I am getting ready to call a few waterproofing companies next week to come in and give me quotes on waterproofing my foundation. I don't know much about foundation waterproofing. Can anyone recommend the proper questions to ask? Thanks. I am avoiding the companies that deliberately state they only do interior waterproofing, like B-dry and Mid-Atlantic Waterproofing.
Listen to how they describe their process. You will want to learn what are they applying on the walls. Do they repair the foundation pryor to sealing? Do they apply damproofing or waterproofing sealants?
What type of drain tile do they install? Never go with a company that uses corrugated, sometimes called snake pipe. This is thin walled black tubing with slits. You want the perforated schedule 35 pvc tile. Do they install cleanouts?
How do they excavate? Mini excavators or hand digging is fine. You do not want a full size excavator on your property. Do they haul all the earth/clay, or use some of it to backfill? In my opinion it should all be removed.
What materials are they backfilling with? Do not use limestone. How high do they bring the backfill, and do they fill the entire trench or use plywood to half the trench? You want the entire trench backfilled to at least a couple of feet from grade.
How much care do they take with your landscaping? Some companies work extremely hard to not tear things up, while others will tell you that landscaping will need to take place after the work is completed.
Ask if the contractor pulls permits and schedules the appropriate inspections. Never contract with anyone who asks you to pull the permit.
Check the BBB and the states Attorney Generals office, or Consumer affairs office, for a listing of complaints. Ask for, and check references. When you have narrowed your choice call and speak with your building department and look for feedback from them.
Find out who you are speaking to. Is it the owner, or a salesman? Will that person be present while the work is being completed. Do they have their on crews or use subs? Are all workers that will be on your property covered by workers compensation insurace?
A good contractor at this time of year should be fairly busy, even in this economy. I would be leary of anyone whoe could schedule the job right away.
Ultimately choose someone you are extremely comfortable with. If the contractor uses scare tactics or buy now discounts, or applies any pressure for you to committ on the spot, this is probably someone you do not want to do business with.
Thanks for the reply. I plan on calling about 4-5 companies for quotes. I had one wall excavated this week for a new sewer lateral and it didn't look bad at all. Looks like the problems are mainly where the downspouts discharged. I'll repost for advice when I get all the bids. I love how most of these guys want to meet with you at 10 in the morning during the week. I have this thing called a job, which is used to get money to pay you. The contractors act like I've asked them to part the red sea when I ask them to come at 5pm.
I wanted to add that it appears that the where the most water comes into the basement is near where 2 trees are planted. One tree is planted about 3 feet from the basement wall. Another, much larger tree is planted about 4 feet from my garage wall. Could this be a contributing factor to the water problems in the basement? Another indicator is that I recently had a new sewer lateral installed. I abandoned the line that is under the concrete floor in the basement and had a new line mounted to the basement walls. I have had 2 major storms since the lateral wall and I have had no where near the water I used to get. I used to get water coming up through the floor mixed with sewer water (nasty!). I got no water coming up the floor with the exception of where the wall meets the floor. Thanks.
So the lateral was at least 'part' of the problem.Don`t know if the now 'abandoned' line is another part/source of your problem.
Block or poured walls? Are they covered w/drywall etc?
Here`s one poured wall that has/had a vertical hairline crack,water entered through the crack and homeowner only saw water at the floor-wall joint....see water stains next to tape measure? http://www2.snapfish.com/slide...122238283_111847456/ See hydraulic cement along floor-wall joint? And see patch and paint crap on wall over crack.This does NOTHING.Hydraulic cement needs to be applied on the OUTSIDE...sheesh!
As for what to ask,i don`t care to be/don`t intend to be negative so often but what can i tell ya`s,have seen sooooooooooooo much crap/lies/misrepresentations from inside nitwits so there`s really NO other way to be.If any don`t like it,too dang bad,boo hoo.Finding someone/company who is going to take the time and have the experience `n honesty and IDENTIFY your remaining problem(s) may try your patience,THROW OUT anyone who spends hours at your house and wants to stay for dinner.
Ask for pictures of some of their EXTERIOR jobs,digging to footing/waterproofing/backfilling etc.
If they don`t have any give them the heave ho. Or a few will ONLY have exterior pic`s/waterproofing jobs on NEW construction,they too need to go.
If all they have are pics of inside crap then they are NOT interested in identifying any-all possible problems!!!
Posts: 84 | Location: MI | Registered: 31 July 2009
I have a block foundation. My problem looks like your 2nd picture. I also have some exterior mortar deterioration. Basement is not finished and will not be. The HVAC ducts are too low and only leaves me with about 3"(in some areas) of clearance (I'm 5"8"). I would like to make it storage/workout area. I've checked with the BBB and eliminated the contractors with excessive complaints. I also went on the websites for some of the contractors that have websites and eliminated the ones who claim that no outside excavation is necessary. I made some calls and am waiting for call backs to schedule appointments.
Here`s another homeowner who only got water at-along the floor-wall joint.In this pic,you`ll see one of the exterior cracks where water first-entered into the hollow blocks,cracks caused by underground tree ROOT http://www2.snapfish.com/slide...122238283_111847456/
Roots from trees do/can cause exterior cracks in block walls,can also cause the parging to crack/loosen. Even roots from some-bushes cause cracks/cracked parging.
Another root, UNDER a driveway along basement wall and it was against the wall and cracked the parging in some areas http://www2.snapfish.com/slide...122238283_111847456/ And of course expansive soil causes many problems,cracks,bowed wall `n subsequent leaks/water in basement. Concrete slabs,porch-footings can also cause cracks etc.
Posts: 84 | Location: MI | Registered: 31 July 2009
Just had my first contractor come through. The guy didn't even want to look outside. He said the problem is because I have a monolithic floor and that the block isn't breathing. He recommeded drilling a 5/8th hole in the top and bottom blocks, excavating the perimeter floor with a jack hammer to the footer, installing 2 3/4 horsepower sump pumps, and a mirror drain. At the perimeter, he would use pvc covered with 2b stone at the perimeter. All for the price of $4200. He also said that he's done alot of houses in this neighborhood and blamed the city storm drains for backing up and flooding basements. I would have been a little more convinced had he actually bothered to walk around the exterior of the house. I don't know. From what I've read, this looks like the opposite of what I should be doing. The only agreement I had was that I need a sump pump inside the basement.
See? He did not even TRY to diagnose the problem, and he does not have a solution. His attitude is "The water is coming in, I don't know why it's coming in and I don't know how to figure out why, so I'll just poke holes in the foundation and let MORE water in, and then try to contain it with pipes and a sump pump or two."
Did anyone offer to perform a hose test for you, to find out exactly where the leaks are?
Water pouring through a foundation will ultimately degrade the mortar and even the blocks themselves. I had aclient who could bend over and scoop out concrete from his bottom course of blocks with his bare hand! That's what constant water flow will do.
Ventilate a foundation wall?? Hogwash, balderdash and poppycock. You don't ventilate a foundation wall, you WATERPROOF it...or at least DAMPPROOF it. You stop the water OUTSIDE where it belongs. It doesn't belong inside your house, nor in your foundation wall.
Next?
Architect (NY) and Home Designer (PA)
Posts: 2859 | Location: Tobyhanna, PA | Registered: 24 October 2005
I have 2 more companies coming through, one this afternoon. Unfortunately, I'm starting to get concerned about whether I will actually find the right contractor for this job. Most of the waterproofing companies I can find are over 70 miles away, which leads me to believe that they are also interior-only. The 2 other companies I contacted are local, so I'm hoping for a better result but not getting hopefull about it. I guess this comes with the territory of living in a small city in central PA.
We did one in Clearfield PA,nice small town. Homeowner insisted it be done on the outside,a wise man.Had LOTS of trouble finding an experienced-honest waterproofing contractor.If i were you i`d take my time in finding one.
If you do need exterior waterproofing am willing to help talk you through it...materials needed etc,can post phone number if you want to call.
If there is a building/builders supply anywhere near ya they`d prolly know of any contractors who do exterior work (not Hm Depot etc).They would carry/likely deliver gravel,top soil etc and have waterproofing products
Posts: 84 | Location: MI | Registered: 31 July 2009
I live about 90 mins from clearfield. Contractor 2 just left. Said the same as the 1st except he's 1000 cheaper and he uses a half horse power sump. I may just have to do some or become my own GC and hire an excavator.
Finally settled down after the last contractor visit. My plan was to roll this project into a home improvement loan that I have pending. Honestly, I really don't plan on being in this current home for more than 5 years. Because half the county has to replace their sewer laterals, most of the excavtors have no interest in my kind of job. My own excavator turned me down. Said it was more profitable to do sewer laterals. Anyway, is there something I could do temporarily? I don't have a sump pump in the basement and the city made me disconnect my floor drain from the lateral, so I was thinking that would be the 1st step. Or I could just sell the **** house next summer and make it someone else's problem. Since this weekend is long, I will take some pics of the interior and exterior basement and see what opinions I get. Licensedwaterproofrr, thanks for the advice and offer, I may have to take you up on it in the near future.
I took pics of my basement and the exterior. I included pics of my garage as well. It doesn't have a basement but the block looks deteriorated. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Before any digging takes place you need to call Miss Utilitys to mark the under ground lines. I ended up doing my own French drains, foundation repairs and waterproofing. At the same time I added a 4" line so all my gutter down spouts run into a pit with a sump pump that runs it out to the street side ditch. I had a plumber that owns an escavator that the bucket can be moved over to the extreme left or right of the machine so he can sit right up next to the foundation without hitting the walls. He dug out the dirt. I washed down the wall and located the crumbling block and one at a time removed them and installed new ones, making sure to to remove to many in one area without letting them set up a day or two. I then coated with two coats of Dri-Lok and a coat of foundation seal (trowl on tar) I had lots of 1" 4 X 8 sheets of blue foam left over from jobs so I added a layer of that also. A layer of #56 stone was layed at the bottom of the trench making sure there was a small amount of sloop for the pipe. I used Sch. 30 drain pipe (making sure the holes were on top) with a sock over it then covered the whole thing with gravel. I left it 6" below finished grade, added screen cloth over the stone then a layer of top soil. The whole thing cost me about $500.00. There should never ever be trees growing that close to the house. #1 the roots are going to crack the foundation, the shade will help mold up the siding, the falling limb may fall through the roof, the limb rubbing the side of the house will scrach up the paint or distry the shingle edges, fungus needs shade to grow on the roof also. There should also never be mulch piled up againt the foundation. It holds in water and keeps the area moist so termites can make mud tunnels. All grading needs to be done so it leads away from the foundation!
Where all stupid, just in different subjects.
Posts: 98 | Location: Hallieford VA | Registered: 28 November 2007
Yeah. It looks like I have one **** of a project with little time to do it. I'm going to try to call some excavators and see if any of them want to do it. Never thought I'd have to beg contractors to take my money. The basement companies don't want to be bothered with doing the outside.
