I own an old baptist church that has been converted into a loft. In the last year I have been finding water seeping into the back corner of my home. It's getting very bad now.
Unfortunately, the home is unusual. And I'm a young woman/single home owner... so all of these waterproofing contract companies think I was born yesterday and send out these annoying sales people to try and scare me, butter me up, and then rip me off. Midwest and Everdry were here yesterday -- one offered me their "$20,000 solution" and said they had to waterproof the whole home or it would leak again. Um, right.
I'm seeking advise or solutions b/c I can't find strait answers or an honest company to help.
The church was built on a slab (no basement) and the walls are made of (sandy) cinder block. Because of the grade of the land around the home, I am at ground level in the front of the church but appx. 3 feet below ground level in the back (I'm in a long 30x90", rectangle-shaped building.)
There is one gutter in running all the water from the giant, flat roof out the back -- appx. where the leak is occurring. I will have the gutter direction diverted... but there is still the leak to deal with, regardless.
The water is coming in perhaps from the back corner of the structure where the gutter is located, and coming forward about 25 FT. from the back of the house. Or maybe it could be from the back gutter area AND from side cracks as well. I'm unsure if it's seeping forward the 30 feet (there's a lot of water coming down that gutter) or if there is side wall seepage as well back wall seepage.
The seepage area is happening under a the kitchen/bathroom which is on a riser or platform (hiding pipes) so I can't actually SEE what is happening. It's just that the side molding and front of the platform is getting wet now. That's the only reason I know. There's also a little hole I can peek under in the platform, and see water.
I am not going to have the whole home done... it seems stupid as there is only a leak along 16ft of wall in back and the adjoining wall, which is wet about 30ft. forward. The rest of the house is dry and mostly above ground, anyway.
ya live in Hamtram....right? lolol hey, did you get ahold of RL Stremmy or no? Same old crap from Midwest and Everdry trying to stick it to people. call me, i`ll come out for ya `n see whats up if ya like, you have nothing ta lose.....only $20,000
Posts: 710 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 24 August 2005
The church was built on a slab (no basement) and the walls are made of (sandy) cinder block. Because of the grade of the land around the home, I am at ground level in the front of the church but appx. 3 feet below ground level in the back (I'm in a long 30x90", rectangle-shaped building.)
That is your answer.
Slabs are not meant to be below grade level.
You would need to have the back and rest of the house excavated around the foundation so that the slab rests at least about 6" above grade.
Slabs are not meant to be below grade level? Then what do you call the floor of a basement? And what do you call the floor of a walkout basement? Excavation is not the answer, although it might be necessary to make sure the ground slopes away from building and allows drainage away and to sides in the area where ground is above level of floor. Also, you'll probably need to dig down in problem area to provide drain tile & waterproofing before backfill & finish grading, but it needn't be a huge job. Sounds like moniebird is aware of some of the problems, (gutters, waterproofing block, etc.)but the real problem is finding an honest contractor. For that, lol!
It appears that you have recognized your major problem.....all of the water from the roof is dumping onto the ground in that area and moving into the building. The gutters/downspouts should be rerouted so that when the water hits the ground it runs away from the building. This should solve the problem with the volume of water. Step 2,3,4 are to ensure that the holes in the block are filled and the the block is waterproofed?....This will require some excavation..either by machine or hand dug to the base of the wall. While you are digging that trench make sure that you install a footing drain tile. Good luck with the project(s).
Slabs are not meant to be below grade level? Then what do you call the floor of a basement? And what do you call the floor of a walkout basement? Excavation is not the answer, although it might be necessary to make sure the ground slopes away from building and allows drainage away and to sides in the area where ground is above level of floor. Also, you'll probably need to dig down in problem area to provide drain tile & waterproofing before backfill & finish grading, but it needn't be a huge job.
That's correct. Slab foundations are not meant to be placed below grade. And that is the problem here and excavation is imperative to remove the soil that is above the floor level.
We're not talking about a slab floor in a basement, but a slab foundation. These are two different animals.
As far as Homebild's slab foundation (presume he means "unit slab" or "turned-down" slab) I reread moniebird's posting, & didn't see where she indicated that. Most folks just call it a slab if it is not on a crawl. I agree w/MIBuilder1959's assessment. If the building is built into the side of a mountain, digging the end of it out to above ground could mean moving more mountainside than she's got real estate.
The church was built on a slab (no basement) and the walls are made of (sandy) cinder block.
This is a classic slab-on-grade foundation construction and the sandy block walls are conducive to leakage when installed below grade.
Slab foundations are not meant to be installed below grade which is why they are called slab-ON-grade, not slab-BELOW-grade.
The correct answer here remains to permanently excavate the soil from around the point where the structure is below grade and to install proper drainage at footer level.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: homebild,
