On May 30, 8:41�am, Vickie wrote:
I'm not as concerned of the cost. *We've only had water in the
basement that one time. *(An occassional small puddle in the corner
every 4 years or so was the only other water.) *I've had a few people,
including contractors, say to not get weep holes. *Others say to get
them. *The idea of them scares me.
Since the water was an issue one time I'm worried that once we dig
down to install trenches and a sump pump we're creating a easy means
of allowing water in, which will now need to be pumped out. * It seems
that instead of dealing with water once in a blue moon, as it is now,
we could have a big water problem once all these things are dug if we
have a pump failure. *(We bought a battery backup, but still...)
We are also waiting for our radon test results to come in. *We live in
northern NJ, which has a higher radon level. *I don't want any open
areas, so even if we get this whole system I'd want it closed.
Thank you-
Vickie
On May 29, 4:09 pm, " wrote:
The water was mainly coming in from one area, at the base of the steps
which lead down to the
basement from the floor above. ?These stairs are not near any exterior
basement wall and we
could not really see how the water was getting there.
Probably water coming up from UNDER floor, there are likely anchors of
the steps in the concrete, or a crack and water follows the easiest
path.
I had that in my old houseduring rain the water table would raise.
Having been down this road before I would spend trhe bucks and install
the entire system, it can do NO HARM! and the dry basement warranty is
a plus at hoime sale time
Other than cost do you have anything else you dislike about a
iunterior french drain?- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
picture your basement like a bath tub sitting in the ground. water is
all around your basement, you cant change that.
but you certinally dont want water IN your basement, or around the
walls, since moisture can wick into your home causing not just puddles
but high humidity. high humidity can lead to mold growth even in
places you cant see. mold is very unheathy and hard to fix. the first
move is keep the place dry.
now the interior french drain with weep holes is the only way to fix
this once and for all.
as is if water collects in any of the interior cavaties of the
concrete block either thru absorbtion or a open joint, it will try to
enter your interior space. wet wall, water puddling along crack at
bottom, things like that.
now with weep holes it has a way out, and enters the french drain and
finally the sump pump.
Is anywhere on your property lower than your basement floor? ideally
the sump should drain by gravity to daylight. no pump necessary. might
require some digging, this home is getting one ran to the curb which
is conveniently lower than the basement.
however millions of pump systems are installed yearly and work fine.
In many areas building codes REQUIRE this system on every new home.
Its not destructive at all! Its REQUIRED because a wet basement can do
so much damage well beyond a puddle on the floor.
At home resale time disclosing wet basement will either kill sale, or
you will be required to spend the bucks and have it fixed, exactly
what your thinking of doing now..... but inflation will likely make it
more costly
If you dont disclose it when the new owner gets water in,, if anyone
says oh that happened before INSTANT lawsuit
A neighbor of mine failed to disclose tree roots in sewer line, new
owner had troubles old owner paid for new line, new wall, line was
under a large retaining wall, new driveway and lawn restoration. Just
told the other day it cost old owner 15 grand including lawyer fees.
As to radon its a problem in my neighborhood too. With the interior
french drain they just cement a PVC line into the drain system and
pull vacuumn against the entire system. This keeps the radon out.
Again its there you cant prevent it from being in your ground just
redirect radon to a safe place thats not inside.
The edge of the system around the floor will need sealed, just a lot
of caulking. no biggie.
There are no downsides to the system.
Again I have been thru all of this, as the owner of a wet basement. I
finally fixed it right, which oddly enough was cheaper than the other
things I had tried.
I have NO connection to any company and am just trying to explain as
best I can whats up.