Hi there,
We moved to a 6 years old home two years. It is a traditional home with
finished basement. During the home inspection, the inspector told us to
re-grading the back of my house.

But I never pay attention to it, until recent hurricane and heavy
rainfall made a slight seepage in the basement. The seepage is small
and it at the bottom of the block wall, close the foundation.

After prolonged rain, I can see the mark on the dirt that is evident
that the gutter is over-flowing. I talked to several local construction
companies and they suggesting the one of the following options,

1. Clean the gutter and wait unit the next rain to see if it solves the
problem [$75]

2. Paint the basement block walls inside with sure-lock (kind of
water/moisture proof) [$$$]

3. Re-grading [$800]

4. Water-proof the foundation walls from the outside and re-grade
[$2,800]

I couldn't decide which option(s) to pick. Please advice me.

Thanks

PS: The first option seems to me cheap and quick. I am not interested
in doing the second option because it is not really solving the
problem, besides it is very much temporary. The fourth option is
something that I don't want to do it now, because it is expensive.

I am thinking that do the gutter cleaning (1) and the re-grading (3).
Since the inspector already told me to do so. But I am not sure.

voshki wrote:
Hi there,
We moved to a 6 years old home two years. It is a traditional home
with finished basement. During the home inspection, the inspector
told us to re-grading the back of my house.

But I never pay attention to it, until recent hurricane and heavy
rainfall made a slight seepage in the basement. The seepage is small
and it at the bottom of the block wall, close the foundation.

After prolonged rain, I can see the mark on the dirt that is evident
that the gutter is over-flowing. I talked to several local
construction companies and they suggesting the one of the following
options,

1. Clean the gutter and wait unit the next rain to see if it solves
the problem [$75]

Cleaning gutters is a regular maintenance item for many people. If the
gutters clog, and it looks like yours are, then you need to do it on
regular schedule. I would not bet on it fixing the problem, but it does
need to be done.


2. Paint the basement block walls inside with sure-lock (kind of
water/moisture proof) [$$$]

Waste of time and money. Might look nice though. It might even slow it
up for a while, maybe.


3. Re-grading [$800]

This is the one you know you need and you were just hoping the others
would work. Don't waste you money with the the paint.


4. Water-proof the foundation walls from the outside and re-grade
[$2,800]

This one will work, but I doubt if you need it all. Time will tell.
The inspector should know local conditions and have a better idea of how
your basement walls were constructed to begin with than anyone here. I
would say you likely will be able to pass on this one.


I couldn't decide which option(s) to pick. Please advice me.

Thanks

PS: The first option seems to me cheap and quick. I am not interested
in doing the second option because it is not really solving the
problem, besides it is very much temporary. The fourth option is
something that I don't want to do it now, because it is expensive.

I am thinking that do the gutter cleaning (1) and the re-grading (3).
Since the inspector already told me to do so. But I am not sure.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

If you didn't have a problem for six years and it took a hurricane, then
correcting overspill from gutter will solve the problem.


--
hwm54112
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View this thread: http://www.homeplot.com/showthread.php?t=59497

I really appreciated all your replies and Thank you so much for the
time.

If I do the basement walls waterproofing [outside], does the homeowner
insurance covers the expense?

voshki wrote:
I really appreciated all your replies and Thank you so much for the
time.

If I do the basement walls waterproofing [outside], does the homeowner
insurance covers the expense?

No. The insurance is meant to put you back where you were financially,
not to do improvements. If you had considerable water damage, and the
insurance payout was large enough, you could do the improvement, but
they wouldn't give you money to do the improvement on its own.

Never ignore a home inspector...unless he's an idiot, then hire another
one.

R

inspector told us to re-grading face it,
you need the proper grade for rain water to run away from your
foundation. lucas

http://www.minibite.com/america/malone.htm

My late two cents --- always keep the gutters working, but wait to see
what happens during the next similar rainfall. I learned my lesson
about gutters -- I now check my gutters about every 5-6 weeks spring
thru fall because there are a lot of mature trees around here. Much
different than my last house; newer subdivision with smaller trees. It
was something I had not experiened nor anticipated when I moved here.
Part of the learning curve, I guess.

I have seen seepage in my 1930 no-sump basement 3 times in 18 months.
Twice the downspouts were plugged (my own fault, too lazy to check
them)...and the majority of the seepage was close to the gutter
overflow area. The third time was the rainiest May ever on record in
my midwest state. That time the seepage came from a few different
areas. I knew three people with normally bone-dry basements & sumps
for 20 years seeing seepage that month. One of them was a house I
lived in for eight years and NEVER saw a drop of water in that
basement. I asked two contractor friends about this (my concern was
having a leaky basement and disclosure laws)...they said with the rain
that month, even the best basement might see some seepage. My basement
has been perfectly dry for two years now, as long as I check the
gutters regularly. Perhaps even proper drainage systems can be
overwhelmed at times, depending on conditions. My basement is a tad
more humid than houses with a sump, but I run a dehumidifier (summer
months) which keeps molds or musty smells at bay.

Regrading might not be a bad thing, if a professional suggested it. It
certainly wouldn't hurt, as long as it didn't mean removing/replacing
a lot of landscaping. My home inspector made several good suggestions
for the house I'm in now; I felt he earned the fee. And even though
I've been a DIY homeowner for 20 years prior, I still learned a lot
from him.


On 12 Oct 2005 13:28:56 -0700, "voshki" wrote:
Hi there,
We moved to a 6 years old home two years. It is a traditional home with
finished basement. During the home inspection, the inspector told us to
re-grading the back of my house.

But I never pay attention to it, until recent hurricane and heavy
rainfall made a slight seepage in the basement. The seepage is small
and it at the bottom of the block wall, close the foundation.

I am thinking that do the gutter cleaning (1) and the re-grading (3).
Since the inspector already told me to do so. But I am not sure.

"Regrading might not be a bad thing, if a professional suggested it. It

certainly wouldn't hurt, as long as it didn't mean removing/replacing
a lot of landscaping."

Not only is it not a bad thing, it's very likely a necessary one,
regardless of landscaping, especially if a home inspector identified it
as a problem. If the grade is in the wrong direction, water is being
directed toward the house instead of away from it. While the effects
may not be immediate, or even obvious, this can lead to a whole host of
problems, some of which are not even obvious.