Edit: to be clear, there is no actual water, just signs of it. See attached photo. We have a sump pump and it's working fine. The rug is just a throw rug my brother threw down to put under his...
Edit: to be clear, there is no actual water, just signs of it. See attached photo.
We have a sump pump and it's working fine. The rug is just a throw rug my brother threw down to put under his stuff. Not permanent and not staying.
We do have some effervescence on the walls in a couple of spots. I know this will need to be dealt with. I'm hoping it's just a matter of extending the gutters further from the house and adding some dirt to create a steeper grade.
What's making me nervous is the way this seems to come from the floor up.
I don't know much about basements, foundation, or mitigating water. Is this going to end up being a huge mess where I have to hire someone to excavate?
We would like to finish this basement someday but is that even realistic? I guess I'd settle for just being able to safely store things down there to be honest.
I don't know much about construction either, but I know that where I live most houses have a weeping tile system, and when the drainage pipes for that get clogged it can cause issues like you're...
I don't know much about construction either, but I know that where I live most houses have a weeping tile system, and when the drainage pipes for that get clogged it can cause issues like you're seeing. Most of the pipes are either buried alongside the house, or are under the foundation itself, so fixing them might require excavation, but you might also just be able to use a drain snake to clear any blockages.
But ongoing water damage issues in a basement is pretty serious and can cost you a lot more in the long run if left unaddressed, since your foundation could be getting damaged. So this is definitely something you should contact a professional about sooner rather than later, IMO.
p.s. The other thing that might be causing it is the waterproof membrane on your walls could be damaged, which is allowing moisture to seep in through the walls into the basement. That would also require excavation to fix, but again, a professional is probably needed to figure out of the exact cause.
My Wife and I recently had some water issues as well. We got new gutters and the water was dumping right next to the foundation, and in heavy rain we would get some significant water. We got a...
My Wife and I recently had some water issues as well. We got new gutters and the water was dumping right next to the foundation, and in heavy rain we would get some significant water. We got a sump, just in case because we didn't have one, but what really fixed it was getting some gutter extensions and moving it away from the house.
For now I got a couple of the tubes from home depot. They click together too so you can get it a fair distance away. One of my projects this summer is to dig some holes and put some pipe into a dry well for each gutter and have the gutter drain that way, but for now this is a cheap easy way to fix it. Give it a shot, it's dirt cheap to try.
Water is the natural enemy of the home owner. In my previous house, we had some water issues on the basement, and it took us a few years to fix, but here's the rundown on how we eventually fixed...
Water is the natural enemy of the home owner.
In my previous house, we had some water issues on the basement, and it took us a few years to fix, but here's the rundown on how we eventually fixed it. By the time we sold our last house, the basement had been dry for a couple of years.
Find obvious leaks. We looked through the basement / foundation for obvious places where leaks were happening. There were a couple of places where water was consistently being found. We knew that it was likely that problem areas were near to those areas. One of these was a window that consistently let water in, so we replaced the window.
Look at roof drainage. Do the eavestroughs drain directly into a window well? That's a hyperbolic example, but the water from your roof has to go somewhere, and it's going to go into your yard. You can dig a trench and some gravel where the water exits the eaves and guide the water away from your home.
Look at yard drainage. Try to figure out how the water in your yard moves when there is excess water around. Ideally, you want water to naturally move away from your house. You can actually do quite a bit by grading and updating the exterior to prevent water from moving towards your home. This can be as simple as getting a couple yards of soil and grading the earth around your house so that water naturally runs away from your foundation. This is a lot of work, but not particularly expensive.
Improve your drainage. There are a variety of ways to do this. We put in a french drain that started at the back of our house, went along one side, and exited into a fairly deep gravel patch in our front yard near the storm drain. It was a lot of work, but not particularly expensive.
Window wells. We dug deeper window wells, with a couple feet of drainage built into them. Basically any of the low spots / places water wants to get in, you give water an easier way to drain deeper into the ground.
Deal with interior water issues. Sometimes the water is coming from inside the house. This can be because of a plumbing issue, or because a hot water heater has sprung a leak, or a bad dishwasher. Have a look for things that are causing water to spill inside the house, and address them. About once per month, I walk around the house and look for issues that can cause water to spill / accumulate. If you find an issue, contact a plumber. Plumbers are very little work for you as a homeowner, but are particularly expensive. They tend to be an expenditure that is well worth it. Generally I recommend not doing your own plumbing, unless you are supremely confident in your abilities.
Get a dehumidifier. If things are damp, sometimes a dehumidifier is all you need. Even if you don't have a leak, if water is running by the outside of the foundation, it can make its way through, or even just condense from the air on the inside. A dehumidifier is relatively inexpensive, and almost no work.
This is an exceptionally broad overview of what we did; I'm happy to try to answer further questions you may have.
You've already gotten most of the good advice from others, but a few things to add: If you get estimates for work, get a lot. Like 5. Where we are (Western PA) many of the basement remediation...
You've already gotten most of the good advice from others, but a few things to add:
If you get estimates for work, get a lot. Like 5. Where we are (Western PA) many of the basement remediation companies are either incompetent or outright crooked. The reputable place we ended up using was recommended by our real estate agent, so that may be a resource for you as well.
You should not store things you care about in contact with a concrete floor or basement wall. Pallets are a great option (often free) for getting things a few inches off the floor.
Those are maybe the most important two points! I've been spoilt - my dad is a contractor so we only get one quote - so I tend to forget about the multiple quotes most of the time. And storage is...
Those are maybe the most important two points! I've been spoilt - my dad is a contractor so we only get one quote - so I tend to forget about the multiple quotes most of the time.
And storage is incredibly important. I'd also suggest that in addition to pallets or simple shelves, it can be a good idea to get storage bins. We have a bunch of big 115L bins that keep things dry. If there is dampness in a room, there will also be bugs and mold, and a bin can mitigate the damage one might experience from either.
The next time it is raining and preferably not a trickle but a proper downpour, put on your rain coat and head outside. Look for areas where water is pooling together, is it near the house? Can it...
The next time it is raining and preferably not a trickle but a proper downpour, put on your rain coat and head outside. Look for areas where water is pooling together, is it near the house? Can it be diverted away from the house? Around the corners of the house, on the driveway, from the downspouts. Basically have a good look around and see if there is an obvious source where water is coming together. It could be as easy as diverting it away, water will flow to the area with least resistance, so if you make an easier path for it, you solve the issue, at least temporarily. If you deal with snow, shovel the snow so its away from the house for when it eventually melts.
I ended up have 2 sides of my house excavated with new drain tile put in, turned out one side already had a really old drain tile on one side but the outflow was buried by the previous owners when they put in a deck in the backyard, go figure. After that drain tile was added I never saw a drop of water again in my basement, but we also redid the driveway a couple years later and asked for the asphalt to be graded slightly so the water flows away from the house rather than towards it. Obviously these are pricier solutions, but if you can find a large pool of water during the next rainstorm, it might be easy enough to try and just divert it, maybe digging a minor trench or guiding it with some gutters/drainage on the real cheap until you want to solve it appropriately.
Note: Not an expert, just someone who dealt with this until I hired the pros to get some drain tile in.
Edit: to be clear, there is no actual water, just signs of it. See attached photo.
We have a sump pump and it's working fine. The rug is just a throw rug my brother threw down to put under his stuff. Not permanent and not staying.
We do have some effervescence on the walls in a couple of spots. I know this will need to be dealt with. I'm hoping it's just a matter of extending the gutters further from the house and adding some dirt to create a steeper grade.
What's making me nervous is the way this seems to come from the floor up.
I don't know much about basements, foundation, or mitigating water. Is this going to end up being a huge mess where I have to hire someone to excavate?
We would like to finish this basement someday but is that even realistic? I guess I'd settle for just being able to safely store things down there to be honest.
Thanks!
I don't know much about construction either, but I know that where I live most houses have a weeping tile system, and when the drainage pipes for that get clogged it can cause issues like you're seeing. Most of the pipes are either buried alongside the house, or are under the foundation itself, so fixing them might require excavation, but you might also just be able to use a drain snake to clear any blockages.
But ongoing water damage issues in a basement is pretty serious and can cost you a lot more in the long run if left unaddressed, since your foundation could be getting damaged. So this is definitely something you should contact a professional about sooner rather than later, IMO.
p.s. The other thing that might be causing it is the waterproof membrane on your walls could be damaged, which is allowing moisture to seep in through the walls into the basement. That would also require excavation to fix, but again, a professional is probably needed to figure out of the exact cause.
Oh that's actually good to know. It at least gives me a place to start looking. Thank you so much
My Wife and I recently had some water issues as well. We got new gutters and the water was dumping right next to the foundation, and in heavy rain we would get some significant water. We got a sump, just in case because we didn't have one, but what really fixed it was getting some gutter extensions and moving it away from the house.
For now I got a couple of the tubes from home depot. They click together too so you can get it a fair distance away. One of my projects this summer is to dig some holes and put some pipe into a dry well for each gutter and have the gutter drain that way, but for now this is a cheap easy way to fix it. Give it a shot, it's dirt cheap to try.
Thank you! I'll be fixing and extending some gutters soon. Hoping it's that easy
Water is the natural enemy of the home owner.
In my previous house, we had some water issues on the basement, and it took us a few years to fix, but here's the rundown on how we eventually fixed it. By the time we sold our last house, the basement had been dry for a couple of years.
Find obvious leaks. We looked through the basement / foundation for obvious places where leaks were happening. There were a couple of places where water was consistently being found. We knew that it was likely that problem areas were near to those areas. One of these was a window that consistently let water in, so we replaced the window.
Look at roof drainage. Do the eavestroughs drain directly into a window well? That's a hyperbolic example, but the water from your roof has to go somewhere, and it's going to go into your yard. You can dig a trench and some gravel where the water exits the eaves and guide the water away from your home.
Look at yard drainage. Try to figure out how the water in your yard moves when there is excess water around. Ideally, you want water to naturally move away from your house. You can actually do quite a bit by grading and updating the exterior to prevent water from moving towards your home. This can be as simple as getting a couple yards of soil and grading the earth around your house so that water naturally runs away from your foundation. This is a lot of work, but not particularly expensive.
Improve your drainage. There are a variety of ways to do this. We put in a french drain that started at the back of our house, went along one side, and exited into a fairly deep gravel patch in our front yard near the storm drain. It was a lot of work, but not particularly expensive.
Window wells. We dug deeper window wells, with a couple feet of drainage built into them. Basically any of the low spots / places water wants to get in, you give water an easier way to drain deeper into the ground.
Deal with interior water issues. Sometimes the water is coming from inside the house. This can be because of a plumbing issue, or because a hot water heater has sprung a leak, or a bad dishwasher. Have a look for things that are causing water to spill inside the house, and address them. About once per month, I walk around the house and look for issues that can cause water to spill / accumulate. If you find an issue, contact a plumber. Plumbers are very little work for you as a homeowner, but are particularly expensive. They tend to be an expenditure that is well worth it. Generally I recommend not doing your own plumbing, unless you are supremely confident in your abilities.
Get a dehumidifier. If things are damp, sometimes a dehumidifier is all you need. Even if you don't have a leak, if water is running by the outside of the foundation, it can make its way through, or even just condense from the air on the inside. A dehumidifier is relatively inexpensive, and almost no work.
This is an exceptionally broad overview of what we did; I'm happy to try to answer further questions you may have.
Thanks! I did notice some yard drainage issues and I'm hoping it's that simple.
You've already gotten most of the good advice from others, but a few things to add:
If you get estimates for work, get a lot. Like 5. Where we are (Western PA) many of the basement remediation companies are either incompetent or outright crooked. The reputable place we ended up using was recommended by our real estate agent, so that may be a resource for you as well.
You should not store things you care about in contact with a concrete floor or basement wall. Pallets are a great option (often free) for getting things a few inches off the floor.
Those are maybe the most important two points! I've been spoilt - my dad is a contractor so we only get one quote - so I tend to forget about the multiple quotes most of the time.
And storage is incredibly important. I'd also suggest that in addition to pallets or simple shelves, it can be a good idea to get storage bins. We have a bunch of big 115L bins that keep things dry. If there is dampness in a room, there will also be bugs and mold, and a bin can mitigate the damage one might experience from either.
Thank you for the insight!
The next time it is raining and preferably not a trickle but a proper downpour, put on your rain coat and head outside. Look for areas where water is pooling together, is it near the house? Can it be diverted away from the house? Around the corners of the house, on the driveway, from the downspouts. Basically have a good look around and see if there is an obvious source where water is coming together. It could be as easy as diverting it away, water will flow to the area with least resistance, so if you make an easier path for it, you solve the issue, at least temporarily. If you deal with snow, shovel the snow so its away from the house for when it eventually melts.
I ended up have 2 sides of my house excavated with new drain tile put in, turned out one side already had a really old drain tile on one side but the outflow was buried by the previous owners when they put in a deck in the backyard, go figure. After that drain tile was added I never saw a drop of water again in my basement, but we also redid the driveway a couple years later and asked for the asphalt to be graded slightly so the water flows away from the house rather than towards it. Obviously these are pricier solutions, but if you can find a large pool of water during the next rainstorm, it might be easy enough to try and just divert it, maybe digging a minor trench or guiding it with some gutters/drainage on the real cheap until you want to solve it appropriately.
Note: Not an expert, just someone who dealt with this until I hired the pros to get some drain tile in.