I had two of these companies in to look at my basement .. neither of them even bothered to look outside. My cheapness saved me nearly $20k. I fixed the problem by repairing some downspouts and fixing grade. I spent less than $200.
I love inspectors on UA-cam because they're the nerds with the real information. House building best practices are public information, but only inspectors keep all that information in their heads at once. Step 1 in this situation is as simple as he says: landscape to have the soil slope away from the house! And if a drain is necessary, french drains are much simpler than installers would have you believe. Any amount of gravel surrounded by non-woven geotextile counts as a french drain, because the gravel supports the passage of water, and the geotextile keeps the soil out of the gravel. You don't necessarily need a massive trench with PVC pipes and a dump truck of gravel to have a french drain. For the house in this video, I agree about getting gutters before a drain, but plan where a french drain would go IF it's ever done, and route the gutters to that spot preemptively.
We owned a 100-year old twin in Philadelphia and it had water in the basement after every rain for the last 30+ years. There were no cracks in the foundation at all. It was nearly impossible to regrade the property. We had a waterproofing company install an inside perimeter drain with 2 sump pumps. It cost $12,000, but the basement was bone dry for the first time in many years.
@@Hag_of_Fangorn I said "nearly" impossible. The front of the house had a huge concrete topped porch. Beyond that was the sidewalk and street. The side yard had a 50 ft. long cement walkway. The back of the house had an attached wood porch. Regrading the property was out of the question for us. The inside perimeter drain and sump pumps solved the issue nicely.
I've built alot of homes over 25 years and grade drainage around the build site has always been something I've been ocd about. I even turned down jobs because it was impossible to get proper drainage and didn't want future liability.
Thank you! Good to know for future reference. I appreciate you taking the time to explain it so thoroughly. The lasers really do a great job of showing the movement of the wall!
What about for a house built in 1910, with limestone basement walls? My yard is flat, and gutters empty into street storm sewer. During heavy rain, I get a couple of leaking areas. It’s mostly just too high of RH in the summer. I run a dehumidifier in the summer, and that works, but I’m looking for a more permanent solution.
4 houses up from us has had wet basement issues for quite a while because the poor grading / drainage. I just a basement water proofing company truck there a few days ago. Oh boy...
Being from Minnesota, I know from experience, you gotta start with the outside drainage. Other than that, the walls WILL CONDENSE WATER on the INSIDE WALLs in the summer, giving the illusion of a leaking wall.
Out of curiosity let's say you didn't fix the drainage and you just installed a dimple membrane on the outside of the foundation. Wouldn't you get all of the exact same soil water pressure problems?
@@manderson5397need perimeter weeping tile and sump & pit to go with the waterproofing. The waterproofing keeps the water away from the foundation and forces the water down to the weeping tile at the bottom of basement wall where the tile carries it the sump pit to be pumped away from the house. You can’t just waterproof, you have to control the water and move it away also.
some water intrusion through B walls below grade and some above, no installation of any interior drainage system would stop water penetration nor would it stop efflorescence and would not reduce, relieve any exterior lateral soil pressure acting upon wall. These are a couple reasons why most INT system crooks will cover, hide the inside of these B walls usually with white panels some call 'bright wall' lol or a dimpled membrane= all this does is conceal the existing condition of the B walls, yep. And expansive soils are one of the most prevalent causes of damage to building and construction in the U States (includes basement walls eh). Annual loses are greater than those of tornadoes, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes combined. And in our part of the country, Michigan Ohio clay soil (and sometimes tree roots) cause many basement walls to crack, leak, bow in... need to remove the clay soil n possible underground T roots and waterproof the exterior of these walls correctly, the exterior cracks + cracked parging in block + brick B walls and then bacfill with mostly pea stone. Installing an INT system doesn't do this, neither does a shallow ext-french drain, nor does Drylok paint and so on. Check engineer at 'Structural 101' lateral SOIL pressure and tree roots, check 'Amherst NY Causative Factors Section 3 US Army Corp Engineers' lateral soil pressure, expansive soil and "Fairfax County VA Marine Clay Guide Damage to Foundation Walls pages 6 and 7. Problems are NOT just water, no, it is the soil + water-rain and even if the grade is properly sloped away, the soil below grade will get wet, expand because water doesn't just go staight down through soil (unless one has all sand or gravel), so on longer heavier rains water moves through the soil down and sideways including underneath raised grades, under concrete driveways, patios n so on... have witnessed exactly this for 47 yrs. Yoder Builders in Ohio will inform peeps of the same thing, Donan Eng's had a decent article online then took it down lol pfft, John McEwen in Canada will fully explain same things if anyone wants the facts, most don't eh
depends on the builder really. my house is 50 years old. basement is too dry. well, not really. they did a great job with drainage. there's also water right in the ground. i mean right there, dig a hole 1 ft deep in the yard it'll fill with water right away.
I had two of these companies in to look at my basement .. neither of them even bothered to look outside. My cheapness saved me nearly $20k. I fixed the problem by repairing some downspouts and fixing grade. I spent less than $200.
Yuuup!
I love inspectors on UA-cam because they're the nerds with the real information. House building best practices are public information, but only inspectors keep all that information in their heads at once. Step 1 in this situation is as simple as he says: landscape to have the soil slope away from the house!
And if a drain is necessary, french drains are much simpler than installers would have you believe. Any amount of gravel surrounded by non-woven geotextile counts as a french drain, because the gravel supports the passage of water, and the geotextile keeps the soil out of the gravel. You don't necessarily need a massive trench with PVC pipes and a dump truck of gravel to have a french drain. For the house in this video, I agree about getting gutters before a drain, but plan where a french drain would go IF it's ever done, and route the gutters to that spot preemptively.
We owned a 100-year old twin in Philadelphia and it had water in the basement after every rain for the last 30+ years. There were no cracks in the foundation at all. It was nearly impossible to regrade the property. We had a waterproofing company install an inside perimeter drain with 2 sump pumps. It cost $12,000, but the basement was bone dry for the first time in many years.
Why was regrading impossible? Can grading be done around existing structures?
@@Hag_of_Fangorn I said "nearly" impossible. The front of the house had a huge concrete topped porch. Beyond that was the sidewalk and street. The side yard had a 50 ft. long cement walkway. The back of the house had an attached wood porch. Regrading the property was out of the question for us. The inside perimeter drain and sump pumps solved the issue nicely.
I've built alot of homes over 25 years and grade drainage around the build site has always been something I've been ocd about. I even turned down jobs because it was impossible to get proper drainage and didn't want future liability.
Thank you! Good to know for future reference.
I appreciate you taking the time to explain it so thoroughly. The lasers really do a great job of showing the movement of the wall!
A spirit level or straight edge would do just as well, lasers are great for making minor issues look major!
Brother, yell it from the rooftop. Congrats on your son's apprenticeship. That's really awesome. Best wishes and stay safe. Woot!
What about for a house built in 1910, with limestone basement walls? My yard is flat, and gutters empty into street storm sewer. During heavy rain, I get a couple of leaking areas. It’s mostly just too high of RH in the summer. I run a dehumidifier in the summer, and that works, but I’m looking for a more permanent solution.
4 houses up from us has had wet basement issues for quite a while because the poor grading / drainage. I just a basement water proofing company truck there a few days ago. Oh boy...
Would a french drain solve this issue?
Probably, but they are expensive to implement.
What about under-slab perimeter foundation drains that feed into sump pits? I have 2 pits that constantly collect water, even in dry times.
@@cheetahb5 That's exactly what this house needs.
@@celeron55 nonsense! sheesh lol
Nee
Being from Minnesota, I know from experience, you gotta start with the outside drainage.
Other than that, the walls WILL CONDENSE WATER on the INSIDE WALLs in the summer, giving the illusion of a leaking wall.
Dan Oconnor was the #1 basement wall guy. RIP Dan.
Literally built a home in the middle of a pool.
You can still fix that with an underground drainage system or even an open ditch placed smartly. In any case, you're going to need an excavator.
Must be so proud to have your son working with you.
Out of curiosity let's say you didn't fix the drainage and you just installed a dimple membrane on the outside of the foundation. Wouldn't you get all of the exact same soil water pressure problems?
yes
if you hand dug and waterproofed the exterior of B wall and backfilled with most-all pea stone, NO.
@@manderson5397need perimeter weeping tile and sump & pit to go with the waterproofing. The waterproofing keeps the water away from the foundation and forces the water down to the weeping tile at the bottom of basement wall where the tile carries it the sump pit to be pumped away from the house. You can’t just waterproof, you have to control the water and move it away also.
great vid good luck to Austin
fix the exterior cracks, dig out the nonsense clay and back fill with pea stone.
House needs a sump pit
Hey people listen to this dude he speaks the truth and knows what he speaks
some water intrusion through B walls below grade and some above, no installation of any interior drainage system would stop water penetration nor would it stop efflorescence and would not reduce, relieve any exterior lateral soil pressure acting upon wall. These are a couple reasons why most INT system crooks will cover, hide the inside of these B walls usually with white panels some call 'bright wall' lol or a dimpled membrane= all this does is conceal the existing condition of the B walls, yep. And expansive soils are one of the most prevalent causes of damage to building and construction in the U States (includes basement walls eh). Annual loses are greater than those of tornadoes, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes combined. And in our part of the country, Michigan Ohio clay soil (and sometimes tree roots) cause many basement walls to crack, leak, bow in... need to remove the clay soil n possible underground T roots and waterproof the exterior of these walls correctly, the exterior cracks + cracked parging in block + brick B walls and then bacfill with mostly pea stone. Installing an INT system doesn't do this, neither does a shallow ext-french drain, nor does Drylok paint and so on. Check engineer at 'Structural 101' lateral SOIL pressure and tree roots, check 'Amherst NY Causative Factors Section 3 US Army Corp Engineers' lateral soil pressure, expansive soil and "Fairfax County VA Marine Clay Guide Damage to Foundation Walls pages 6 and 7. Problems are NOT just water, no, it is the soil + water-rain and even if the grade is properly sloped away, the soil below grade will get wet, expand because water doesn't just go staight down through soil (unless one has all sand or gravel), so on longer heavier rains water moves through the soil down and sideways including underneath raised grades, under concrete driveways, patios n so on... have witnessed exactly this for 47 yrs. Yoder Builders in Ohio will inform peeps of the same thing, Donan Eng's had a decent article online then took it down lol pfft, John McEwen in Canada will fully explain same things if anyone wants the facts, most don't eh
What's up with your hair
It's falling out.
It's called 'Killz' and you apply it with a roller. Even stops active dripping.
We bought a house once with a basement, NEVER AGAIN!!!
depends on the builder really. my house is 50 years old. basement is too dry. well, not really. they did a great job with drainage. there's also water right in the ground. i mean right there, dig a hole 1 ft deep in the yard it'll fill with water right away.