basement re-do

[T]

Looking for some input.

We keep getting water in the basement. Live in a tri level. When we get 8" of rain and the ground is saturated, there is nowhere else for the rain to go. I'm sick of dealing with wet carpeting/carpet padding, potential for mold and all that shit.

I personally think the concrete steps coming out of the walk out have begun to wash out and that is the souce of the seepage. That plus when the drain of the walk out gets plugged up, the walk out fills up and then water comes in the door.

Here are some pics from the day we took possession of the house:


The bathroom. From the left, 3 "squares" over is where the majority of the water seeps in. Kinda in the shadow of the toilet.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c23/TrumpTables/random%20stuff/DSC03906.jpg


The walkout out of the laundry room. You can see under the hose rack thing a bead of caulk the former home owners had put down that is 1/2 missing. I've never really seen all that much water accumulate in this area, and that is why I think the source is more what lies beneath the steps. Also in the bottom left corner is where sand is washing out into the walk out.:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c23/TrumpTables/random%20stuff/DSC03926.jpg

view from the dining room down to the basement, bathroom is on the left, laundry straight ahead and living room to the right:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c23/TrumpTables/random%20stuff/DSC03905.jpg


View from the bathroom to the living area of the basement. To the right is the cut out where the computer desk sits, left is the couch,tv etc.:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c23/TrumpTables/random%20stuff/DSC03908.jpg


general living area in the basement:

This is the cut out where the computer desk sits along with some cd racks and the dog bed
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c23/TrumpTables/random%20stuff/DSC03912.jpg

This area has the sectional couch, lazy boy and tv and a coffee table.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c23/TrumpTables/random%20stuff/DSC03911.jpg

This is what the wife has run by me. A good friend who has had water problems in her basement recently put down some vinyl stuff that looks like hardwood floors. Apparently people who have the pergo type floors thought it was the same at theirs. She wants to keep the carpeted area in the "recatangle of living space" but put down the vinyl stuff at the landing and in the closet.

I think there are better solutions. I also think that any water we get in the future will just run along the vinyl or underneath it and hit the carpet in the "rectangle" and we have the same problem, but now where the furniture is at.

I am also aware that I need to solve the outdoor problem first, but I think the carpeting in our home needs to be addressed first/replaced, then get on with the labor outdoors.

I think if we put the vinyl hardwood stuff down, it should extend all the way to the wall and have the computer area in the vinyl stuff too and create a defined living area where the furniture is with carpet.

I don't know. I'm just sick of dealing with all the carpet problems in the hallway area.

I'm not opposed to putting the hardwood stuff down over the entire basement with some throw rugs and shit like that as long as it doesn't look cheap and shitty.

Help a brother out who's got his wife up his ass.

T

[T]

OK

Now the wife wants something totally different. They are a form of tile that is made out of what I would call a composite. They have grout lines on them and it sounds like they snap together. They are solid like a 12x12 tile, but aren't stone, etc.

anyone ever hear of this shit and if so....where to get some.

T

[wyatt880]

I would say concentrate on the outside first to eliminate the problem - by doing the inside first, you are only covering up the results of water getting in, and you may need to replace what you do.

Do you have any more pictures of the walk out? Also, I see that there is a downspout that is covered up by the deck - where does that go? You can get rid of a lot of water by making sure that the downspouts release well away from the house.

[wyatt880]

I have seen those tiles you are talking about, let me try to find where.

[km630]

T

Good luck. You have a project on your hands. Biggest issue is you don't know what your problem is. If you don't care that water is getting in (which is doubtful) you could install a floor drain or sump pump. But, that will leave other issues.

Assuming you can't (or don't want to) put in a floor drain or sump pump, step 1 is to figure out where the water is coming in. Best way of figuring it out is by trial and error with a hose flooding very localized areas to see what leaks. Start with what you think is the most obvious culprit.

Once you have figured out where the water is coming in, then you can figure out how you might want to fix it. It could be you just seal up a crack in the exterior, especially if it is coming down the wall that may be your best bet. But, water is tricky. It could be seeping in from under the foundation as well. That is a much more difficult problem to treat.

After you figure out where the water is coming from, I'm sure you can figure out how to fix it. Once it is fixed, then you can do whatever the wife wants to re-finish the basement. But, if you don't get it fixed, you will always be dealing with water in the basement and all of the issues that creates.

Good luck,

km630

[wyatt880]

I think this is what I was thinking of:

http://www.basementsystems.com/basement_waterproofing/basement_floor/basement-flooring.php

[MsprinM]

If you dont take care of the outside first anything you do inside will just have to be removed and replaced. Fix the leak first.

[j p frog]

is your house tiled around its entire perimeter? Do you have a working sump pump? where does the sump pump put the water is pumps out? is the dirt at the base of your house angled away from the house? if you don't fix these potential problems all the inside work will be for naught.

[T]

Looking for some input.


I am also aware that I need to solve the outdoor problem first, but I think the carpeting in our home needs to be addressed first/replaced, then get on with the labor outdoors.

I'm on to how you guys operate. I understand this fully, but I'm thinking this could be quite the undertaking and I want to get the carpet/padding out of the house due to what I think could be a potential for mold with it getting wet 3x since we've lived here and I don't know how many times previous home owners had it get soaked. I can deal with seepage into the bathroom like last weekend, but I don't want mold in my home.

Do you have any more pictures of the walk out? Also, I see that there is a downspout that is covered up by the deck - where does that go? You can get rid of a lot of water by making sure that the downspouts release well away from the house.

The walk out is mason blocks, painted brown. I'm guessing about 5.5' tall in that neighborhood.

The downspout runs under the deck. It is 12' long and extends into the grass, well 12' out. I'm sure I have a pic somewhere, but I need to get to work.

is your house tiled around its entire perimeter? Do you have a working sump pump? where does the sump pump put the water is pumps out? is the dirt at the base of your house angled away from the house? if you don't fix these potential problems all the inside work will be for naught.

I am unaware of a drain tile around the house. It was built in 1961, so I doubt it, and if it is....it probably isn't all that operational/effcient.


I have a sump. It is in the crawl that is basically a dirt/sand flooring and unuseable as a storage space if you ask me. It is graded for everything to flow to the sump, which is 2.5 years old or so and shoots water out like a cannon. Dumps the sump tank that is about 20 gallons(a guess) in like 3-4 seconds. I have a hose that runs under the deck, through the fence and out into the yard by the garage, that is on its own slab. Really nowhere near the backyard.




Thanks for the replies. Again I understand the source of the problem isn't the carpeting. Really the only time the carpet gets wet is when the walk out drain backs up and the water comes in via the door. I do need to dig out around the walkout because it is starting to wash out from behind. I'm thinking this is the same scenario that is going on with the wall in the bathroom.

T

[j p frog]

if it wasn't tiled around the base of the basement walls then the odds are you are only pumping out a very small area with the sump pump. I would tear out the carpet/pad and get rid of that mold risk. Seek the opinion/estimates of a reputable basement specialist in water issues*(ask a contactor who he uses) and find out how much it will cost you to fix this right. The odds are with the water you describe that there is also a mold risk in the framing/drywall throughout the areas you have had the water damage. This has to be fixed. You didn't mention about the dirt around the base of the house. Is it a bit elevated and sloping away from the house? do you have a whole bunch of flower beds right up against the base of the house?

[T]

The backyard area that has the water problem can best be seen from the pic of the walkout.

There is the deck that has a slight grade to run water 12' away from the house. The deck runs adjacet with the crawl for the most part. Then the walkout with the concrete steps, the walkout and a small flower bed between the AC unit and the walkout wall. Then about 5' at most that has a big ass burning bush on the corner of the house. For the most part, that wall really doesn't have all that much earth along it.

T

[Simps]

Could be a couple of issues T.

Probably a crack somewhere in the masonry. With a cinder block foundation 45 years old, you're bound to have some settlement and cracking.
You said that it comes in the same place every time right? You'll have to get into the drywall a take a look.

When I moved into my house, I had a crack that ran the length of one of the poured concrete slabs. I had a guy come in and they put this epoxy stuff along the crack, pump some more epoxy into the crack, and seals it. My basement hasn't leaked since. I was pretty cheap too, only like $125.

Yours will be a bit more expensive obviously because yours is finished, but you need to get on it or you will have mold, and that shit just loves drywall. The options the wifey wants don't really address the issue. Sorry, but your going to have to get invasive on this one.

The other thing that it could be is that the water is coming in over the top of the masonry foundation. If that's the issue, then I don't think there is much you can do to fix that problem.

Call someone that specializes in this stuff. They'll probably be able to find the leak without ripping out entire sections of drywall. My buddy had a leak in his finished basement and the guy came in and pulled out about 5 strips of drywall around 4-5 inches wide and found the leak.

Good luck.

[Simps]

I posted before I realized how old this thread was.

T, did you find the leak? Did you fix it? Inquiring minds want to know.

[T]

nice bump Simps.

Same as it was before. Now I just hope we don't get 20 feet of snow and all will be fine.

Total pain in the ass if you ask me. We went to Lowes this past Sunday and she made me pick up this caulk type shit, but it only works if its 40+ outside, which I don't see the temps cracking 40 any time before February, so I just have to keep as much snow out of the walk out and off the deck, leaves off the fricking drain and hope for the best.

T

[MisterShark]

Really the only time the carpet gets wet is when the walk out drain backs up and the water comes in via the door.


http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b201/MisterShark/Misc%20Pics/submarinedoor.jpg


:shipit: