I just thought I'd post this to see the recommendations people had.
My house was built in 1966. I have lived here for 3 years. When we first moved in here we had to fix a lot of drainage issues like gutters, grading etc. For the past 3 years we have not had any water in the basement. The basement is basically split into 2 sections separated by a cinderblock wall with a door in the middle to access both sides. The basement does have a fairly large sump pit with a pump. It is 18" deep. It takes some good soaking rains for it to go off. But when it does, it can keep discharging for days depending on the rain.
We had a HUGE rain storm last night with several inches of rain. I went to the basement this moring and low and behold there was water. The water was seeping in from where the interior concrete wall (the one that separates the 2 sides of the basement) meets the floor. The sump has been running furiously discharging every 60-90 seconds. Like I said, in the past 3 yrs we have never had water seep un from that wall. On the other side of the wall, there was no water.
In the bottom pic, the cracks are on the Dry-Loc that the previous owner put down. In the top pic, that crack you see doesn't really look like a crack in the floor, it almost looks like pieces of the floor were chipped away. Like 2 separate sections of the floor
One more thing...The basement walls themselves are not wet Any suggestions???
you may not be able to see but, do you see any water near, where the interior wall meets the exterior?
or, does it 'appear' that the water is 8-10' from exterior wall? No water anywhere close to exterior wall?
pic 1, 177 'looks like' some water stain or dirt/soil just to the left of sump pit...? Looks-like this water stain starts at/along cove/bottom of wall and floor meet and runs along side of sump from wall.also see some efflorescence on at least lowest block just above this soil/dirt/stain...?
when i zoom in on pic 4,see water/moisture looks like at least along several feet, just can`t tell/see anything more,how close to bsmt wall etc.
5...hard to tell, see a lil but again, can`t tell where coming form in pic
could be water 'first' entering through/from bsmt wall, goes under/along interior wall then might puddle in low spot or simply stop cuz not much comes in. Paint won`t help. And OFTEN, bsmt wall(s) is NOT wet. water can enter from/through exterior wall and show up only on inside floor,along,near this interior wall
and/or, could be problem under floor, a blockage and water could come UP through any holes/crack under interior-block wall.
only other possibility would be leaky plumbing fixture, don`t see that unless something dripping from above...have seen it in few basements, HO never looked UP
did have couple HO`s who had hole(s) drilled in floor UNDER last step, finally took off step and there she was. If NO hole then no water.It came from under step into bsmt and ran agst/along where wall `n floor meet.They did have a bit of blockage under floor and s***** storm trap cleanout..s***** and repaired hole and no further problems, was like 7-8 yrs ago
May wanna run a water-hose test on outside of where interior wall is inside.Make sure NO problem/crack on exterior of wall...gotta run water near full blast and run it at ground level,agst wall...along 5-7'. May have to run water up to 1 hour or so. Thats cuz, don`t know what kinda soil is agst wall-futher down and, it may be just a hairline vertical,step,horizontal crack or thin crack in parging so it usually takes MORE water for it to go through soil,especially clay and then finally enter through thin exterior crack
Sorry it took so long to respond. Mid-Atlantic guy was here for 3 1/2 hours. UGH. He scraped some of the morter along one of the outside walls and commented on how soft it was. He put his little handheld machine on it and it detected moisture. He did the test again about 4' up the wall at it detected moisture again. He detected moisture on all 4 exterior walls.
He also said I have a footer french drain? He couldnt tell If I indeed had an actual footer or not. He said there might not be one since the floor is really really thick and there were full cinder blocks exposed on the bottom where the wall meets the floor.
There are definitely no appliances leaking. He walked around outside and took notice to a couple cracks. One he could stick a nail file looking thing through to the end.
He told me excavation with waterproofing 4 walls would be 58,000. He told me that to install their system would be 11,000.
I m just extremely upset right now as I was in the middle of finishing my basement and didnt need an additional HUGE expense on top of everything else
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Daveyd: Sorry it took so long to respond. Mid-Atlantic guy was here for 3 1/2 hours. UGH. He scraped some of the morter along one of the outside walls and commented on how soft it was. He put his little handheld machine on it and it detected moisture. He did the test again about 4' up the wall at it detected moisture again. He detected moisture on all 4 exterior walls.
He also said I have a footer french drain? He couldnt tell If I indeed had an actual footer or not. He said there might not be one since the floor is really really thick and there were full cinder blocks exposed on the bottom where the wall meets the floor.
There are definitely no appliances leaking. He walked around outside and took notice to a couple cracks. One he could stick a nail file looking thing through to the end.
He told me excavation with waterproofing 4 walls would be 58,000. He told me that to install their system would be 11,000.
Mr D,
didn`t look at other pic`s...yet
$58,000 huh? chtt, only way it would be anything remotely close was if you live in a CASTLE!
Hey, if i was trying to rip people off i guess i`d spend 1/2 a day with em trying to to trust me...NONSESNSE.
he said huh? lol he said a footer-french-drain? then said couldn`t tell if there is an actual footing? lolol Either HE is very very CONFUSED or he is trying to confuse you.
Cracks need to be repaired/waterproofed and backfilled correctly...all-any leak(s) ya have must be diagnosed-correctly BEFORE spending 2 cents.
Cracks can occur kinda suddenly or over time. Some cracks on exterior been there for years, some are pretty thin/hairline and then lateral soil pressure,roots etc etc can widen-them-a -bit which then causes more frequent water on floor in basement. As cracks widen,more water can enter.
Thought you said ya just had 1-2 problem-leaky-areas, so this guy and he moisture meter most likely just trying to add more footage for more money.Maybe you do have other-exterior-cracks, in other areas..if so its best to get em done same time as other crack/leaky areas of bsmt wall...up to you.
Dave....whats house sq footage? Example,if your 2 longest walls are 36' and other 2 are 24'...thats 120'. Worst case in EXTERIOR cost should be about/between $10,250-12,000. But again,thgt ya have just 2 or so leaky areas.You can 'fix/waterproof' just the leaky areas. If ya have 2+ walls that have never leaked then cost is much less, know what i mean?
Obv still can`t see/tell ya everything from pic`s but sure looks like a step-stair crack and you may indeed have 'other' crack(s) openings/loose-cracked parging etc on exterior of HOLLOW block wall.
Just because a homeonwer/inspector etc sees NO visible cracks on inside wall(s) does NOT at all mean there aren`t 1,2+ on exterior of wall(s)
Yet again, it`s THROUGH these cracks/parging water most ofteb 'FIRST enters' into the hollow blocks, stays inside the cores-of-blocks and usually comes out onto bsmt floor at,along cold joint/cove...problem(s) are outsde.If you want an inside system thats your call, it will NOT stop/prevent FURTHER water penetrating through any exterior cracks in blocks.
Thus, it also won`t stop/prevent mold,mildew,efflorescence that can appear on pasrts of interior bsmt wall. Won`t stop insects from entering same open-cracks either...etc.
Don`t forget about any openings along,just below or ABOVE ground level, they are just as important, can allow water in,may see it run down walla lil OR, may only see water that entered above ground openings enter onto floor,along cove. What matters is where the water is first entering, not where HO sees it come onto floor, May seem/sound a lil strange to some but that`s the truth, facts.
Pics 1,2 see water stains on floor, about it.Again, water most often enters through exterior openings
wish i could help ya better cuz i`d run a dang water-test to SHOW you how/where water is first entering and eventually comes out onto floor,not up high.
some other pics show cracks so, thats at-least part, if not all of problem.
a G floor can be saw-cut...about 18"+ wide to be able to hand dig/waterproof.Then re-pour concrete-apron if you wish.If its one area/crack in garage then thats all ya need to do at-this-point-in-time.
i gotta run/early estimates, you can call if you wish, let me know
I have 122 linear feet. Yea, I almost died laughing when he said it was $58,000. It was obvious then what he was trying to sell. All I wanted was someone to come out ans assess my situation and let me know what my options were and how to correct them.
I understand that the only way to truly waterproof your basement is to prevent it from coming in in the first place...aka excavate.
The main leak was coming from the basement steps in the pics. All the other pics are also from the same exterior wall.
I do have an issue if someone were to excavate that wall. There is an addition that juts out from that wall as well as a deck. I guess they really could ony dig up to that part?
I'll get some outside pics. I've resorted to the internet as there are not too many "basement waterproofers" areound here. That's why I called Mid-Atlantic. Any company that tells me I have to make a $11,000 decision THAT same night or the price will go up to $20k is pretty shady to me. A 11k price today is just as good as an 11k price next week.
you obv have at least couple cracks, they may not leak now. Dunno if former owner had em waterproofed outside and they/owner didn`t repair crack where it extends above ground and, even IF it was done in past at some point, was it done and backfilled correctly so it`ll last a long time.
sometimes a HO won`t see water inside on bsmt floor for months or even possibly years even though there are crack(s) outside...kinda strange but true. I wouldn`t sold home with visible cracks/leaks or POTENTIAL leaks.
again, if you wish in any other area, run water-hose test at ground level, on outside of where ya see water inside on floor.Ya don`t wanna run a lil/trickle of water, you want to know. So i run it near full blast right/near wall, let it soak soil as happens on long,heavier rains or spring thaws.
May have to run it up to 1 hour, sometimes water comes in kinda quick and other times it takes awhile, depends on type of sub-surface soil agst wall and couple other factors.
hand dig 122' IF 6' deep to footing,hydraulic cement in-over any crack/openings,thick mastic/asphalt over everything from ground level down, 6 mil visqueen (use is pretty much ONLY to protect asphalt-wall when backfilled), yes check tiles/replace any if necessary w/pvc and backfill w/all gravel-pea stone from footing-tiles up to within 3-6 inches of grade, maybe tad more where any bush will be...cost.. between $10,250 and $10,900.
$100 per ft, around $12,000 is not bad price if some co bids that, long as they`re good-know what they doin`,been around,very few if any complaints etc.
For this footage,those blcchtt bids of $17,000,$25,000 etc is just gouging and...i doubt they`re truly good on exterior work/digging etc,just my 2 cents
You, like others receive INSIDE SYSTEM BIDS anywheres from $7,000 ish to $17,000+....you had ay least one inside bid at $11,000.
Thats breaking up lil strips of cocrete and maybe digging down 12" or so.Not much to haul away, not much to backfill,NOWHERE near outside labor. VERSUS....
Exterior, hand digging 6' or so, hauling all that crap away,backfilling w/tons of gravel...sheesh, labor ALONE should be minimum 5 times as much.Its 5 times the work, at least!
YET, you see what i`d bid....actually a tad LESS than Inside Co.
Would you recommend that I have all the sides of the house dug up? What about where the addition was put on? Obviously you can only dig to where the addition is (Back of house pic 1) What if there is water coming in from there?
Where the cracks are visible...is it possible they go all the way down to where I cannot see?
Another thing...in my sump there is that "footer drain"...i assume thats what it is because in the hole there is a black plastic pipe and the water comes gushing from there to the pit (look at the "sump flowing" pic in my first post)...last year I pulled a rather large rock from the opening of the hole. Should that be of concern?
y house was built in 1966. I have lived here for 3 years. When we first moved in here we had to fix a lot of drainage issues like gutters, grading etc. For the past 3 years we have not had any water in the basement.... We had a HUGE rain storm last night with several inches of rain. I went to the basement this morning and low and behold there was water.
As this is a very intermittent problem, and it’s been largely resolved by improvements in grading, drainage and downspout placement, consider the possibility that the solution is more of the same: that for example very heavy rains are overwhelming and/or overshooting the gutters and large amount of water are being deposited alongside the foundation walls.
If this is the case you may want to consider oversized gutters and downspouts, and/or re-pitching existing gutters to add additional discharges, and depending on the nature of your soil redirecting the discharge from the current arrangement (which looks like downspouts are connected to the foundation drain system or the storm sewers) to one which is depositing water at a distance from the foundation or even into a French drain system with substantial holding capacity.
I know these steps sound decidedly simple and low-tech. But in my area – which has highly absorbent sandy soil – I’ve been able to completely eliminate water problems at two rental properties by such steps, and my home inspection clients frequently report dramatic improvements after making similar changes.
y house was built in 1966. I have lived here for 3 years. When we first moved in here we had to fix a lot of drainage issues like gutters, grading etc. For the past 3 years we have not had any water in the basement.... We had a HUGE rain storm last night with several inches of rain. I went to the basement this morning and low and behold there was water.
As this is a very intermittent problem, and it’s been largely resolved by improvements in grading, drainage and downspout placement, consider the possibility that the solution is more of the same: that for example very heavy rains are overwhelming and/or overshooting the gutters and large amount of water are being deposited alongside the foundation walls.
If this is the case you may want to consider oversized gutters and downspouts, and/or re-pitching existing gutters to add additional discharges, and depending on the nature of your soil redirecting the discharge from the current arrangement (which looks like downspouts are connected to the foundation drain system or the storm sewers) to one which is depositing water at a distance from the foundation or even into a French drain system with substantial holding capacity.
I know these steps sound decidedly simple and low-tech. But in my area – which has highly absorbent sandy soil – I’ve been able to completely eliminate water problems at two rental properties by such steps, and my home inspection clients frequently report dramatic improvements after making similar changes.
The side we are refinishing now was already finished with 2 small bedrooms when we first moved in. I tore everything down last year and here is what it looked like...
Pretty, huh. Even though it looked like that when we tore everything down, we never had any wet carpets or anything like that. After we tore everything down, there was tons of mold on the 2x4s that were tapconed to the block. One issue was he never had a dehumidifer down there http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/5198/1000395ng2.jpg
Along the interior block wall that separates the 2 sides of the basement (where water was coming in from floor)...all along the entire length of the wall, it looks like the floor has been chipped away. Any idea how it happened and should I try and fix it? Click the pic to zoom in
In that pic, the "chipping" extends all the way across the interior walls. Would putting hydraulic cement over it all the way down the wall help?
Also, I chipped away some if the cracked parging that I could see on the back of the house and ir revealed crumbling mortar between 2 blocks. Would putting hydraulic cement in between the blocks where the mortar was crumbling be ok?
can`t see chipping. Are you saying it looks to you like seller/someone before you broke up a 'strip ' of the floor along interior wall?
put any kind of cement agst blocks inside, won`t solve any water that gets into blocks outside and might hold some of that water which doesn`t do the blocks any favors.maybe after you solve problem you could put some on block(s) after brushing any loose chtt off
can`t see chipping. Are you saying it looks to you like seller/someone before you broke up a 'strip ' of the floor along interior wall?
put any kind of cement agst blocks inside, won`t solve any water that gets into blocks outside and might hold some of that water which doesn`t do the blocks any favors.maybe after you solve problem you could put some on block(s) after brushing any loose chtt off
Here are pics of the "chipping". The occurs the whole length of the inside wall. The inside wall in the basement is basically a load bearing wall that holds up the house.
Dave, lol all i see is some 'chips' of what looks to be/was paint come off.
Yoy have cracks and maybe other exterior openings, seen that.
Now, do you have a problem under floor, i dunno. You could try snaking strom trap clean out if ya have or s n a k e pit til(s) if ya have or (i didn`t go back and look at su
