey Frank, others at NAWSRC, can Richard and I come over to YOUR website and post-inform folks of ALL the facts, like here?

LW,

You should probably think before you reply. Not everyone is shady like you! Its guys like you that give us all a bad name.

Before I typed this response I had to go and read some of your other posts to see who the heck you are. Dude, you really need to think before you spew words all over the place. I had a question, he answered. He gave me a website to check out and I did. I explained why exterior work would not work on the one side, simple I thought. In fact, I have free access to a backhoe and I would rather do it that way, it would be a **** of a lot easier than ripping apart the interior of my basement. But I'll be ****ed if I'm going to do three sides and still leave the one side vulnerable and have to do something else to deal with that other side. That makes no sense at all. Why are you so hostile on alternative ways of doing things? Heck I build houses for a living and I talk to my competition all the time about different ways of doing things, we even loan each other equipment.
You sound like you would rather club someone over the head rather than have a civilized conversation with them.
Oh and for the record - I authorize the owners of this site to disclose to you the location of my IP address, when you compare it to the other guy you think I am, you will see we are not the same people. I sincerely hope you are not as angry to your customers as you are on here, if so I see why you have time to be here all the time flaming people.

you people are messed up, obvious to me the games you play. not just here, talking about with homeowners, been proven throughout posts, keep em coming, not gonna bllcht me and some others.

Don't mean to jump into the middle of anything, but I want just want to make the comment that if LWP lived anywhere close to PA, I'd hire him in a second to waterproof my basement from the outside before I'd let anyone talk me into allowing the water to come through the wall with the intent to divert it around the perimeter to the sump. Look up any inside companies on the BBB site. The complaints get resolved, but why so many complaints? I'm speaking generally and I realize that, but LWP has given me hope that come spring I can fix my problem myself without putting someone else's kid through college. Just my 2 cents.

JBuzz

Jbuzz

If you hired LW to dig your house up it may work, it depends on your problem. That’s what he will not tell you. He would give you no warranty. I know this because I have asked him many times. If you still have water after he’s done he will tell you that, your inside drainage is not working. Yes, there are some bbb complaints on waterproofing companies. There are over 7000 water roofers in the US you can maybe find 100 with bad reports. Why the still get work, is beyond me? Also the companies that LW likes to bash are 50-100 employees. That do 50 to 100 times the work he dose. So, if I was a one man show I would probably never have a problem. The fact of the mater is most of the people on this blog are trying to give good advice, and are opened minded to the best fix for the home owner. We do both inside and out side work. Lots of both, he only dose outside. Who do you think would propose the best fix. I also will tell you who I am, and everything else you need to know about me Check out www.thebasementguys.com we only do the right fix for the problem. Then we give a life time warranty. Yes, we do inside work, only when it’s the right fix. By the way it is national building coeds in most areas.

You guys are sure getting personal, and that's a sure sign you're losing your arguments.

Without getting personal, I will advíse anyone who contemplates using ANY member of the NAWSRC to (1) check the names of the contractors you contemplate speaking to with the BBB, and determine if they are members, because BBB reports differently about members than they do about non-members, and (2) get a copy of any so-called warranty you might be offered IN ADVANCE of signing a contract, and read it carefully, and (3) read the posts in this forum of people who HAD those warranties and read how well it worked out for them. Also find out if the company or person you're dealing with has ever been in the same business under other names, and find out what those names were, and check THEM with BBB.

Then, ask for 10 references from each contractor, and after you get them, ignore them and ask for 10 more, and check with the second group of 10...forget the first group...anyone can give you a few good references, that might include a bunch of relatives. (For comparison, an architect I know very well gives a list of over 350 references whether asked for them or not; it includes every job he's ever done.)

Now, to answer JayinMinnesota...first, you don't KNOW that you will get water in the fourth side if you waterPROOF the three accessible sides. If no water enters there now, it isn't likely to enter there in the future. There is also no proven need to waterPROOF the entire other three sides...if you have cracks, open rod holes, tree roots or whatever causing leaks, you need to repair those parts of your walls, not the entire perimeter.

A simple means of testing has been outlined on this forum repeatedly, which will help narrow down the locations and causes of your problems. The advice I give you is no different from the advice always given by true waterPROOFers on this forum: DETERMINE the cause of the problem BEFORE deciding on a solution.
See how many of the snake oil salemen suggest that or are willing to help you do that. Why should they? They have a "solution" ready and waiting.

The problem is, their "solution" does NOT solve problems of water entry and possible mold issues, does NOT solve problems of possible radon gas entry, does NOT solve problems of insect and vermin entry. That doesn't sound like much of a solution to me, does it to you?

You'll go ahead and finish your basement, and the water happily keeps right on marching in, and the mold won't bother you at all, will it, because it will be carefully hidden behind wallboard. Oh, folks may sneeze a little or a lot, but maybe they put too much pepper on their hamburgers. Termites may come marching in the cracks that were never waterPROOFed, but they won't bother you either, they can nibble away behind your wallboard to their hearts' content. Radon gas might continue permeating your basement, but that's okay, you'll probably sell your house before you or any of your family get cancer.

It's your choice, of course, Jay. I can rest easier now that I've made some truths known to you before you make your choice.
These truths have NEVER been countered by the inside band-aid snake oil crew...NEVER. All they have been able to do is unload personal attacks against people who spend their time here for free trying to help people who need help. Perhaps if they had entered into calm and reasoned discussion, and raised valid points to counter the truths that have been repeatedly set forth here, they might have some credibility, but they did not, and they CANnot, and their descent into the realm of personal attacks speaks VOLUMES about their character and their business practices, AND the value of their "solutions".

Basementguy,

watch your step twinkle toes

you have some nerve that at 29 years of age, somehow think you have garnered more knowledge than myself and some other who`ve been in this business for as long as you`ve been on this planet. And your calling ME...shady? lolol tell ya what, there is NOT a MORE honest waterproofing contractor on this earth! Certainly Not YOU and not anyone within your org is more honest/fair/experienced, not 1.

as i`ve posted about inside waterdiverters/companies, i do believe i`ve shown others how shady/misleading many of them can be and are by posting LINKS, yeah, news links showing some of these scamming sobs. Cheating people out of their money.............now YOU SHOW-POST some links, PROVE to OTHERS that i`m shady....go ahead, waiting. Don`t talk.....SHOW me how shady i am?

it doesn`t matter how big/small a company is! If they defined the problem correctly and were hired to do the job then their 'system-method' will SOLVE the problem.

all i hear from you inside knotheads is how great an inside drain tile system is, and thats what homeowners need and bunch of other misleading garbage....yet, many of these homeowners have CONTINUED problems AFTER an Inside system was done... water still entering, damp-leaky wall(s), mold/efflorescence on part of bsmt wall,cracks in wall widening, wall bowing in more, problems w/sumps you people installed etc etc. Thats why many of YOU have customer complaints and, thats 10-20-50++ Complaints in the last 36 months for krsit sake, yeah sure, real great system you do, does everything you told the HO`s it would huh? BS!

and to top that, many of you bid/sell these Inside waterdiverting jobs for a ton! OVERPRICE a system that doesn`t stop/prevent water, mold etc. chtt, $5,000-$20,000 ! Many of YOU will/HAVE talked a HO who ONLY had 1 area of 1 wall leak/1 crack into a full inside perimeter system....hey, thet don`t NEED that! WHY sell these people CHTT they do not need, lol. i could go on and on.....dammmittt, many of these Inisde co`s are sooo full of crap.

Hey 'Secrest/Rehner'..... are you saying the City of Shaker Heights,your own home state what they recommend on their website to their citizens is wrong? Are you saying Yoder Group is wrong? Are you saying Fairfax county is wrong? And what Tim C had printed in Chicago Trib, is that wrong too? what they have on their websites/in print i believe to be 90% or so true, thats based on nearly 3 decades of doing bsmt waterproofing...hmm, how long have YOU been in business doing Bsmt waterproofing? The BBB has your original start date as May 2000, so it appears your a spring chicken as to amount of actual expeience in this trade.

Know what else i think young man? you don`t like that FACT that i, or anyone else, disagrees who you-your ORG as to whats best for MOST HO who have leaky-moldy basements and, post link after link to back up what we know to be TRUE. Yep, you get angry because you have learned that...what you THOUGHT was the best system/method in dealing with damp/leaky basements simply is NOT true. I dont hold that against you or anyone else who has been misled by those who taught you about inside systems.

have stated over and over, you must have missed of the Many reasons i won`t do inside systems--read em and LEARN something,it has nothing to do with whether i`m capable, lol, chtt...inside systems are easy! Much LESS laborious, and these systems SHOULD cost all HO`s ALOT Less money!

You people pay your laborers alot less, have alot less in materials yet...charge as much if not MORE than an outside method! Now, thats the damm truth!

One more thing for now ....hey, these awards many of you Inside people win, guess what.... Capizzo, Stremersch,Clark Water`g, Downriver Water`g and myself have NEVER won 1 award..ever! Thats 5 of the Most knowledgable and HONEST Waterprf`g contractors in America, never won 1 dang award, yet some of YOU inside people have won 2,5 whatever in the 3-8 years you`ve been in business and have 5-10+ BBB customer complaints, lolol. Something smells. know what,lol, keep your awards, win another 50 awards and keep putting that in your advertising,sounds good to the public doesn`t it! chtt, we could care less, we KNOW who is being honest with the public, we know the real reasons basements leak.

JBuzz, how ya doing mister?

Basementguy, JBuzz himself learned years ago how to stop water from entering cracks in his bsmt wall! lol, yes he did! He and a couple buddys dug up ONLY the areas where his crack were, waterproofed them and...NO leak! Ask him if his wall(s) are bowing in now after only doing small areas. He didnt fall for the bllchtt lines from some Inside Co`s that he needed an Inside perimeter system, he simply fixed what-was-broke at that point in time on the Outside. Plus, he saved himself MONEY, lol, sure! Anything wrong with that Basement guy? See, if he`d HAD hired a company that wanted to do an Inside System, he then be out $5,000-$20,000 grand, and still have water entering through the cracks and possibly some mold/efflorescence etc. Go FIGURE Basementguy!

And maybe JBuzz will tell you what we charged him...verus an Inside system or even an injection which usually cost $400-600+ and are done by one(1) guy in about 1 hour, are very easy-no hard labor and nothing to haul away,no backfilling,no digging etc, AND about 50% of those injections will NOT last, will re-leak.

BACK up what YOU posted Mr Expert.... please prove to anyone reading this i`m a shady contractor, go ahead, post some links!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LicensedWaterproofer,

Thanks Richard, I appreciate the info you provided. A couple things on my basement that I probably should have said in the beginning. That 4th side that has the garage attached. I do get water on the side now, probably about 10 ft from each corner coming up through the wall/floor joint. And Richard you are absolutely right, I don't know if I will get water there or not if I do the other 3 sides. But I don't want to tear out two patios and a septic tank and still not have the problem fixed.
My main problem area is my wall/floor joint, that and some cracks I have in the concrete in my floor. I do not get any coming down the wall as there are no cracks in my foundations wall, any water I get comes up through the cracks in the floor. From the research I did the past couple days suggest that this is from hydrostatic pressure. 2 years ago we had a pretty bad rainfall and my basement flooded pretty good, probably and inch or so, I decided to bust out the floor concrete one side of my basement and put in a makeshift sump pump, just to pump the groundwater. That actually worked until last spring when I forgot to plug the sump pump back in after the winter and frost broke earlier than I thought and I got a bunch of water again. Once I plugged the pump back in it was fine for the rest of the year. The problem is that I'm not confident enough in the makeshift system I have to finish my basement, I know once I get that hard rainfall I'm going to get more water in my basement for awhile. I did buy some drylock fast plug for the cracks in my basement and the wall/floor joint but the more I think about it, this may not be a good idea either because there are areas I'm not going to be able to reach, for example next to the staircase which runs along the foundation wall because it is finished. So if I don't plug all of it, I'm assuming it's just going come in faster in areas where I didn't seal. So this is the reason why I said I would rather do it from the outside. One more thing, I have no plans on hiring anyone to do whatever it is that I end up doing. I said in a previous post that I build houses for a living so I'm able to do the work myself, that would include outside excavation if it were possible. My problem is I don't know what the fix is yet.

L/W & Richard,

It seams to me, that you can talk about myself and friends all you want. But, when one of us stand up for our self’s you get mad. Its funny to me that there are two people against the 7000 in the industry. All 7000 must me wrong? You two remind me of the crazy guy on the corner, trying to tell everyone the world is about to end. The only difference is on the corner people can walk away. Here you bud in and give people bad advice all day long. By the way I thought you both were big shots making all the money? How do you have time to do this? Or do you not have any work?

My customers seam to like what we do for them. As you can see from our reputation.

If you each answer on question each , I will answer all of yours.

Richard how many basements have you fixed?

LW What kind of warranty do you give on your work?

Have a good day, all of the guys you don’t like are on our way to a www.NAWSRC.org convention to learn more about the best and newest ways to waterproof basements. You both are invited. I mean that.

If you and your buddies don`t provide homeowners will ALL the facts-info and do that intentionally for self-gain then, imo, thats criminal! Yep, thats what i said, criminal...darn skippy.

If and when ANY contractor misleads/lies to HO`s etc etc thats just being a low life, talking HO`s into chtt they don`t need is pathetic. yeah, YOU know, when a HO has one(1) or 2 leaks/cracks..instead of recommending to waterproof the cracks many talk people into 2-3-4 walls...i dont care if its inside or outside, all they need at-that-point-in-time is the 1 or cracks waterproofed.

If-if-if there was a problem/leak somewhere else at that-point-in-time they`d have seen it,water. Can another crack/leak occur in the future? Sure, it may....it may NOT! Thing is, don`t talk people into chtt they do not need and, may NEVER need, for one`s self gain.

And like i`ve said, MOST people`s problems/leaks/cracks/openings are...outside, NOT Inside so, DUH, an Inside system will NOT stop/prevent water-mold etc....as Bill Murray said,'thats a fact jack'.....and THATS WHY i and some others won`t do Inside systems, because its NOT what most people need to STOP/PREVENT water etc.....comprendo?

On your way to learn (need ALOT of that) about the best and NEWEST ways???? THIS is EXACTLY what some of us are informing people about, there is/has been/always will be one-best-way to stop/prevent water from entering cracks,open mortar joints,windows etc ya GOOF, and thats on the OUTSIDE.... sheeeessh! I`d think long & hard before letting anyone who says-thinks like this into your home for an estimate! Expert? lol, please!

Basementguy: why waste the keystrokes? All licensed wper and that rich guy do is spread negativity. It's pretty obvious that they don't actually work on or fix any foundation problems.But they sure talk a good game. To bad for homeowners who just come here for info and have to read about how much they supposedly "know" I go out and work on these things everyday, all that means is I don't know everything, but I do have some experence on these jobs,and I learn more everyday. I also belong to the NAWSRC which ebables me to learn more about new ways to address foundation problems, I just wish these guys would try and do more things of a positive nature. Respectfully, Frank O'Pinion

do much more than 'talk a good game' prove these FACTS in any courtroom. i believe that may be the one thing that`ll wake some of your butts up, get some unbiased media to focus on All-the-Facts,on whats best for most homeowners

oh Frank....you should get RID of that bs 'respectfully'.

lwp: yeah,yeah, I'll be out working on foundation and making my customers happy ,so I'll probably miss Your big time court/tv debut. Like I said before,take the time to learn about your industry. Go to www.nawsrc.org double Respectfully, Frank O'Pinion

lose the 'respectfully' please