Moisture in walls
Dave
meter has a maximum level of 50% and it was showing just that. Approximately 1.5
feet higher the level drops to 11%. The floor is a hardwood floor which does not
show moisture (according to the meter). Where the wood meets the wall there is
some moisture.
The house has two floors (built in the sixties). Concrete floors and walls. Upper
floor is OK but ground floor has the problem. The moisture seems to seep from
small holes in the concrete floor. Below ground floor there is an empty space
about ten feet high. The crawling space (if you can call it that) below the
problematic ground floor is dripping with of moisture on the ceiling.
Only a few walls have moisture and only around near the holes.
The floor has water pipes embedded in the concrete. I don't think there is a leak
but instead I think the moist from ground is seeping up. The areas have had
problems with ants. Perhaps the ant dug up a hole? The house has an HVAC system
taht really pulls air in from every hole. Could that bring moisture up since the
crawling space celing is moist.
What can I do about the problem? I've allready filled the holes with
waterproofing material. A renovation guy came up and told me to rip the moist
concrete and wait a couple of weeks if it dries up.
Malcolm Hoar
>The crawling space (if you can call it that) below the
>problematic ground floor is dripping with of moisture on the ceiling.
You've got to find where that water is coming from.
* Burst pipe?
* From leaking gutters/downspout?
* Poor drainage in the soil outside?
* Other?
You need to take a *really* good look around, inside and
outside. By that I mean, be prepared to spend an hour or
three really looking for clues, and thinking!
--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| ma...@malch.com Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
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Speedy Jim
<SNIP>
---
The moisture seems to seep from
> small holes in the concrete floor. Below ground floor there is an empty space
> about ten feet high. The crawling space (if you can call it that) below the
> problematic ground floor is dripping with of moisture on the ceiling.
>
>
> The floor has water pipes embedded in the concrete.
> I don't think there is a leak...
The concrete ceiling is *dripping* ??
I think there _is_ a leak!]
(Just my opinion.)
Is it only domestic water piping (Hot/Cold)
buried in the ceiling/floor or is there
piping for a heating system as well?
Or even drain piping?
If you can't account for outside sources
of the water (like recent floods),
this may take some serious pro investigation
to find the cause *in the slab*.
If there are a mix of systems buried,
first step is to identify which system is leaking.
Jim
Proctologically Violated┊
basement areas.
Disappears w/ the A/C turned on.
Could be a condensation drip from an elbow or fitting, as well.
--
------
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"Speedy Jim" <vo...@nls.net> wrote in message
news:L0r6h.5896$IR4...@newssvr25.news.prodigy.net...
Dave
>Dave wrote:
><SNIP>
>---
> The moisture seems to seep from
>> small holes in the concrete floor. Below ground floor there is an empty space
>> about ten feet high. The crawling space (if you can call it that) below the
>> problematic ground floor is dripping with of moisture on the ceiling.
>>
>-----
>>
>> The floor has water pipes embedded in the concrete.
>
>> I don't think there is a leak...
>
> The concrete ceiling is *dripping* ??
There is a lot of moisture below the ground floor in the crawling space but it is
evenly spaced and not coming from one source. Temperature outside is somewhat
above freezing.
>
> I think there _is_ a leak!]
> (Just my opinion.)
>
> Is it only domestic water piping (Hot/Cold)
> buried in the ceiling/floor or is there
> piping for a heating system as well?
> Or even drain piping?
Only domestic.
Dave
>I have a problem w/ moisture *condensing* on concrete floors/walls in
>basement areas.
>Disappears w/ the A/C turned on.
>
>Could be a condensation drip from an elbow or fitting, as well.
I am hoping it is just condense water from below seeping up to the ground floor.
I'll add a ventilation fan to the crawling space see does it help.
Roy Starrin
>The house has two floors (built in the sixties). Concrete floors and walls. Upper
>floor is OK but ground floor has the problem. The moisture seems to seep from
>small holes in the concrete floor. Below ground floor there is an empty space
>about ten feet high. The crawling space (if you can call it that) below the
>problematic ground floor is dripping with of moisture on the ceiling.
What is the level of the outside ground in relationship to all this,
on all sides of the house? Is it above the "problematic ground
floor"? Does outside water flow toward the house, or have you
established your land drainage so that water drains away from the
house? Any downspouts from gutters? How close to the house do they
discharge?
Dave
I checked the area below the problem places more carefully. They have downspouts
nearby which occasionally "sweat". The believe this is the problem. Water lines
don't seem to have been cracked. The moisture in the crawling space is not near
the problem places after all and ground cannot be the problem since the ceiling
in the crawling space is too high up (10 feet) from teh ceiling.
The water from the downspout seem to have accumulated and now is showing.
I carved some moist concrete from the walls and filled the holes. After a couple
of days the moisture meter show decrease.
Roy Starrin
Try buying an 8' or 10' extension for each of the problem downspouts
and lead the water away from the house. See if that helps.
BUT, ground must be the problem to some degree. If a few hours/days
after the rain, water seeps into the house, then the drainage on the
lot MUST be arranged so that all rain water FLOWS AWAY FROM THE HOUSE!
The water seeping in is rain water.