CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert wrote:


No drains nearby, unless the builder put a second one in (the drain we
know about is in the laundry room, other end of the house) and then
some handyman covered it over with tile.


Thats how my last basement was. We lived in the city so we had a full
city setup. Sewer feeding floor drain was in the washroom. We had a
2nd floor drain that fed into the foundation drainage system which feed
into a storm sewer I suppose. If that is clogged then you may only see
a few days after a rain.

Time for a stake out. Get a camcorder.


All you folks have been extremely helpful and given me a lot to
consider. I'm going to monitor for water welling up or condensing out
for the next several days. (We finally had a big storm Friday, which
might speed things along.)

Next step after that, I think, will be to pull up the tiles in that
spot and check for evidence of a covered drain. Can I use a propane
torch to soften the tiles to remove them? They're asbestos, I'm
certain, and they are bonded TIGHTLY.

Also, would one of these new subfloors that have the pimpled plastic
barrier underneath work if this is just an occasional problem? We were
planning on remodeling much of the basement this fall and winter
anyway. We could put this kind of subfloor in everywhere so that any
water build-up would work its way between the plastic pips downhill to
the laundry room drain. Does anyone know what this stuff is called?
There's one kind - I think it's black - that comes bonded to squares of
subfloor, and another kind in orange rolls where you put separate ply
subfloor over it.

Or, is there a vapour barrier or treatment that will definitely work if
it is seepage up from the floor?