There are several possible ways to solve the water problems you have. Since
the house is so young, there is not likely to be any damage from the water
standing there. Also, it looks as though the water collects in one
location.

You could add a sump pit to this location and pump the water out.

You could install a drain outside to catch surface and subsurface water
before it enters the crawl space. There are two possible drain types. You
could install a french drain which will mainly carry away surface water. Or
you could install a curtain drain which will be excavated to a depth greater
than the footing level. Then a sheet of polyethelyne is applied to the low
side of the trench and it is filled with gravel. This method can
effectively lower the water table in the area.

You could pipe all gutters away from the house. This can be a source of the
problem.

You could excavate the exterior of the crawl space and have it waterproofed
and install footing drains.

You could have the crawlspace waterproofed from the inside. I just had a
company calld B Dry install their system in a crawlspace of a house I have.
They offer a warranty for the life of the structure. The entire system was
less than $2,500.

You could hire Lyle Harwood to solve the water problem, but since he
advertises in this newsgroup you probably should not patonize him.

Consider the cost to fix the problem in your offer. If you like the house,
and you think its a good deal for another $3,500 you will likely come out
ok.

The pictures don't truly show the scope of the required work, but I think
you could solve the problem for much less than $3,500.

Shannon Pate

"Tom" wrote in message
m...
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:

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