Honest Basement Waterproofing
PaulC135
evaluation of a wet basement problem? I've had all the companies give me
their "professional opinions" but all they want is to sell me their own,
"exclusive" solution. I get the feeling that the $2-4000.00 (average
estimate) I am encouraged to spend might be solved by something far less
complicated. Or not, but none of the evaluations seem truly
comprehenisve or all-inclusive. Who are the true and un-biased experts?
Paul Cohen
Daniel Hicks
Did any of them suggest that you first try adjusting your landscaping?
Did any of them look at your landscaping? Nine times out of ten you can
significantly improve the situation by adjusting landscaping so that
water flows away from the house rather than standing around it.
Sometimes you'll have to get a driveway slab mud jacked as well.
Rick Marron
proofed by a previous owner. I found an interesting book at the time call
the "wet basement handbook" (I think that's the title). I'll look around to
see if I still have it and post the publisher and title. It has a wealth of
practical information that would help you evaluate various proposals.
I also agree that landscaping is the first thing to work on. Unless the
water is from an underground spring, you can make significant improvement by
getting any runoff from the roof well away from the house perimeter. My
particular problem actually required French draining the yard to reduce
runoff from a hillside in the rear that was saturating the soil.
Rick,
Oviedo FL
PaulC135
Thank you for these suggestions. I lack the skills to figure out these
solutions myself. What professionals would I contact to get honest, accurate
and comprehensive appraisals and suggestions?
Paul Cohen
Daniel Hicks
You don't need an expert to do the basic appraisal of landscaping. Just
walk around your house and look at the slope of the ground. You should
be able to see a detectable slope (at least 1/2" per foot) AWAY from the
house all the way around, for a distance of 5 feet or so. There should
not be any low spots that will collect water within about 10 feet of the
house. If there is a driveway or sidewalk slab adjacent to the house it
should slope AWAY from the house (at least 1/8" per foot). All
downspouts should have extensions of some sort to carry runoff at least
4 feet away from the house.
If concrete slabs tilt toward the house, you can have them "mud
jacked". This involves injecting a mud-like substance under the low
edges of the slabs to raise them. Soil grading can be corrected by
adding more soil (clay is best) near the house or removing soil farther
away (or both). Resist the temptation to "cheat" and just add bark
close to the house as that will not do the job. Only if you have a
"gotcha" situation where you can't adjust the soil level without going
too far up on the side of the house or going below a sidewalk or other
fixed level in the yard should you need to resort to more sophisticated
techniques such as French drains.
If you determine that you have a slope problem, and you don't want to
deal with it yourself, then probably a landscape contractor would be the
best person to talk to. An experienced landscape contractor should be
familiar with controlling runoff near a house.