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. . . But the water issue is next, and will be expensive. . . inside basement masonry repairs, and exterior perimeter pump installed, all of which will be very expensive. . . - it's impossible to find someone who services our area.
We can recommend (highly!) Tar Heel Basement Systems. Can't say enough good about Them (and there are no end of sheisters out there!).
We recently bought a home where the previous homeowner decided to install a complete waterproofing system on the basement. During the Due Diligence period, I pushed heavily on the previous homeowner to disclose all engineering and inspection permits of this project...mostly because my last 3 homes had basements and I learned a few things, the hard way! He willingly gave me all the info which I have summarized below.
The waterproofing work included:
Directly connecting all downspouts to drainpipes
Pullback of earth to expose exterior basement wall
French drain installed at the base of the BITUTHENE membrane, 4-6 feet underground
100% of drains connected together to single/primary pipe to divert water off property to prevent flooding of yard (yard has high concentration of clay, like most places in triangle region...which means water pools during heavy rain)
Regrading 6 feet perimeter of entire house to pitch 1-2% away from foundation
Total cost was $20,000 in 2010, which probably means a job like this in 2017 would cost around $24,000 when adjusting for inflation.
The company was Groundwater Management Associates:
Since the system was installed, previous homeowner reported ZERO water ingress. So far I can confirm the system is still working perfectly....I carefully watched the basement during tropical storms and it has been dry as a desert despite rainfall rates of 2 inches per hour.
Shame on the original builder of this house for not putting this type of system in place during construction. The clay-based earth in the Triangle region really mandates a Bituthene system with drain spout run off pipes, otherwise Mother Nature and science will eventually push water through those buried walls.
According to my discussion with the groundwater engineer, only 8% of residential homes in Wake County have basements. This means basements are not very common, and it also means the builders usually have no idea of how to properly install them in the first place!
We recently bought a home where the previous homeowner decided to install a complete waterproofing system on the basement. During the Due Diligence period, I pushed heavily on the previous homeowner to disclose all engineering and inspection permits of this project...mostly because my last 3 homes had basements and I learned a few things, the hard way! He willingly gave me all the info which I have summarized below.
The waterproofing work included:
Directly connecting all downspouts to drainpipes
Pullback of earth to expose exterior basement wall
French drain installed at the base of the BITUTHENE membrane, 4-6 feet underground
100% of drains connected together to single/primary pipe to divert water off property to prevent flooding of yard (yard has high concentration of clay, like most places in triangle region...which means water pools during heavy rain)
Regrading 6 feet perimeter of entire house to pitch 1-2% away from foundation
Total cost was $20,000 in 2010, which probably means a job like this in 2017 would cost around $24,000 when adjusting for inflation.
The company was Groundwater Management Associates:
Since the system was installed, previous homeowner reported ZERO water ingress. So far I can confirm the system is still working perfectly....I carefully watched the basement during tropical storms and it has been dry as a desert despite rainfall rates of 2 inches per hour.
Shame on the original builder of this house for not putting this type of system in place during construction. The clay-based earth in the Triangle region really mandates a Bituthene system with drain spout run off pipes, otherwise Mother Nature and science will eventually push water through those buried walls.
According to my discussion with the groundwater engineer, only 8% of residential homes in Wake County have basements. This means basements are not very common, and it also means the builders usually have no idea of how to properly install them in the first place!
Hope all goes well for your project.
Thank you very much for sharing this information. The contractor we contacted would be doing exterior excavation, using spray-on Tuff-N-Dri on below-grade foundation walls, followed by Warm-N-Dri drainboard, rather than Bituthene. Perhaps I should do a bit more research about that. I couldn't find any indication on GMA's site that they do residential basement waterproofing, however? Still leaning towards downspout/regrading as a first line of defense--but I also don't want to waste money if it doesn't work; further, this won't address any foundation damage that might have happened. Our house is 100 years old, so I imagine that some kind of damage has probably happened? Yet, in one "old house" article, the author states that waterproofing the exterior of a brick foundation wall is one of the worst things you can do, since it won't allow the brick to "breathe." This whole process is perplexing, to say the least.
Last edited by OrganicSmallHome; 01-17-2017 at 01:25 AM..
"Yet, in one "old house" article, the author states that waterproofing the exterior of a brick foundation wall is one of the worst things you can do, since it won't allow the brick to "breathe." ".....one man's opinion....where are his facts to support the idea that bricks need to breathe ?
IMO, getting and keeping water away from the foundation is the key to a dry basement, My rule of thumb: if I want to keep water in, I'll protect/waterproof the inside. If I want to keep water out, I'll protect/waterproof the outside.
My house is old, and has had "water in the basement" problems since it was built in the 40's, because the grade was wrong. Somewhere along the line, gutters/downspouts were removed which exacerbated the situation. Since regrading the yard, no water in the basement, next step is gutters/downspouts combined with buried drain pipes to the down hill side of the house.
With no gutters, water cascades off the roof, right next to the foundation...it's only a matter of time before the soil becomes saturated during periods of heavy, prolonged rainfall...when that happens, hydrostatic pressure becomes the issue....and the water seeks the path of least resistence.
Is the "breathing" issue/concern related to the sealing of brick foundation, or just to above grade brick exterior veneer siding or full brick construction?
I would be skeptical about the former and somewhat agreeable to the latter, particularly if there is inadequate drainage behind a brick veneer exterior.
Is the "breathing" issue/concern related to the sealing of brick foundation, or just to above grade brick exterior veneer siding or full brick construction?
I would be skeptical about the former and somewhat agreeable to the latter, particularly if there is inadequate drainage behind a brick veneer exterior.
Link to the article?
Hi. I found these interesting articles on bricks used in housebuilding:
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