Anonymous
Post 07/17/2025 22:51     Subject: "Basement known to take on water in heavy rain"
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Still a no. I am so confused about the people who think that you should buy a house (much less a pricey one) and just accept the basement will flood so don't finish it.



To be fair the wet basement isn’t even the worse thing about that house, I’m case you missed it…. it’s in Virginia.


What’s wrong with Virginia?
Anonymous
Post 07/17/2025 22:35     Subject: "Basement known to take on water in heavy rain"
Anonymous wrote:Still a no. I am so confused about the people who think that you should buy a house (much less a pricey one) and just accept the basement will flood so don't finish it.



They don’t. They just accept that an old house might not have functional perimeter drains and that if you want to put them in and have a dry basement, it’s going to cost $15-25k.

I think they were right to fix it and they should have done it before. This thread has been illustrative about how little people know about houses and basement systems.
Anonymous
Post 07/17/2025 20:18     Subject: "Basement known to take on water in heavy rain"
Anonymous wrote:Still a no. I am so confused about the people who think that you should buy a house (much less a pricey one) and just accept the basement will flood so don't finish it.



To be fair the wet basement isn’t even the worse thing about that house, I’m case you missed it…. it’s in Virginia.
Anonymous
Post 07/17/2025 12:50     Subject: "Basement known to take on water in heavy rain"
Still a no. I am so confused about the people who think that you should buy a house (much less a pricey one) and just accept the basement will flood so don't finish it.

Anonymous
Post 07/17/2025 12:17     Subject: "Basement known to take on water in heavy rain"
I also got a notification from Redfin about this house. I think they changed their notification system recently as they aligned with Rocket. I don’t like it.

Maybe the owners read this thread and did the work. Makes you wonder why they didn’t do it prior to listing the house.
Anonymous
Post 07/17/2025 11:30     Subject: "Basement known to take on water in heavy rain"
The house is suddenly "BACK ON THE MARKET" with a waterproofed basement (according to the listing). Not sure why Redfin send me a notification re this house (creepy) but it did and the house is back. Hopefully the work, worked.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2025 16:41     Subject: "Basement known to take on water in heavy rain"
Anonymous wrote:Looks like they took it off the market.

Might be legit flooding with the way this weather has been lately. Hopefully they’re trying to fix the basement.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2025 06:53     Subject: "Basement known to take on water in heavy rain"
Looks like they took it off the market.
Anonymous
Post 07/15/2025 22:25     Subject: "Basement known to take on water in heavy rain"
Talk to a structural engineer and a foundation company to get an idea on remedies.
Anonymous
Post 07/15/2025 07:26     Subject: "Basement known to take on water in heavy rain"
I wonder how much water that basement took in with that wild storm last night.
Anonymous
Post 07/10/2025 07:09     Subject: "Basement known to take on water in heavy rain"
What type of company to call to fix Walter leakage during storms basement skidding door? We have has the door replaced that did nothing
Anonymous
Post 07/10/2025 07:00     Subject: "Basement known to take on water in heavy rain"
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The level of ignorance in here is astounding. Most of the water issues in Del Ray are from ground water coming up, not rain water falling. The entire area is flat as a pancake so there is no where for the water to go.

Most people put in a french drain with a pump and either a battery back up or a municipal water powered pump. This is 100% fixible and I question the Realtor's logic in not fixing it first hand.

-guy who has been in Del Ray with a 1919 Bungalow with a basement since 2001. The only time my basement flooded was when we lost power for 3 days during the derecho and the battery was drained on the back up. I installed a muniicpal water powered one and it's been bone dry.

Twenty four years in the house and I had exactly one, 1 inch flood in my basement. I got air handlers and dehumidifers in there and took out the carpet. Total repair cost was about $3000, or less than most people spend on Tolls in this area per year.


This is not true. I am glad your house in Del Ray has been fine, and also seems like you live on a flat street but have you been anywhere else in Del Ray/ Rosemont/ Braddock Heights/ North Ridge???? It’s flat?! What?


The house in question is in Del Ray, about 3 blocks from me. We aren't talking about Beverly Hills or Rosemont. We are talking about Del Ray.


That's great you are 3 blocks from this house. I am about 5. You are still wrong. I hope your basement stays dry (I am sincere about that). But to make statements that the flooding is from water "coming up" and not from the sky, and that Del Ray is flat are not true statements. At all. That may be your experience, and I am jealous that it is, but you're wrong.

I've been in my current house for about 20 years. We have 2 sump pumps and drains and 1000 sq ft basement. We had never had water in the basement until 2021, and the water was definitely from the sky (not water coming up, what even is that)? I have video footage. The water was coming down from Braddock Heights, crossing over Russell and just down to Commonwealth because all of that is coming downhill. The water had no where to go, so it started coming down our basement stairs into our basement through the door. We had had a similar storm in 2019 but the water didn't breach the basement stairs but in 2021 it did.Water everywhere. Then it happened again in 2023. So please stop. If this particular seller feels it is necessary to make a declaration re water in the basement (esp in Virginia when it is a buyer beware state), then something is up.



It's called water table and is 100% different than your inability to keep a stairwell drain clear.


My stairwell drain is clean, but it can only drain so much at a time if the volume of rain coming down is too heavy. I am not sure what kind of odd rigidity you have with defending water tables and denying your neighbors' experiences with flooding in the area. You are oddly aggressive and dismissive. I have photos, videos, and insurance bills, so do plenty of my neighbors with similar issues. And to say Del Ray is as flat as a pancake is pure comedy gold. I was just driving to CVS on Monroe (another known street to flood between Commonwealth and Mt. Vernon, because you've got run off coming from High Street/Braddock and in from higher elevation of Monroe by CVS). It's flat? GTFOH. Are you the agent for this house?


I’m not that PP, but I think there’s an important distinction between water intrusion through the walls and a flood that comes in through the door. Yes, you can’t fix the latter. But I don’t think we have reason to think this house has that problem. What it does clearly have is water intrusion in an unfinished basement that should be fixable with checking the gutters and installing drains and a sump pump. It won’t be that disruptive, because it’s unfinished. This house doesn’t even have basement stairs.

I would totally buy this house if it were otherwise right for me. I would budget $25k for the basement. Install the drains and sump pump and use what’s left for paint, cabinets/shelving, and maybe cheerful vinyl flooring. Bam, dry laundry room.


It is impossible to know what “taking on water” means for this particular house without more information. It could mean that water comes in through the walls that can’t be mitigated via drains and sump pump or that it comes from flash flooding or heavy rains that indicate more of a infrastructure problem (like last night). Arguing over who is right, without knowing anything else, is pointless. Whatever the cause, the seller found it serious enough to disclose which is pretty rare.

I’d be curious to know what happened to that basement during last night’s storms.

Like other PP have mentioned, that particular street does in fact get run off and is not flat. Those characteristics are never going to change.
Anonymous
Post 07/09/2025 23:34     Subject: "Basement known to take on water in heavy rain"
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:W Bellefonte between Russell and Commonwealth) is at the bottom of a VERY steep hill (Lloyds Lane, not sure why the road changes names but it's the same road). I mean insanely steep. 20 E Bellefonte is right after that once you cross Commonwealth.

Go drive it. Start at Braddock and then turn onto Lloyds, go down that hill, cross Russell, continue down that hill, cross Commonwealth. I highly doubt there is anything you can do to prevent flooding there. Sorry, even though it is a very cute house.


The City of Alexandria has serious infrastructure issues with regard to drainage. There has been a massive amount of construction along Highway 1 where there used to be open fields that absorbed rain. Now that rain is all run off and has to go somewhere and Alexandria apparently gave zero thought about upgrading the drainage systems until it started causing issues. It looks like they are finally starting to take it seriously, but who knows when or if they'll get it resolved.

There's a whole website here with an interactive map of planned projects. It looks like there are quite a few in this neighborhood, but none of them actually in progress. https://www.alexandriava.gov/FloodAction


Info on the Bellefonte Avenue Storm Drain Improvement Projects. The link says construction is supposed to begin in the fall, but it looks like the city hasn't provided funding yet (The attempt to blame climate change and "old infrastructure" is ridiculous. The city permitted a massive amount of construction with no thought about whether the infrastructure could handle it.) It says:

The City has been experiencing widespread flooding due to an increase in high-intensity rainfall events, which are attributed to climate change. As a result, residents of Bellefonte Avenue have been facing frequent localized flooding. Several residents have reported in-home flooding because the current curb inlets are unable to capture the excess water. These frequent flooding incidents support the findings from the City of Alexandria’s Storm Sewer Capacity Analysis (CASSCA). This increased flooding is attributed to old infrastructure, the design criteria in place at the time of construction, and the impact from climate change.

https://www.alexandriava.gov/capital-projects/project/bellefonte-avenue-storm-drain-improvements
Anonymous
Post 07/09/2025 23:18     Subject: "Basement known to take on water in heavy rain"
Anonymous wrote:W Bellefonte between Russell and Commonwealth) is at the bottom of a VERY steep hill (Lloyds Lane, not sure why the road changes names but it's the same road). I mean insanely steep. 20 E Bellefonte is right after that once you cross Commonwealth.

Go drive it. Start at Braddock and then turn onto Lloyds, go down that hill, cross Russell, continue down that hill, cross Commonwealth. I highly doubt there is anything you can do to prevent flooding there. Sorry, even though it is a very cute house.


The City of Alexandria has serious infrastructure issues with regard to drainage. There has been a massive amount of construction along Highway 1 where there used to be open fields that absorbed rain. Now that rain is all run off and has to go somewhere and Alexandria apparently gave zero thought about upgrading the drainage systems until it started causing issues. It looks like they are finally starting to take it seriously, but who knows when or if they'll get it resolved.

There's a whole website here with an interactive map of planned projects. It looks like there are quite a few in this neighborhood, but none of them actually in progress. https://www.alexandriava.gov/FloodAction
Anonymous
Post 07/07/2025 10:49     Subject: "Basement known to take on water in heavy rain"
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The level of ignorance in here is astounding. Most of the water issues in Del Ray are from ground water coming up, not rain water falling. The entire area is flat as a pancake so there is no where for the water to go.

Most people put in a french drain with a pump and either a battery back up or a municipal water powered pump. This is 100% fixible and I question the Realtor's logic in not fixing it first hand.

-guy who has been in Del Ray with a 1919 Bungalow with a basement since 2001. The only time my basement flooded was when we lost power for 3 days during the derecho and the battery was drained on the back up. I installed a muniicpal water powered one and it's been bone dry.

Twenty four years in the house and I had exactly one, 1 inch flood in my basement. I got air handlers and dehumidifers in there and took out the carpet. Total repair cost was about $3000, or less than most people spend on Tolls in this area per year.


This is not true. I am glad your house in Del Ray has been fine, and also seems like you live on a flat street but have you been anywhere else in Del Ray/ Rosemont/ Braddock Heights/ North Ridge???? It’s flat?! What?


The house in question is in Del Ray, about 3 blocks from me. We aren't talking about Beverly Hills or Rosemont. We are talking about Del Ray.


That's great you are 3 blocks from this house. I am about 5. You are still wrong. I hope your basement stays dry (I am sincere about that). But to make statements that the flooding is from water "coming up" and not from the sky, and that Del Ray is flat are not true statements. At all. That may be your experience, and I am jealous that it is, but you're wrong.

I've been in my current house for about 20 years. We have 2 sump pumps and drains and 1000 sq ft basement. We had never had water in the basement until 2021, and the water was definitely from the sky (not water coming up, what even is that)? I have video footage. The water was coming down from Braddock Heights, crossing over Russell and just down to Commonwealth because all of that is coming downhill. The water had no where to go, so it started coming down our basement stairs into our basement through the door. We had had a similar storm in 2019 but the water didn't breach the basement stairs but in 2021 it did.Water everywhere. Then it happened again in 2023. So please stop. If this particular seller feels it is necessary to make a declaration re water in the basement (esp in Virginia when it is a buyer beware state), then something is up.



It's called water table and is 100% different than your inability to keep a stairwell drain clear.


My stairwell drain is clean, but it can only drain so much at a time if the volume of rain coming down is too heavy. I am not sure what kind of odd rigidity you have with defending water tables and denying your neighbors' experiences with flooding in the area. You are oddly aggressive and dismissive. I have photos, videos, and insurance bills, so do plenty of my neighbors with similar issues. And to say Del Ray is as flat as a pancake is pure comedy gold. I was just driving to CVS on Monroe (another known street to flood between Commonwealth and Mt. Vernon, because you've got run off coming from High Street/Braddock and in from higher elevation of Monroe by CVS). It's flat? GTFOH. Are you the agent for this house?


I’m not that PP, but I think there’s an important distinction between water intrusion through the walls and a flood that comes in through the door. Yes, you can’t fix the latter. But I don’t think we have reason to think this house has that problem. What it does clearly have is water intrusion in an unfinished basement that should be fixable with checking the gutters and installing drains and a sump pump. It won’t be that disruptive, because it’s unfinished. This house doesn’t even have basement stairs.

I would totally buy this house if it were otherwise right for me. I would budget $25k for the basement. Install the drains and sump pump and use what’s left for paint, cabinets/shelving, and maybe cheerful vinyl flooring. Bam, dry laundry room.