Water engineer for basement water issues

[Anonymous]

How is the exterior/ drainage? A landscape company solved this problem for us for 4 figures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is the exterior/ drainage? A landscape company solved this problem for us for 4 figures.

+1. Start here. Especially if your basement was dry before the addition. It's unlikely it's suddenly a water table issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:JES are complete scam artists. Do not use them and believe the horrible reviews online. Call Mer Waterproofing in Lorton. They used to be Mer/Morrison and have been around since the 70s. They are old school pen and paper but they will get it done. If they can't, no one can.

It's a data point of one but, I had a very good experience with JES. It probably comes down to who you get but our inspector was not pushy at all and we went with them even though they were not the cheapest. Basement has been bone dry ever since and that was 6 years ago. They also give a life-time transferable warranty which is important to us as we do plan to sell in a few years when the last kid is done with college. I don't want the next owners dealing with the water issues that we struggled with.

Interior drain? Do you have mice, crickets or bugs? Genuine question

Not at all. I'm curious why you ask that. The drain is under the concrete and they drilled weep holes in the block wall, below the slab to keep the water from filling up the blocks. Water poured out of the holes they drilled. It was interesting to watch. The sump pump basins have sealed lids. The system did not create any openings for bugs or rodents. My Radon system is still pulling the same differential as before.

[Anonymous]

Just because I’ve seen a bunch of homes during our home buying of one of the houses and it seemed to be a thing. It must be that the perimeter was not sealed properly.

I still can’t get over the water being essentially filtered through the walls. Do you get excess humidity or musty odors?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The basement waterproofing business is full of charlatans. You don't want anyone who does a lot of marketing, if they wear a uniform or drive a truck with fancy logos steer clear.

The problem is that rainwater is running down the foundation and finding cracks to get in. The solution is first to keep that water away from the foundation in the first place, and then to give it a place to go where it can be disposed of safely. The exact details depend upon the site and how it was built. But if someone starts talking about "groundwater" or "water table" or similar mumbo-jumbo, cross them off your list.

Avoid interior perimeter solutions at all cost if you at all can. Go for external dig out and repair and slab repair. If you think about it interior sump pump and interior perimeter is making your walls into a water conduit. You don’t want water to come near or into your walls in the first place.

Not to mention pests, mice, crickets (black indoor ones). You’ll never get rid of these again. Pick your company on whether they’ll attempt exterior solution as the priority one.

It's rare that a house will be a good candidate for an external drain. It involves excavating all the way down to the foundation footings all around the house. If there are stoops, porches, decks, HVAC equipment, walkways, or anything else, it would have to be removed or demo'd. Then that dirt has to be piled well away from the house if there is room. Then the old clogged drain tile is replaced and the walls treated with a waterproof membrane. It's not even a possible solution for most houses or in most neighborhoods. Almost all water management solutions will be interior drains, tied to a sump pump, if not two. Because it works, is not anywhere near as disruptive or expensive as exterior drainage. I know you are that one holdout who still insists on doing that way but I'm sorry to let you know, we drive cars now and have smart phones. Times have changed. Try to keep up.

That’s ridiculous; it’s just harder and more expensive and a lower profit margin for the company. It can be done including where hard scape patios abut the house. It takes 2-4 days and is hard work, often done by hand, but you done have interior sump pumps, perimeter holes all inside, radon risks, pests, and just generally mold - the inside all dry but where’s the water coming from into your interior drains: your walls, floor etc.

Well if you are not stopping the water from getting into your walls and are instead draining it through them to the interior, your interior might be dry, but what do you think is the state of your walls? Not to mention the unseemly white plastic and trench all around your rooms etc.

Dude, you are high. Explain how you will excavate 7-8 feet down, and also 7-8 feet out by OSHA requirement, then go out another 3 feet to pile the dirt. Sure you could do that at my house. I have an acre of land that surrounds it and adequate room to pile the dirt. Oh, except for the back that is solid concrete patio and then a pool. And the one side that is an asphalt driveway. And the front that has a concrete stoop and walkway. But the other side is pretty open, except for the HVAC unit. It's not at all realistic to think you can do that kind of digging around most homes, or any homes in the city. You can't get to the wall with an attached garage, or a crawl space addition. If there is a deck, it has to come off. Same for anything else that abuts the house, like concrete patios, walkways, ornamental plants, you name it.

Then, as you point out, it's a LOT more work, and a LOT more money and you aren't doing anything except replacing an archaic, failing drain system with another one. Water will still fill up the CMU blocks and cause them to leach where with an interior drain, the blocks are drained and never fill up again. A drain on one side of the footing or the other is not different except an interior drain, when done correctly, won't clog again. You can't say that about an exterior drain you are placing in the mud, covered by gravel, same as the one that failed before. There is a good reason no one does it that way anymore. If it was any good, those drains wouldn't be failing in so many houses that are only 20 years old as the silt clogs the knife cut plastic pipe from the outside. They don't even clog up inside like people think. Most of the time, the drain is open but no more water is getting in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are interior drains going to solve water on the outside of the foundation that manage their way from the surface soaking soil next to your foundation and even creating moisture/water within foundation (or even in your cinder blocks)? In that instance… wouldn’t the act of water pulling into your foundation, even if it is then kicked out via weep holes and a interior drain, deteriorate the foundation slowly?

No, water that remains in the walls deteriorate them. You can't drain that water with an exterior drain because you wouldn't core drill weep holes on the outside. That makes no sense. With the footings under water, a drain on the outside, or inside will relieve the water pressure and keep it drained.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The basement waterproofing business is full of charlatans. You don't want anyone who does a lot of marketing, if they wear a uniform or drive a truck with fancy logos steer clear.

The problem is that rainwater is running down the foundation and finding cracks to get in. The solution is first to keep that water away from the foundation in the first place, and then to give it a place to go where it can be disposed of safely. The exact details depend upon the site and how it was built. But if someone starts talking about "groundwater" or "water table" or similar mumbo-jumbo, cross them off your list.

Avoid interior perimeter solutions at all cost if you at all can. Go for external dig out and repair and slab repair. If you think about it interior sump pump and interior perimeter is making your walls into a water conduit. You don’t want water to come near or into your walls in the first place.

Not to mention pests, mice, crickets (black indoor ones). You’ll never get rid of these again. Pick your company on whether they’ll attempt exterior solution as the priority one.

It's rare that a house will be a good candidate for an external drain. It involves excavating all the way down to the foundation footings all around the house. If there are stoops, porches, decks, HVAC equipment, walkways, or anything else, it would have to be removed or demo'd. Then that dirt has to be piled well away from the house if there is room. Then the old clogged drain tile is replaced and the walls treated with a waterproof membrane. It's not even a possible solution for most houses or in most neighborhoods. Almost all water management solutions will be interior drains, tied to a sump pump, if not two. Because it works, is not anywhere near as disruptive or expensive as exterior drainage. I know you are that one holdout who still insists on doing that way but I'm sorry to let you know, we drive cars now and have smart phones. Times have changed. Try to keep up.

That’s ridiculous; it’s just harder and more expensive and a lower profit margin for the company. It can be done including where hard scape patios abut the house. It takes 2-4 days and is hard work, often done by hand, but you done have interior sump pumps, perimeter holes all inside, radon risks, pests, and just generally mold - the inside all dry but where’s the water coming from into your interior drains: your walls, floor etc.

Well if you are not stopping the water from getting into your walls and are instead draining it through them to the interior, your interior might be dry, but what do you think is the state of your walls? Not to mention the unseemly white plastic and trench all around your rooms etc.

Dude, you are high. Explain how you will excavate 7-8 feet down, and also 7-8 feet out by OSHA requirement, then go out another 3 feet to pile the dirt. Sure you could do that at my house. I have an acre of land that surrounds it and adequate room to pile the dirt. Oh, except for the back that is solid concrete patio and then a pool. And the one side that is an asphalt driveway. And the front that has a concrete stoop and walkway. But the other side is pretty open, except for the HVAC unit. It's not at all realistic to think you can do that kind of digging around most homes, or any homes in the city. You can't get to the wall with an attached garage, or a crawl space addition. If there is a deck, it has to come off. Same for anything else that abuts the house, like concrete patios, walkways, ornamental plants, you name it.

Then, as you point out, it's a LOT more work, and a LOT more money and you aren't doing anything except replacing an archaic, failing drain system with another one. Water will still fill up the CMU blocks and cause them to leach where with an interior drain, the blocks are drained and never fill up again. A drain on one side of the footing or the other is not different except an interior drain, when done correctly, won't clog again. You can't say that about an exterior drain you are placing in the mud, covered by gravel, same as the one that failed before. There is a good reason no one does it that way anymore. If it was any good, those drains wouldn't be failing in so many houses that are only 20 years old as the silt clogs the knife cut plastic pipe from the outside. They don't even clog up inside like people think. Most of the time, the drain is open but no more water is getting in.

We did it in DC; with a stone patio and stairs; on 3 sides; graded the rest. Yes it was probably a 10ft trench. But it took 3 days, there’s no water in the walls. It’s more expensive but it’s really superior

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are interior drains going to solve water on the outside of the foundation that manage their way from the surface soaking soil next to your foundation and even creating moisture/water within foundation (or even in your cinder blocks)? In that instance… wouldn’t the act of water pulling into your foundation, even if it is then kicked out via weep holes and a interior drain, deteriorate the foundation slowly?

No, water that remains in the walls deteriorate them. You can't drain that water with an exterior drain because you wouldn't core drill weep holes on the outside. That makes no sense. With the footings under water, a drain on the outside, or inside will relieve the water pressure and keep it drained.

You drain them once. Then you exterior proof and grade. And you’re done

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just because I’ve seen a bunch of homes during our home buying of one of the houses and it seemed to be a thing. It must be that the perimeter was not sealed properly.

I still can’t get over the water being essentially filtered through the walls. Do you get excess humidity or musty odors?

I think maybe you need to get someone to draw you a schematic.

[Anonymous]

They drew me a schematic. But it just seems like a suboptimal approach. Some of the top building science guys agree and it’s copied upstream.

I would be curious about the humidity, mustiness, mold and damage over time.

I’m not stupid I just disagree

[Anonymous]

We had them dig down 7-8 feet, but in VA the rules only required a dig about 4-5 feet away from side of house.

Then put down new drain tile, exterior sump pump, a bunch of gravel, and it had a Bituthene waterproof membrane right next to the exterior basement wall all the way around all the way down.

Dry as the Sahara after that, but it was not cheap.

[Anonymous]

Manage the surface/rain water first, then see what's left.