The house I'm trying to sell is a rehabbed old farmhouse with a 2-ft
thick field stone foundation. It's really quite nice ... except for
the basement.

My first question is: How solid are these things? The house was built
100 years ago. I don't see any evidence of settling - no cracks in the
living area walls. No stones have fallen out or even moved inward into
the basement. Potential buyers are sure to ask this question.

My second question has to do with water seepage/leakage.

In non-wet weather it is constantly damp down there. There are 3 open
casement windows but they don't have a lot of square footage.

In wet weather, water comes in through several places. In very wet
weather there is one spot where it actually pours in like a faucet
turned half-on. This was not a problem until the city put into new
sewers out front ... but alas I didn't file a complaint.

The floor is dirt and has a dry sump hole about 3 feet deep with
natural gravel below. That's where the water exits. But the whole
basement still gets wet and damp.

I don't believe there is anything I can really do about the water
entry. The outside perimeter of the house is slanted away from the
foundation and my gutters take roof water to the streets. The house
just sits at a low area in town and I think that's the problem. It was
wet down there from the day I bought it in 1987.

I have some ideas I'd like to bounce off you. There is a fourth window
now boarded up. I'm thinking of installing a fan there - like the ones
used to pull out radon gas - that runs permanently, venting air to the
outside.

I'd also like to put a liner in the sump hole and put a pump in it
that pipes water out to the street.

I'd like to install a dehumidifier with drain into the sump.

Although the fllor is damp, I'd still like to try to dig a channel
around the inside perimeter than drains water to the sump, but I don't
want to go too deep because the floor is level with the bottom-most
layer of fieldstone and undermine the strength of the wall.

It looks like back in the 70s someone tried to solve the problem by
pointing the whole inside wall with cement. It apparently didn't work;
most of it has fallen out. I believe in my case that water pressure
from the outside exerts far more power than any sealant can handle.

In wintertime it is fairly dry (upstate NY) down there.

"46erjoe" wrote in message
...
The house I'm trying to sell is a rehabbed old farmhouse with a 2-ft
thick field stone foundation.

My first question is: How solid are these things? The house was built
100 years ago.

My son's house was built in the late 17000's and his is still in good shape.






. There is a fourth window
now boarded up. I'm thinking of installing a fan there - like the ones
used to pull out radon gas - that runs permanently, venting air to the
outside.

I'd like to install a dehumidifier with drain into the sump.

If the fan is running constantly, iw may also b ring in some damp outside
air and make the dehumidifier work harder. It would depends on the season,
heat gain/loos, etc. It may work well in some case, but it may make things
worse if you are not careful.




Although the fllor is damp, I'd still like to try to dig a channel
around the inside perimeter than drains water to the sump, but I don't
want to go too deep because the floor is level with the bottom-most
layer of fieldstone and undermine the strength of the wall.

I'd be real careful there. It may be fine, it may so serious damage if you
remove support. Get someone that know old houses to take a look at it.


It looks like back in the 70s someone tried to solve the problem by
pointing the whole inside wall with cement. It apparently didn't work;
most of it has fallen out. I believe in my case that water pressure
from the outside exerts far more power than any sealant can handle.

You are probably correct.


In wintertime it is fairly dry (upstate NY) down there.

wrote:

The house I'm trying to sell is a rehabbed old farmhouse with a 2-ft
thick field stone foundation. It's really quite nice ... except for
the basement.

My first question is: How solid are these things? The house was built
100 years ago. I don't see any evidence of settling - no cracks in the
living area walls. No stones have fallen out or even moved inward into
the basement. Potential buyers are sure to ask this question.

You're in upstate NY. You should be able to easily locate a 200yr
old house with the same foundation that you could point to. Ask
your local town historian-- or if he/she isn't aware, ask the
neighboring town or county historian. [I'm in Schenectady county- and
I'll bet I could find a 300yr old one in a day.]


My second question has to do with water seepage/leakage.

-snip-
I don't believe there is anything I can really do about the water
entry. The outside perimeter of the house is slanted away from the
foundation and my gutters take roof water to the streets. The house
just sits at a low area in town and I think that's the problem. It was
wet down there from the day I bought it in 1987.

I have some ideas I'd like to bounce off you. There is a fourth window
now boarded up. I'm thinking of installing a fan there - like the ones
used to pull out radon gas - that runs permanently, venting air to the
outside.

I'd also like to put a liner in the sump hole and put a pump in it
that pipes water out to the street.

If the hole is dry- why bother? If I was a potential buyer it would
just draw my attention to the damp problem-- and from what you
describe, it sounds like it would make it appear worse than it is.


I'd like to install a dehumidifier with drain into the sump.

I'd go with this plan.


Although the fllor is damp, I'd still like to try to dig a channel
around the inside perimeter than drains water to the sump, but I don't
want to go too deep because the floor is level with the bottom-most
layer of fieldstone and undermine the strength of the wall.

You sure don't. You're selling the house- so there's no way I'd go
to that effort or expense. Here's how my perimeter drain worked
out.

My plan was to go down 2feet- lay a 1'square drain with landscape
cloth and #2stone- then put a footer under my stones and end up
gaining a little ceiling height in my basement.

I got 2 walls dug out- a 30foot and a 20foot.. I was about to order
the stone when we got the hardest rain I've ever seen- 3" of rain in
about 4 hours. [there are areas where that may not be terribly
unusual, but it is a 100yr thing in my neck of the woods]

My wife and I were sitting in the living room and heard/felt this loud
'whump'. My first thought was that the neighbor's oak tree had
toppled on our house. Then it hit me. Both walls had collapsed
into my basement.

6 weeks, lots of help from my friends, a few equipment rentals, and
$10 grand later- I have 2 block walls with excellent inside and
outside drainage. Not the way we planned it-- but I did gain a lot
more headroom than I had originally planned for.
[oh yeah- most insurance doesn't cover 'wall collapse'- mine doesn't]

In a year or 2 I'll do the rest & finish the basement.


It looks like back in the 70s someone tried to solve the problem by
pointing the whole inside wall with cement. It apparently didn't work;
most of it has fallen out. I believe in my case that water pressure
from the outside exerts far more power than any sealant can handle.

The engineer the bank hired when I bought this house in 1984 had me
parge and seal the inside walls. Cosmetically it makes things look
better-- but apparently he had never heard of hydrostatic pressure.
As soon as we moved in I installed gutters and did some landscaping-
that probably saved the walls long enough so I could collapse them
myself.

Good luck-
Jim