Hello...I need a reality check on an exterior waterproofing quote. I have been having a hard time in my area to find contractor that will do exterior waterproofing...all of the companys want to do interior. So if anyone has a recommendation in the Baltimore/Washington area I will take it.
Anyway...I have received one contract proposal for exterior waterproofing and wanted a reality check to see if it is fair. Here are the details:
Basement perimeter is 189 linear feet Footers are 6-8ft below ground level Block foundation with no structual damage other than small cracks in a few areas All brick cape code built in 1949-50 No existing landscaping or decks to deal with...site has adequate access Contractor proposes excavate perimeter walls to footers Wire brush/Scrape walls Inspect cracks and fill with non shrink grout Apply generous amounts of "Vulkem 201 elastomeric" to the walls Install drainage board Install 4" double wall ADS pipe with filter sock Backfill with at least 8" of 3/4" washed gravel Add exterior sump pit 24" in diameter and 12" below footer elevation with lid No pump at this time since I get very little water seepage into my basement at this time. Can be monitored and added later if needed Guaranteed for 10 years Work to take approximately 10 work days
Total Proposal Cost: $25,000 This sounds high to me but prices these days always do! It's allot of linear feet so does this seem like a fair quote. That's $132 per linear foot.
Thanks in advance...and ask any additional questions that are required that I missed.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: wkasak,
Curious. That contractor has no clue about the cause of your water entry, but here he is proposing a solution. Did he bother to do a simple hose test to discover exactly where the basement wall is leaking? Apparently not.
First you have to find the problem. Only then can a reasonable solution be selected and implemented. It's possible you have only one crack in only one spot. If so, that's all you have to fix. It's possible water is entering the wall above grade...that possibility should be explored also. The brick shelf and its flashing might be the problem, or even leaks around basement windows.
Read LicensedWaterproofR's posts and find how to do the hose test. Then you'll have a much clearer idea of how to proceed.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Richard Hetzel,
Architect (NY) and Home Designer (PA)
Posts: 2572 | Location: Tobyhanna, PA | Registered: 24 October 2005
as Richard says,its best to define/diagnose what the actual problem is BEFORE spending any money on anything.
many HO`s have 1-2 leaky areas so, at that point in time those are the only areas that need to be repaired.
IF...seepage/leaks/water is due to crack(s) on exterior of block wall(s) then that would be all you need to waterproof at this point in time
The bigger the house the more expensive the repair, goes for roof,waterproofing etc. For 189' 6-7'deep we would charge about $19,000 but this would include hauling ALL soil away and backfilling 5 1/2-6 1/2' w/peastone....NOT 8" as the bid you received.
Thats about 5-6 loads of dirt they are not hauling away/not paying for and about 45-50 yards of gravel they don`t have to move/backfill with/pay for. This equals over $3,300 not including the labor to move it all.
So, that $25,000 was already on the high end, and then not to haul all that soil away and not backfilling w/most gravel saves them at least another $3,300...prolly more like $3,600-4,000.
Somewhere between $11,000-12,000 is the most we`ve ever had to charge anyone in 30 years. And that was a pretty big house in GP Shores, right next to Lake St Clair.
Well...let me add some additional information. There are two walls I am currently getting seepage thru at the lower block joints...this area is 83 linear feet and the contractor actually orginally gave me a quote for just those walls for $15,000. It was my request to get a price for the entire house for peace of mind. Since my basement is currently unfinished my thought was that soon or later since it seeps on two walls now it might start on the others later. Also I have been putting off building a deck and landscaping since these additions would not allow access later. So the entire house quote proposal was at my request not necessarily what the contractor recommended.
So if I understand you guys correctly if the rest of the basement is currently leak free then you would just fix the problem areas now and fix any additional issues in the future? I just worry about getting the basement finished and it starts seeping in a different area behind finished walls. I always assumed that houses built at this time never had adequate protection from the beginning. Thoughts?
This message has been edited. Last edited by: wkasak,
