View Single Post
  #3   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
marson marson is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 478
Default Wet Insulation in Basement Walls


Jake wrote:
I recently purchased a home which was new construction. The home is a
two level split. The bottom level is a lookout basement. The basement
is currently unfinished. The basement walls consist of 12 inch block
(coming up about 36 inches) with a 2x4 wall framed and insulated inside
of the block. A standard 2x6 insulated wall sits on top of the block
and continues to the ceiling. All insulation is fiberglass and
everything is covered with a heavy poly.

My question: About a week after I purchased the home, I noticed that
there is a considerable amout of moisture behind the poly in several
areas of the basement. The majority of this moisture is in the 6
inches of insulation sitting parallel to the floor, on top of the block
between the exterior wall and the wall framed inside of the block. In
some locations, it appears that the moisture has migrated down the
wall, into the insulation in the interior 2x4 wall. I am assuming that
the block wall is "cold" and that there is condensation forming and
soaking into the insulation. Is condensation enough to completely
saturate the insulation, or does this sound more like water soaking
through the block from the outside? Is this common in an unfinished
basement with no heat/air conditioning, or is this something that I
should call my builder about right away? Are there any things that I
should look for to see if the builder skipped or missed something to
lead to this?

Thanks!


this is a serious warrantee issue and needs to be addressed by your
builder. i would not touch it as a home owner at this point. if your
house is new it is the builder's problem. i would take some pictures of
the problem and keep records of when you noticed what. don't delay
taking action as in some states the statute of limitations can start to
run when you first notice a problem...and if legal action is required
you will be SOL!