On 22 Jun 2004 17:21:15 -0700, (Tom) wrote:

| Hi Experts,
|
| I need an your expert advise urgently. We are looking at purchasing a
| house. We had house inspection done. There was water in the
| crawlspace. The URL to the pictures is:

We have a French drain that works very well. It cost only a few
hundred dollars to build in 1982, but I have no idea what it would
cost now. Re-grading is the best solution, but generally not possible
unless you live alone on the prairie. We would have had to re-grade
the back yards of two of our neighbors along with our own. If the
water is from yard runoff, there is no way a sump pump will be able to
handle it.
|
| http://www.geocities.com/tttwilson/
|
| The first picture shows the backyard
| The second one shows previous repairs and dried mud on the plastic
| The third picture shows standing water.
|
| The house inspector says that due to the improper backyard slope/grade
| of the house and lot of rains in the last couple of weeks, the water
| has gotten into the crawlspace. He says that to rectify this problem,
| a french drain needs to be put in to the backyard that runs all the
| way to the street. He also suggested soding (puting grass) into the
| backyard to prevent the water from going in. The estimate on repairs
| is about $3500.
|
| The owner of the house says that the house is still under builders
| warranty because it is less than 1 year old. Owner said that he was
| not aware of any previous repairs. He says that he and builder have
| looked at this and think that it is mainly due to water condensating
| from the airconditioning unit. He says that the builder will put a
| sump pump in the crawlspace. But they (owner and builder) will not pay
| for sodding and french drain. The owner says that he already has
| someone who is willing to pay more than I am paying and that the new
| prospective buyer has looked at this and does not think that this is a
| problem.
|
| The inspector says that he is pretty sure that most of the water is
| due to rain water getting in and that sodding and french drain will
| take care of it.
|
| BUT what I need to know is clear and experienced opinions/suggestions:
|
| Shall I just stay away from this house?
|
| Or do you all think that if I get the house, $3500 will take care of
| this problem once and for all? Would anyone buy a house if it has sump
| pump in the crawlspace?
|
| Thanks,
|
| Tom