My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a concrete
slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the furnace are down in
the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and the furnace is at one end.
Water is getting into the air ducts. The floor vents for the half of the
house closest to the furnace work and have air coming out. The floor vents
in the half of the house furthest from the furnace have no air coming out,
and when the furnace runs I can hear water gurgling. There is also a damp
scent coming from those vents. Apparently, they are blocked by water. There
was no problem with the HVAC system last night, but there is this morning.
We had rain yesterday and overnight.

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting in
without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over the
ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very concerned that
it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old vents are taken out of
commission the leaks still have to be fixed somehow. What do I do? Who do I
call? A furnace company? A general contractor? This sounds like it could
cost a fortune to fix. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I'm really in
over my head and have no idea what to do. But, I've got to do something soon
before the house floods.

"J. Cameron Davis" wrote in message
news:T9Tsl.603150$yE1.530961@attbi_s21...
My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a concrete
slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the furnace are down
in the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and the furnace is at one
end. Water is getting into the air ducts. The floor vents for the half of
the house closest to the furnace work and have air coming out. The floor
vents in the half of the house furthest from the furnace have no air
coming out, and when the furnace runs I can hear water gurgling. There is
also a damp scent coming from those vents. Apparently, they are blocked by
water. There was no problem with the HVAC system last night, but there is
this morning. We had rain yesterday and overnight.

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting in
without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over the
ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very concerned that
it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old vents are taken out
of commission the leaks still have to be fixed somehow. What do I do? Who
do I call? A furnace company? A general contractor? This sounds like it
could cost a fortune to fix. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I'm
really in over my head and have no idea what to do. But, I've got to do
something soon before the house floods.

I don't think I'd be to concerned about water coming up, but it seems like a
bizarre way to install the system in the first place. I think you need to
call a HVAC contractor, probably close up and fill with cement the old
ducts, then run new ones overhead. It can't be healthy to have drainage
water flowing into heating ducts. You're right, it's probably gonna cost

"J. Cameron Davis" wrote in message
news:T9Tsl.603150$yE1.530961@attbi_s21...
My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a concrete
slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the furnace are down
in the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and the furnace is at one
end. Water is getting into the air ducts. The floor vents for the half of
the house closest to the furnace work and have air coming out. The floor
vents in the half of the house furthest from the furnace have no air
coming out, and when the furnace runs I can hear water gurgling. There is
also a damp scent coming from those vents. Apparently, they are blocked by
water. There was no problem with the HVAC system last night, but there is
this morning. We had rain yesterday and overnight.

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting in
without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over the
ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very concerned that
it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old vents are taken out
of commission the leaks still have to be fixed somehow. What do I do? Who
do I call? A furnace company? A general contractor? This sounds like it
could cost a fortune to fix. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I'm
really in over my head and have no idea what to do. But, I've got to do
something soon before the house floods.

The furnace/heating company may have an idea to clean the ducts, but not for
fixing the real problem. First step is to find and stop the source of the
water. Check gutters and downspouts to be sure rain is not getting under
the slab. Could snow near the house be clocking the water from running off?
Next is to drain the ducts. Can you get a hose in there and pump the water
out?

Do you have any water or drain pipes running in the same area? Years ago
copper pipe was sometimes run under the floor and over the years, it
corrodes from chemical reaction with the concrete.

Ask a neighbor if they know a contractor or a handyman type that may be able
to help. You may need a waterproofing specialist too.

In article T9Tsl.603150$yE1.530961@attbi_s21, "J. Cameron Davis" wrote:

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting in
without demolishing the slab.

This is obviously not good. And possibly expensive. But
whatever the outcome, remain calm.

For starters, I was do a complete walk through and around
the house looking for possible clues. Pay special attention
to gutters, drains, and any septic system. Really, really,
look hard (this is not the time for a casual glimpse).
More often that not, clues are there waiting to be found.

This could be a simple case of a gutter blocked by leaves
dumping water at a critical point where it can flow into
your ducts. Even a backed up drain.

You want to know where that water came from. Even better
if you can determine where and how it entered the ducts.
But with every water problem I've ever known, it's
important to establish the source ASAP.

Look at the water levels around the house -- maybe dig
a small hole/trench in the ground next to house to see
where the water table is.

Approach it calmly and systematically. Post again with
your findings and questions.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Mar 8, 1:47*pm, (Malcolm Hoar) wrote:
In article T9Tsl.603150$yE1.530961@attbi_s21, "J. Cameron Davis" wrote:

What do I do? *There is no way to find the place where water is getting in
without demolishing the slab.

This is obviously not good. And possibly expensive. But
whatever the outcome, remain calm.

For starters, I was do a complete walk through and around
the house looking for possible clues. Pay special attention
to gutters, drains, and any septic system. Really, really,
look hard (this is not the time for a casual glimpse).
More often that not, clues are there waiting to be found.

This could be a simple case of a gutter blocked by leaves
dumping water at a critical point where it can flow into
your ducts. Even a backed up drain.

You want to know where that water came from. Even better
if you can determine where and how it entered the ducts.
But with every water problem I've ever known, it's
important to establish the source ASAP.

Look at the water levels around the house -- maybe dig
a small hole/trench in the ground next to house to see
where the water table is.

Approach it calmly and systematically. Post again with
your findings and questions.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar * * * * * "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Gary Player. |
|http://www.malch.com/* * * * * * * Shpx gur PQN. * * * * * * * *|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Never heard of ducts run in the slab. Given the size of ducts and
thickness of slabs, it would seem the duct would be not only in the
slab, but under it too.

I'd probably start by finding a competent home inspector and get an
overall opinion on the whole house including this problem. Then an
HVAC contractor is the next step. Also agree with the advice to look
for obvious sources of how water is getting in, ie water pooling from
downspouts, etc. But if you have ducts in the dirt, this seems like
a design destined to fail.

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

"J. Cameron Davis" wrote in message
news:T9Tsl.603150$yE1.530961@attbi_s21...
My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a concrete
slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the furnace are down
in the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and the furnace is at one
end. Water is getting into the air ducts. The floor vents for the half of
the house closest to the furnace work and have air coming out. The floor
vents in the half of the house furthest from the furnace have no air
coming out, and when the furnace runs I can hear water gurgling. There is
also a damp scent coming from those vents. Apparently, they are blocked by
water. There was no problem with the HVAC system last night, but there is
this morning. We had rain yesterday and overnight.

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting in
without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over the
ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very concerned that
it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old vents are taken out
of commission the leaks still have to be fixed somehow. What do I do? Who
do I call? A furnace company? A general contractor? This sounds like it
could cost a fortune to fix. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I'm
really in over my head and have no idea what to do. But, I've got to do
something soon before the house floods.

The furnace/heating company may have an idea to clean the ducts, but not for
fixing the real problem. First step is to find and stop the source of the
water. Check gutters and downspouts to be sure rain is not getting under
the slab. Could snow near the house be clocking the water from running off?
Next is to drain the ducts. Can you get a hose in there and pump the water
out?

Do you have any water or drain pipes running in the same area? Years ago
copper pipe was sometimes run under the floor and over the years, it
corrodes from chemical reaction with the concrete.

Ask a neighbor if they know a contractor or a handyman type that may be able
to help. You may need a waterproofing specialist too.

Someone with an inspection camera should be able to inspect the existing
ducting to determine the extent of the problem.

It might be possible to use the existing ducts as a chase to fish new
smaller high velocity ducts that would be continuous and sealed
eliminating the water issues.

There may be a liner product that can be installed in the existing ducts
to re-seal them. Products like this exist for re-lining utility water
and sewer pipelines.

P&M

On Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:22:59 GMT, "J. Cameron Davis"
wrote:

My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a concrete

So if it's been working ok since 1953 -- and you've had it for sever
years too? -- it must be a specific leak somewhere.

slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the furnace are down in
the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and the furnace is at one end.
Water is getting into the air ducts. The floor vents for the half of the
house closest to the furnace work and have air coming out. The floor vents
in the half of the house furthest from the furnace have no air coming out,

Very interesting. Is the house level?


and when the furnace runs I can hear water gurgling. There is also a damp
scent coming from those vents.

I have had that myself, I think the word is "damp", and I have my
furnace in the basement and a 2-story townhouse above. I only smell
it in my bedroom-office, not from any other vent, and it comes and
goes, maybe with the season. For the last 18 or 30 months. And iirc
only when the heat starts up, and I haven't smelled it for months now.

Apparently, they are blocked by water. There

If the far ones are "blocked" the near ones must have some water in
them too, unless your slab is really tilted. Or if your near ones are
dry, then your far ones couldn't have more than an inch or two, iiac.

was no problem with the HVAC system last night, but there is this morning.
We had rain yesterday and overnight.

This could be some fluke caused by enormous rain. Not a good
parallel, but I've lived here 26 years, and my sump pump was always
sufficient to pump out the sump, but once 4 years ago, it didn't seem
ilke there was so much more rain, but the sump pump couldn't keep up
with it, and the floor flooded a little while the pump was pumping at
full blast. Hasn't happened since.

I don't want to disguise the symptoms before specialists have a chance
to look at it, but... hmmm.

If your heating ducts are in your floors, I'd take off the grills and
stick a dip stick down to see if you can find the water and measure
how deep it is. A wooden yard stick would work well, or any stick.

I'd also get a small to medium sized pump, so asap I could pump the
water up and out, and through the window. Then you'll have a visual
idea of how much total water is in there.

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting in
without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over the
ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very concerned that
it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old vents are taken out of
commission the leaks still have to be fixed somehow. What do I do? Who do I

If it comes to filling up the vents, they recoomended cement. I
wonder what they would say about the foam that is injected in walls
for insulation. Easier to work with. Quicker? Neater? Cheaper? How
does this foam do if it is wet for a long time?

Any chance it is only leaking on the bottom and a layer of plastic
could be poured in over that. Maybe you can look inside with that
long scope that plumbers use to find leaks in drain pipes. IIRC
that's fairly expensive, but sounds like it would be well worth it.

Doesn't harbor freight sell a cheap one, or someone does -- I have no
recllection how long a cheap one would be -- and not to replace a
professional job, but so that you'd be able to look whenever you
wanted. Like during or after a rain.

call? A furnace company? A general contractor? This sounds like it could
cost a fortune to fix. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I'm really in
over my head and have no idea what to do. But, I've got to do something soon
before the house floods.

I don't think the water level will get much higher, unless it's still
raining. Seriously, even then, but you can go out and buy a pump
right now in case. I have a little pump that is powered by an
electric drill. I only used it once to drain a washing machine, and
you can run a drill too long without it burning out, so maybe get
something bigger than that, with its own motor. It accepts a garden
hose on each end. You only want a one or two foot hose on one end,
and enough to get out the window and away from the house on the other
end. Use the heating duct that is on the downhill side of your house.
All the ducts shouldl have about the same amount of water, but if one
dries up you can try others to see if water is still there. Measure
the depth before starting, so you can measure later and see how much
progress you're making.

In article , wrote:

I'd probably start by finding a competent home inspector and get an
overall opinion on the whole house including this problem.

I think that's an excellent suggestion. The good ones are often
really good. And will help you find an equally good specialist
to help with any remedial work.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:22:59 GMT, "J. Cameron Davis"
wrote:


P&M

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting in
without demolishing the slab

Harbor Freight does have two models but they are each 200 dollars.
One is 36 inches and the other 24. Not enough, although you can
look in each vent and you might get lucky if the leak is within 3 feet
of one of them. It might be useful at some stage for keeping an eye
on things.

You know you might be able to see the water just by looking in the
vent if the vent is in the floor, with a flashlight and your eye. I
would start where you say no air comes out.


http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91565
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=94958

I don't understand all the difference or why they are the same price.

Mayvbe you can find longer or better for 300 dollars. Maybe you need
one for other purposes too?

Amazon has one for 250 for 36 inches. You'll hae to pump out the
water before using one of these.

Proabaly a lot more money http://www.provision100.com/products_b.html
has two that are 96", one with an obedient scope and one with a
non-obedient flexible scope, whatever they are. No price given.

Although NOrthern Tool and Equipement sells their 36 inch model for
230 dolllars
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w..._436251_436251
barely anymore than harbor freight wants for a no-name brand. I'm
assuming becuase of Provision's long list of models and accessories
that it is a quality brand.

I googled on fiber optic scope and fiber optic scope shipping
..
I use the word shipping to find only places that will ship (and sell
directly)

J. Cameron Davis wrote:
My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a concrete
slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the furnace are
down in the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and the furnace is
at one end. Water is getting into the air ducts. The floor vents for the
half of the house closest to the furnace work and have air coming out.
The floor vents in the half of the house furthest from the furnace have
no air coming out, and when the furnace runs I can hear water gurgling.
There is also a damp scent coming from those vents. Apparently, they are
blocked by water. There was no problem with the HVAC system last night,
but there is this morning. We had rain yesterday and overnight.

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting
in without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over
the ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very concerned
that it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old vents are
taken out of commission the leaks still have to be fixed somehow. What
do I do? Who do I call? A furnace company? A general contractor? This
sounds like it could cost a fortune to fix. Any advice will be greatly
appreciated. I'm really in over my head and have no idea what to do.
But, I've got to do something soon before the house floods.

First thing I would try to do is inspect the outside of the slab to see
if you an identify the entry point, beginning at the end that has most
water - perhaps that end is a tad lower and the water is collecting
there first. It would seem very odd for water collecting in ducts to be
coming from OUTSIDE the house, unless the foundation is cracked. Check
for plumbing leaks, see if the water meter is turning when everything is
shut off. Ground frozen? Downspout near the "wet" end of house that
empties close to the house or onto a low spot of ground?

On Mar 8, 12:22*pm, "J. Cameron Davis" wrote:
My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a concrete
slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the furnace are down in
the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and the furnace is at one end.
Water is getting into the air ducts. The floor vents for the half of the
house closest to the furnace work and have air coming out. The floor vents
in the half of the house furthest from the furnace have no air coming out,
and when the furnace runs I can hear water gurgling. There is also a damp
scent coming from those vents. Apparently, they are blocked by water. There
was no problem with the HVAC system last night, but there is this morning..
We had rain yesterday and overnight.

What do I do? *There is no way to find the place where water is getting in
without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over the
ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very concerned that
it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old vents are taken out of
commission the leaks still have to be fixed somehow. What do I do? Who do I
call? A furnace company? A general contractor? This sounds like it could
cost a fortune to fix. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I'm really in
over my head and have no idea what to do. But, I've got to do something soon
before the house floods.

Do you have a sump system and french drain, is sump working, did you
just buy it.

wrote:
On Mar 8, 1:47 pm, (Malcolm Hoar) wrote:
In article T9Tsl.603150$yE1.530961@attbi_s21, "J. Cameron Davis" wrote:

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting in
without demolishing the slab.
This is obviously not good. And possibly expensive. But
whatever the outcome, remain calm.

For starters, I was do a complete walk through and around
the house looking for possible clues. Pay special attention
to gutters, drains, and any septic system. Really, really,
look hard (this is not the time for a casual glimpse).
More often that not, clues are there waiting to be found.

This could be a simple case of a gutter blocked by leaves
dumping water at a critical point where it can flow into
your ducts. Even a backed up drain.

You want to know where that water came from. Even better
if you can determine where and how it entered the ducts.
But with every water problem I've ever known, it's
important to establish the source ASAP.

Look at the water levels around the house -- maybe dig
a small hole/trench in the ground next to house to see
where the water table is.

Approach it calmly and systematically. Post again with
your findings and questions.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
|http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Never heard of ducts run in the slab. Given the size of ducts and
thickness of slabs, it would seem the duct would be not only in the
slab, but under it too.

I'd probably start by finding a competent home inspector and get an
overall opinion on the whole house including this problem. Then an
HVAC contractor is the next step. Also agree with the advice to look
for obvious sources of how water is getting in, ie water pooling from
downspouts, etc. But if you have ducts in the dirt, this seems like
a design destined to fail.

Not really that unusual when the house is built on slab (as is mine).
This is probably a runoff/drainage or grading issue. The OP might also
want to check the water tank for a leak if it is in fact close to the
furnace. If his furnace is set up like mine the cold air intake is on
top and the hot air is forced down into the ducting

If in fact the leak is due to the water table rising up above the level
of the ducting then one possible solution might be to dig a pit and
place a sump well and pump in a location closest to the flooded area. I
had to do this in my back yard as the area has allot of clay and the
drainage under the backyard does not work fast enough to stop flooding
in the fall. although my house was/is never in any danger of flooding I
did not see boating as a very good use of the back yard.

"J. Cameron Davis" wrote

slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the furnace are down
in the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and the furnace is at one
end. Water is getting into the air ducts. The floor vents for the half of
the

Ouch. Been there. Unlike the others, have had the exact same thing happen.
Long message and ready for any questions. No other repliers I have noted,
have this construction or have had this happen. I have.

house closest to the furnace work and have air coming out. The floor vents
in the half of the house furthest from the furnace have no air coming out,
and when the furnace runs I can hear water gurgling. There is also a damp
scent coming from those vents. Apparently, they are blocked by water.
There was no problem with the HVAC system last night, but there is this
morning. We had rain yesterday and overnight.

The problem is not the HVAC system, but the repair may involve re-routing
it. It's ok to contact them first but your chances of them really knowing
what is going on are 'unlikely'. You may luck up with one who has
knowledge, but they arent really who to contact.

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting in
without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over the

First thing is do not panic.

This is the first time right? Take it systematically like our solution did.
Your solution may not be that expensive depending on what caused it.

1. Can you see any water at the 'gurgling' end? Or just hear it? This
gives a feel for how much seepage you have and I bet you, seepage is the
problem. (Ours was so bad we needed a wet/dry vac to drain it in any rain
storm).

2. Do follow what the others said and make a good inspection of the outside
of the house, including drainage. It may not be there though (was not in
our case exactly that). Consider getting a general contract on the phone
and explain what is happening then ask them for an inspection. Be prepared
to pay about 100$ for this, more if they have camera gear to run under the
house through the vents.

- This is your best bet. Do NOT let them high pressure you. I had 3
inspectors and 2 of them were very high pressure with added work that was
NOT needed for the job and they kept tossing the 'mold' keyword every 2-3
sentances.

3. If this is a first occurance (best as you know) and it *only* happens in
rain, it is most likely from my experience to be an exterior drainage issue
and possibly a need for a reinforced footer on the outside on part of the
house (cheaper to do it all at once if you can afford it). It may just be a
bad gutter placement but keep in mind there is something wrong with the slab
too. It just need not be terminally bad.

- It will get worse over time until dealt with
- Mold may develop in the sub-floor channels but once fixed, it will go
away.

4. In our case what was 'broke' was not at all obvious and it involved 2
separate breaks. The house drain pipe corroded under the slab and it
happened to lay right along one of those HVAC channels. It *also* degraded
in the yard so that when water (rain) got deep, it backflowed up that way to
under the house. There was nothing visible in the yard to see this.

5. The fix in our case due to the dual break, was to first fix the yard
pipe out to the city sewer line (your household insurance may pay for this,
area dependant. Your water company probably wont if it well in your yard as
ours was). Then, unfortunately as the main underslab duct from the HVAC was
where the other break was, we had it backfilled with cement which had to be
professionally 'blown in' to make sure it got all the way through the system
(not just at the outlet ends).

- alternatives do exist but cost a heck of a lot more in our case with no
guarantee they will work.
- the main drain under the house had to be re-routed which fortunately was
easy to do from the garage and down the other side of the house.
- Once properly sealed, the HVAC had to be re-worked and added vents in the
attic made. Chances are good with minimal adaption, your *existing* HVAC
can be reworked, especially if you have ceiling vents as well as floor ones
right now. The re-work of the HVAC itself is fairly simple but the ducting
can cost a bit depending on how close to current code yours is now. (we were
lucky, it was codespec and beyond with larger ducts than normal suitable for
immediate expansion with no need to remove the old).

Slab construction like this is not common in a good part of the USA which is
why some of the repliers think it 'odd' or 'cant be'. They just don't live
where I do and you apparently must be in a similar area if not Norfolk.
(BTW, if you are in Hampton Roads area, I may be able to find the names of
who did some of our work but it was over 10 years ago).

Cost would be your main question I bet? Sadly it was so long ago all I can
do is my best 'guess' as I didnt keep good records. If 'guess' is ok? Keep
in mind this was about 1998-1999 (and no problems at all since).

-HVAC adjustment for upper flow: about 200$?
-HVAC duct work (6 added ones if i recall, may have been 7-8): about 1,000$
-Filling bottom (includes re-route of house drain but not the yard portion):
750$
-Digging out yard and replacing line from new outlet: 2,000$

So, all I really recall is it was a bit under 4,000$ and house insurance
covered about 1/2 of it.

I do distinctly recall the 2 high pressure sales guys wanted 20,000$ and
35,000$ respectively. One of them even said we needed to have the house
lifted and a new slab poured. Rest at ease. You do not have to have the
house lifted and a new slab poured.

Ask away!

On Mar 8, 1:22*pm, "J. Cameron Davis" wrote:
My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a concrete
slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the furnace are down in
the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and the furnace is at one end.
Water is getting into the air ducts. The floor vents for the half of the
house closest to the furnace work and have air coming out. The floor vents
in the half of the house furthest from the furnace have no air coming out,
and when the furnace runs I can hear water gurgling. There is also a damp
scent coming from those vents. Apparently, they are blocked by water. There
was no problem with the HVAC system last night, but there is this morning..
We had rain yesterday and overnight.

What do I do? *There is no way to find the place where water is getting in
without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over the
ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very concerned that
it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old vents are taken out of
commission the leaks still have to be fixed somehow. What do I do? Who do I
call? A furnace company? A general contractor? This sounds like it could
cost a fortune to fix. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I'm really in
over my head and have no idea what to do. But, I've got to do something soon
before the house floods.

This house was probably never intended to last this long. There used
to be a lot of them where I lived in Southern Georgia and they were
called Florida Homes. They werre usually built of concrete block on a
slab. They were cheap and never intended to last more than about 20
years. I would bet you also have galvanized pipe buried under the slab
too that has about seen its day. I hope you got the house cheap
because you are about to spend some money now. my parents bought one
and fixed it up wanting a smaller home after they retired. They had to
put in an outdoor gas pack HVAC unit, run duct work through the
ceiling. Along with the HVAC and water they also had to redo the
electrical. None of this was that bad considering the roof including
the rafters had to be torn off to repair termite damage. The on thing
going for them was that they bought the house very cheaply $15K and
spent about another $30K on renovations. For less than $50K they got a
house that was worth $80k upon completion in 1990 and about $110K
now.

Jimmie

On Mar 8, 12:22*pm, "J. Cameron Davis" wrote:
My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a concrete
slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the furnace are down in
the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and the furnace is at one end.
Water is getting into the air ducts. The floor vents for the half of the
house closest to the furnace work and have air coming out. The floor vents
in the half of the house furthest from the furnace have no air coming out,
and when the furnace runs I can hear water gurgling. There is also a damp
scent coming from those vents. Apparently, they are blocked by water. There
was no problem with the HVAC system last night, but there is this morning..
We had rain yesterday and overnight.

What do I do? *There is no way to find the place where water is getting in
without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over the
ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very concerned that
it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old vents are taken out of
commission the leaks still have to be fixed somehow. What do I do? Who do I
call? A furnace company? A general contractor? This sounds like it could
cost a fortune to fix. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I'm really in
over my head and have no idea what to do. But, I've got to do something soon
before the house floods.

But do you have a sump system, and it works. Or the house was poorly
designed as my neighbors is for high water. Just wait, rain is near a
midwest record, and will go higher.

On Sun, 8 Mar 2009 14:33:21 -0700 (PDT), JIMMIE
wrote:



This house was probably never intended to last this long. There used
to be a lot of them where I lived in Southern Georgia and they were
called Florida Homes. They werre usually built of concrete block on a
slab. They were cheap and never intended to last more than about 20
years. I would bet you also have galvanized pipe buried under the slab
too that has about seen its day. I hope you got the house cheap
because you are about to spend some money now. my parents bought one
and fixed it up wanting a smaller home after they retired. They had to
put in an outdoor gas pack HVAC unit, run duct work through the
ceiling.

All sounds dire, but what turned out to be wrong with the ducts in the
slab? There was water in them? Where was it coming from.

Although your parents had all these problems, he only has the water so
far and might be able to learn something from you or your parents to
help him fix it.

J. Cameron Davis wrote:
My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a concrete
slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the furnace are
down in the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and the furnace is
at one end. Water is getting into the air ducts. The floor vents for the
half of the house closest to the furnace work and have air coming out.
The floor vents in the half of the house furthest from the furnace have
no air coming out, and when the furnace runs I can hear water gurgling.
There is also a damp scent coming from those vents. Apparently, they are
blocked by water. There was no problem with the HVAC system last night,
but there is this morning. We had rain yesterday and overnight.

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting
in without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over
the ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very concerned
that it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old vents are
taken out of commission the leaks still have to be fixed somehow. What
do I do? Who do I call? A furnace company? A general contractor? This
sounds like it could cost a fortune to fix. Any advice will be greatly
appreciated. I'm really in over my head and have no idea what to do.
But, I've got to do something soon before the house floods.

You don't want to call a city/county inspector
because you could be ordered to evacuate your
home by people with guns. It's for your own
safety. I hope you can get a competent private
home inspection service to look at your problem
but first make sure that they won't rat you out
to the MAN if they find a health problem.
Stranger things have happened when people call
a government agency for help.

TDD

"The Daring Dufas" wrote

You don't want to call a city/county inspector
because you could be ordered to evacuate your
home by people with guns. It's for your own
safety. I hope you can get a competent private
home inspection service to look at your problem
but first make sure that they won't rat you out
to the MAN if they find a health problem.
Stranger things have happened when people call
a government agency for help.


Give it a REST troll. The guy is getting too much bad advice as it is and
that aint helping.

cshenk wrote:
"The Daring Dufas" wrote

You don't want to call a city/county inspector
because you could be ordered to evacuate your
home by people with guns. It's for your own
safety. I hope you can get a competent private
home inspection service to look at your problem
but first make sure that they won't rat you out
to the MAN if they find a health problem.
Stranger things have happened when people call
a government agency for help.


Give it a REST troll. The guy is getting too much bad advice as it is and
that aint helping.



What the hell makes you think it's a troll?
I witnessed incidents where people I know
said the wrong thing to the wrong person and
had government types show up and demand all
sorts of insanely expensive remediation. I
know of several people who bought property
and had no idea that there were buried oil
or vehicle fuel tanks on the property. When
they contacted government officials about it
guess what happened to them. I know another
guy who bought a small piece of business
property for a food stand. The place had been
a taxi stand before and the taxi owner changed
his own oil and spilled a little on the ground.
Guess what would have become of the new owner if
some government busybody had gotten involved. I
sincerely hope that the fellow with the water
problem can get some help without being snake
bit by government bureaucrats.

TDD

"The Daring Dufas" wrote
cshenk wrote:
"The Daring Dufas" wrote

You don't want to call a city/county inspector
because you could be ordered to evacuate your
home by people with guns. It's for your own
Give it a REST troll. The guy is getting too much bad advice as it is
and that aint helping.

What the hell makes you think it's a troll?

It's pretty frickin obvious.

This is at worst case, water under the slab due to poor footer likely. Read
his actual post before you reply.

The guy is getting advice from sump pump (not applicable to his
construction) and how to seal his basement (doenst have one obviously) to
you telling him if he asks for help someone will tell him to evacuate his
home?

Go away troll. He doesnt need that.

On Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:47:03 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:



What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting
in without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over
the ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very concerned
that it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old vents are
taken out of commission the leaks still have to be fixed somehow. What
do I do? Who do I call? A furnace company? A general contractor? This
sounds like it could cost a fortune to fix. Any advice will be greatly
appreciated. I'm really in over my head and have no idea what to do.
But, I've got to do something soon before the house floods.

You don't want to call a city/county inspector
because you could be ordered to evacuate your
home by people with guns. It's for your own
safety. I hope you can get a competent private
home inspection service to look at your problem
but first make sure that they won't rat you out
to the MAN if they find a health problem.
Stranger things have happened when people call
a government agency for help.

You're absolutely right. I had surgery and the hospital said at its
own expense it was sending a visiting nurse 3 times to help me take
care of my post-op nursing issues. She came once, and we didn't get
along for other reasons, and sure enough, the public social worker
called 2 or 3 days later. My place is a mess. I know it, but what I
didn't need when I was recovering is a social worker coming around to
make me clean it up. But that's what would have happened.
Fortunately for me, I was going to be out, and I stayed out until 5:30
to make sure I missed him, the first time he wanted to come, and he
never called again. I think even if I hadn't planned to go out, I
would have been smart enough to make new plans when he called.

After the second surgery, they wanted to send a visiting nurse again,
3 times, but when the nursing service called I told them I was going
to recuperate out of town.

Now I'm fully recovered with no infections, no complications, despite
how crowded and messy and dirty my place is.

TDD

cshenk wrote:
"The Daring Dufas" wrote
cshenk wrote:
"The Daring Dufas" wrote

You don't want to call a city/county inspector
because you could be ordered to evacuate your
home by people with guns. It's for your own
Give it a REST troll. The guy is getting too much bad advice as it is
and that aint helping.

What the hell makes you think it's a troll?

It's pretty frickin obvious.

This is at worst case, water under the slab due to poor footer likely. Read
his actual post before you reply.

The guy is getting advice from sump pump (not applicable to his
construction) and how to seal his basement (doenst have one obviously) to
you telling him if he asks for help someone will tell him to evacuate his
home?

Go away troll. He doesnt need that.



It was tongue and cheek, Christ, you actually think every
post is meant to be serious. You obviously haven't been
around Usenet very long not to recognize humor or sarcasm.
A few more years of reading posts will likely lead you to
better understand human behavior in Usenet newsgroups. You
may have noticed a lack of name calling and foul language
on my part. Trolls don't usually respond with coherency
and deference.

TDD

Ah, the old "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help"
routine. I'm fortunate not to have had that done to me. But,
I can easily believe them mandating all kinds of things, for
people who are hardy and well. And then ignoring the real
abuses of the world.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


wrote in message
...

You don't want to call a city/county inspector
because you could be ordered to evacuate your
home by people with guns. It's for your own

You're absolutely right. I had surgery and the hospital
said at its
own expense it was sending a visiting nurse 3 times to help
me take
care of my post-op nursing issues. She came once, and we
didn't get
along for other reasons, and sure enough, the public social
worker
called 2 or 3 days later. My place is a mess. I know it,
but what I
didn't need when I was recovering is a social worker coming
around to
make me clean it up. But that's what would have happened.
Fortunately for me, I was going to be out, and I stayed out
until 5:30
to make sure I missed him, the first time he wanted to come,
and he
never called again. I think even if I hadn't planned to go
out, I
would have been smart enough to make new plans when he
called.

After the second surgery, they wanted to send a visiting
nurse again,
3 times, but when the nursing service called I told them I
was going
to recuperate out of town.

Now I'm fully recovered with no infections, no
complications, despite
how crowded and messy and dirty my place is.

TDD

cshenk wrote:
"The Daring Dufas" wrote

You don't want to call a city/county inspector
because you could be ordered to evacuate your
home by people with guns. It's for your own
safety. I hope you can get a competent private
home inspection service to look at your problem
but first make sure that they won't rat you out
to the MAN if they find a health problem.
Stranger things have happened when people call
a government agency for help.


Give it a REST troll. The guy is getting too much bad advice as it is and
that aint helping.


Don't call people trolls if you don't know the facts. There are plenty
of building inspectors, under certain conditions, who might condemn a
property, especially low-end building with sanitation problems.

The Daring Dufas wrote:
cshenk wrote:
"The Daring Dufas" wrote
cshenk wrote:
"The Daring Dufas" wrote

You don't want to call a city/county inspector
because you could be ordered to evacuate your
home by people with guns. It's for your own
Give it a REST troll. The guy is getting too much bad advice as
it is and that aint helping.

What the hell makes you think it's a troll?

It's pretty frickin obvious.

This is at worst case, water under the slab due to poor footer
likely. Read his actual post before you reply.

The guy is getting advice from sump pump (not applicable to his
construction) and how to seal his basement (doenst have one
obviously) to you telling him if he asks for help someone will tell
him to evacuate his home?

Go away troll. He doesnt need that.



It was tongue and cheek, Christ, you actually think every
post is meant to be serious. You obviously haven't been
around Usenet very long not to recognize humor or sarcasm.
A few more years of reading posts will likely lead you to
better understand human behavior in Usenet newsgroups. You
may have noticed a lack of name calling and foul language
on my part. Trolls don't usually respond with coherency
and deference.


Me Golden Idol is tarnished!

HeyBub wrote:
The Daring Dufas wrote:
cshenk wrote:
"The Daring Dufas" wrote
cshenk wrote:
"The Daring Dufas" wrote

You don't want to call a city/county inspector
because you could be ordered to evacuate your
home by people with guns. It's for your own
Give it a REST troll. The guy is getting too much bad advice as
it is and that aint helping.
What the hell makes you think it's a troll?
It's pretty frickin obvious.

This is at worst case, water under the slab due to poor footer
likely. Read his actual post before you reply.

The guy is getting advice from sump pump (not applicable to his
construction) and how to seal his basement (doenst have one
obviously) to you telling him if he asks for help someone will tell
him to evacuate his home?

Go away troll. He doesnt need that.


It was tongue and cheek, Christ, you actually think every
post is meant to be serious. You obviously haven't been
around Usenet very long not to recognize humor or sarcasm.
A few more years of reading posts will likely lead you to
better understand human behavior in Usenet newsgroups. You
may have noticed a lack of name calling and foul language
on my part. Trolls don't usually respond with coherency
and deference.


Me Golden Idol is tarnished!



I sincerely and humbly apologize.
*Whistling and rolling my eyes*

TDD

On Sun, 8 Mar 2009 22:27:10 -0400, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

Ah, the old "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help"
routine. I'm fortunate not to have had that done to me. But,
I can easily believe them mandating all kinds of things, for
people who are hardy and well. And then ignoring the real
abuses of the world.

In fairness to them, I'm sure there are people whose home situation is
so bad, so filthy, that infection is a real possibility. In fact a
month later on some Sunday morning show about some current medical
question, the doctor said something like, We can't really predict how
well someone will do until we know more about where he's going after
he leaves the hospital.

And my place looks just terrible. And it was enough that the visiting
nurse ratted me out, and I think she would have even if we had gotten
along well. In fact two separate friends warned me against letting the
nurse into my house, for this very reason. But I could still manage
to not let the wound touch anything, and I never got any infection,
even though my raw innards were showing when the bandage etc. was off.
(which was for at most 15 minutes every time I redid it.)

They expect you to do a lot of your own nursing these days. Maybe they
always did. Becuase there was stuff I had to do for four months, too
disgusting to write about, but I surely wouldn't want to be in the
hospital all that time nor could i afford a nurse to come every 5 to 7
days, for what took me only an hour. 30 minutes setting things up, 15
minutes doing it, and 15 minutes putting things back. The visiting
nurse said every 3 to 5 days, the supplier said every 5 to 7 days, the
doctor told me 9 days were ok, but because I was afraid I would do it
wrong and hated doing it, I kept lengthening the time and at the very
end I waited 23 days. Everything always looked the same, however.

The second time, just packing the wound every day for a month. I did
it every second day, but checked that the packing stayed wet all that
time.

J. Cameron Davis wrote:
My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a concrete
slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the furnace are
down in the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and the furnace is
at one end. Water is getting into the air ducts. The floor vents for the
half of the house closest to the furnace work and have air coming out.
The floor vents in the half of the house furthest from the furnace have
no air coming out, and when the furnace runs I can hear water gurgling.
There is also a damp scent coming from those vents. Apparently, they are
blocked by water. There was no problem with the HVAC system last night,
but there is this morning. We had rain yesterday and overnight.

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting
in without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over
the ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very concerned
that it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old vents are
taken out of commission the leaks still have to be fixed somehow. What
do I do? Who do I call? A furnace company? A general contractor? This
sounds like it could cost a fortune to fix. Any advice will be greatly
appreciated. I'm really in over my head and have no idea what to do.
But, I've got to do something soon before the house floods.

I didn't real all the responses, so I don't know if anybody mentioned
this. Here in Tulsa there is a company that relines ductwork. My
impression is that they run some kind of spray hose through and
spray a sealant on the inside of the ducts. This might help if
you can find somebody that does it where you live.

I'm not surprised that you have leaks after this long. When I first
heard about running ducts in the slab I thought it was a bad idea.

Bill

J. Cameron Davis wrote:
My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a concrete
slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the furnace are
down in the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and the furnace is
at one end. Water is getting into the air ducts. The floor vents for the
half of the house closest to the furnace work and have air coming out.
The floor vents in the half of the house furthest from the furnace have
no air coming out, and when the furnace runs I can hear water gurgling.
There is also a damp scent coming from those vents. Apparently, they are
blocked by water. There was no problem with the HVAC system last night,
but there is this morning. We had rain yesterday and overnight.

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting
in without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over
the ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very concerned
that it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old vents are
taken out of commission the leaks still have to be fixed somehow. What
do I do? Who do I call? A furnace company? A general contractor? This
sounds like it could cost a fortune to fix. Any advice will be greatly
appreciated. I'm really in over my head and have no idea what to do.
But, I've got to do something soon before the house floods.

It would be real interesting if the OP responded to the many questions
posed by others...beginning to think this is ... a troll?

Is the house downhill from the entire neighborhood? Stream running
alongside the house? Lot graded so water collects? Downspouts where in
relation to the water?

What is exceedingly odd (fishy?) about the situation is that HALF the
ducts have air circ. from the furnace, and half have water gurgling.
Now, in a slab the ducts aren't very large, but for half to be
underwater, something has to be different. Furnace pushing air through
water in a duct so that it "gurgles"? I don't think so.

On Mar 9, 9:38*am, "
wrote:
J. Cameron Davis wrote:
My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a concrete
slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the furnace are
down in the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and the furnace is
at one end. Water is getting into the air ducts. The floor vents for the
half of the house closest to the furnace work and have air coming out.
The floor vents in the half of the house furthest from the furnace have
no air coming out, and when the furnace runs I can hear water gurgling.
There is also a damp scent coming from those vents. Apparently, they are
blocked by water. There was no problem with the HVAC system last night,
but there is this morning. We had rain yesterday and overnight.

What do I do? *There is no way to find the place where water is getting
in without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over
the ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very concerned
that it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old vents are
taken out of commission the leaks still have to be fixed somehow. What
do I do? Who do I call? A furnace company? A general contractor? This
sounds like it could cost a fortune to fix. Any advice will be greatly
appreciated. I'm really in over my head and have no idea what to do.
But, I've got to do something soon before the house floods.

It would be real interesting if the OP responded to the many questions
posed by others...beginning to think this is ... a troll?

Is the house downhill from the entire neighborhood? *Stream running
alongside the house? *Lot graded so water collects? *Downspouts where in
relation to the water?

What is exceedingly odd (fishy?) about the situation is that HALF the
ducts have air circ. from the furnace, and half have water gurgling.
Now, in a slab the ducts aren't very large, but for half to be
underwater, something has to be different. *Furnace pushing air through
water in a duct so that it "gurgles"? *I don't think so.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I know the type of installation he is talking about. I am surprized
they have lasted this long. The ducts usually rust out long before
now. If the house was built in 53 It should have been rusted out by
the early 70s. I know of a whole subdivision built like the OP said.
Some of the houses had flat roofs without even a crawl space fpr an
attic to put ductwork in.

Jimmie

No, this is not a troll question. This is a serious question. Sorry I did
not reply before now. I looked around the outside of the house for problems,
and I think I found something. There is a sidewalk running up against the
house all the way along the back of the house and along half of the front of
the house. There is a 1/2" gap between the sidewalks and the house, so I
assume that is where water could run in. Also, the gutters leak at the
seams, and one joint between sections has separated. So, the gutters are not
working as well as they should. There was no rain during the day yesterday,
and I found that the water noise in the ducts stopped, and there is air flow
through all of the ducts now. So, the water level must have dropped some.
What I will do immediately is caulk the gaps along the sidewalks and fix the
gutters. Hopefully that will keep some water out. Then I'll have to look
into either relining the ducts or moving them. It appears the house is not
going to flood anytime soon. Repairing the ducts will have to wait until the
summer, for financial reasons. But, before long I won't be using the
furnace. Thanks everyone for all the advice.

Cameron Davis

wrote in message
m...
J. Cameron Davis wrote:
My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a concrete
slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the furnace are down
in the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and the furnace is at one
end. Water is getting into the air ducts. The floor vents for the half of
the house closest to the furnace work and have air coming out. The floor
vents in the half of the house furthest from the furnace have no air
coming out, and when the furnace runs I can hear water gurgling. There is
also a damp scent coming from those vents. Apparently, they are blocked
by water. There was no problem with the HVAC system last night, but there
is this morning. We had rain yesterday and overnight.

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting
in without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over
the ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very concerned
that it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old vents are
taken out of commission the leaks still have to be fixed somehow. What do
I do? Who do I call? A furnace company? A general contractor? This sounds
like it could cost a fortune to fix. Any advice will be greatly
appreciated. I'm really in over my head and have no idea what to do. But,
I've got to do something soon before the house floods.

It would be real interesting if the OP responded to the many questions
posed by others...beginning to think this is ... a troll?

Is the house downhill from the entire neighborhood? Stream running
alongside the house? Lot graded so water collects? Downspouts where in
relation to the water?

What is exceedingly odd (fishy?) about the situation is that HALF the
ducts have air circ. from the furnace, and half have water gurgling. Now,
in a slab the ducts aren't very large, but for half to be underwater,
something has to be different. Furnace pushing air through water in a
duct so that it "gurgles"? I don't think so.

J. Cameron Davis wrote:
No, this is not a troll question. This is a serious question. Sorry I
did not reply before now. I looked around the outside of the house for
problems, and I think I found something. There is a sidewalk running up
against the house all the way along the back of the house and along half
of the front of the house. There is a 1/2" gap between the sidewalks and
the house, so I assume that is where water could run in. Also, the
gutters leak at the seams, and one joint between sections has separated.
So, the gutters are not working as well as they should. There was no
rain during the day yesterday, and I found that the water noise in the
ducts stopped, and there is air flow through all of the ducts now. So,
the water level must have dropped some. What I will do immediately is
caulk the gaps along the sidewalks and fix the gutters. Hopefully that
will keep some water out. Then I'll have to look into either relining
the ducts or moving them. It appears the house is not going to flood
anytime soon. Repairing the ducts will have to wait until the summer,
for financial reasons. But, before long I won't be using the furnace.
Thanks everyone for all the advice.

Cameron Davis

Is the house in bad condition all 'round? Just asking, since you say
the downspouts are coming apart and gutters leak. That would be my
priority, just from what you have stated and having no details at all
about the house or lot. There is special caulk for expansion joints on
concrete, which sounds like what you need to use. Fix gutters and
downspouts, make sure the downspouts empty a distance away from the
house - NOT onto the walk that is against the house. Does the lot slope
toward the house or away? Had an unusual amount of rain/snow?

I would inspect the ducts to see if you see standing water - if so, find
a way to empty the ducts (pump, wet vac, etc.) If there is still water,
I would run the furnace fan only and use dehumidifier, assuming no more
water is entering. Have you checked for cracks around footers, for
standing water, any especially mushy areas of yard? Check water meter
to see if it turns with no faucets running? Got sewer or septic? If
you are sincerely trying to correct the situation, you need to identify
the problem. A plumber or HVAC contractor would be good for starters.
A good homeowners DIY manual would be a good reference if you are
totally unfamiliar with repairs....I still can't get over the
"gurgling", which would seem to be more likely a sewer line problem...

"J. Cameron Davis" wrote in message
news:93atl.604416$yE1.262854@attbi_s21...
There is a 1/2" gap between the sidewalks and the house, so I assume that
is where water could run in. Also, the gutters leak at the seams, and one
joint between sections has separated. So, the gutters are not working as
well as they should. There was no rain during the day yesterday, and I
found that the water noise in the ducts stopped, and there is air flow
through all of the ducts now. So, the water level must have dropped some.

The fact tht the water went down also means that the ducts are probably
rusted out or have big gaps otherwise. You'd do well to consider runnig the
ducts up and over if possible as you may also be losing a lot of heat in
them. At least now you'll have some time to come up with a solution.

On Sun 08 Mar 2009 10:34:39a, RBM told us...


"J. Cameron Davis" wrote in message
news:T9Tsl.603150$yE1.530961@attbi_s21...
My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a
concrete slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the
furnace are down in the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and
the furnace is at one end. Water is getting into the air ducts. The
floor vents for the half of the house closest to the furnace work and
have air coming out. The floor vents in the half of the house furthest
from the furnace have no air coming out, and when the furnace runs I
can hear water gurgling. There is also a damp scent coming from those
vents. Apparently, they are blocked by water. There was no problem with
the HVAC system last night, but there is this morning. We had rain
yesterday and overnight.

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting
in without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over
the ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very
concerned that it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old
vents are taken out of commission the leaks still have to be fixed
somehow. What do I do? Who do I call? A furnace company? A general
contractor? This sounds like it could cost a fortune to fix. Any advice
will be greatly appreciated. I'm really in over my head and have no
idea what to do. But, I've got to do something soon before the house
floods.

I don't think I'd be to concerned about water coming up, but it seems
like a bizarre way to install the system in the first place. I think you
need to call a HVAC contractor, probably close up and fill with cement
the old ducts, then run new ones overhead. It can't be healthy to have
drainage water flowing into heating ducts. You're right, it's probably
gonna cost

It's really not a bizarre system at all. A custom home we built in NE Ohio
in the mid 1980s had the ducts to the first floor imbedded or molded into
the slab, as were plumbing pipes and electrical conduit. I understand the
same type of systems are still being installed.

In this case, obviously something has broken through allowing water to seep
in when there is rain or high water levels. A lot can happen to a 56 year
old house.

I would also vote for closing off the old system with concrete and
installing new ductwork in the attic. If the problem is being caused by a
defect beneath the slab, destroying it would be one of the few ways to find
it, much less correct it. However, every effort to find an inlet around
the perimeter of the slab and in each of the openings in the house should
also be made.



--
Wayne Boatwright

"One man's meat is another man's poison"
- Oswald Dykes, English writer, 1709.

I'm the original poster. Suppose I abandon the ducts in the slab. Why do
they need to be filled with concrete. Why not just remove the part that
comes up through the floor and then somehow seal the holes in the slab with
cement?

"Wayne Boatwright" wrote in message
5.250...
On Sun 08 Mar 2009 10:34:39a, RBM told us...


"J. Cameron Davis" wrote in message
news:T9Tsl.603150$yE1.530961@attbi_s21...
My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a
concrete slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the
furnace are down in the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and
the furnace is at one end. Water is getting into the air ducts. The
floor vents for the half of the house closest to the furnace work and
have air coming out. The floor vents in the half of the house furthest
from the furnace have no air coming out, and when the furnace runs I
can hear water gurgling. There is also a damp scent coming from those
vents. Apparently, they are blocked by water. There was no problem with
the HVAC system last night, but there is this morning. We had rain
yesterday and overnight.

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is getting
in without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be run over
the ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm very
concerned that it's going to back up into the house. Even if the old
vents are taken out of commission the leaks still have to be fixed
somehow. What do I do? Who do I call? A furnace company? A general
contractor? This sounds like it could cost a fortune to fix. Any advice
will be greatly appreciated. I'm really in over my head and have no
idea what to do. But, I've got to do something soon before the house
floods.

I don't think I'd be to concerned about water coming up, but it seems
like a bizarre way to install the system in the first place. I think you
need to call a HVAC contractor, probably close up and fill with cement
the old ducts, then run new ones overhead. It can't be healthy to have
drainage water flowing into heating ducts. You're right, it's probably
gonna cost

It's really not a bizarre system at all. A custom home we built in NE
Ohio
in the mid 1980s had the ducts to the first floor imbedded or molded into
the slab, as were plumbing pipes and electrical conduit. I understand the
same type of systems are still being installed.

In this case, obviously something has broken through allowing water to
seep
in when there is rain or high water levels. A lot can happen to a 56 year
old house.

I would also vote for closing off the old system with concrete and
installing new ductwork in the attic. If the problem is being caused by a
defect beneath the slab, destroying it would be one of the few ways to
find
it, much less correct it. However, every effort to find an inlet around
the perimeter of the slab and in each of the openings in the house should
also be made.



--
Wayne Boatwright

"One man's meat is another man's poison"
- Oswald Dykes, English writer, 1709.

J. Cameron Davis wrote:
I'm the original poster. Suppose I abandon the ducts in the slab. Why do
they need to be filled with concrete. Why not just remove the part that
comes up through the floor and then somehow seal the holes in the slab
with cement?


Do you ever get really hard freezes where you are? Say you seal the vent
holes, but the outside water is still getting in the open parts of the
old ducts. What happens if they freeze? Expansion, and a fractured slab.
Even if they never freeze, pockets of stagnant water right under your
floor are Not A Good Thing. Concrete is not waterproof, and a tiny crack
up to the living space could make for a mold incubator down there. You
definitely want to pump them full of concrete or something if you are
going to abandon them.

--
aem sends...

On Tue 10 Mar 2009 08:52:03p, J. Cameron Davis told us...

I'm the original poster. Suppose I abandon the ducts in the slab. Why do
they need to be filled with concrete. Why not just remove the part that
comes up through the floor and then somehow seal the holes in the slab
with cement?

That was actually what I meant. It would be difficult to fill the entire
duct with cement without brining in a cement pump with hose. The latter
would be rather expensive as well.

"Wayne Boatwright" wrote in message
5.250...
On Sun 08 Mar 2009 10:34:39a, RBM told us...


"J. Cameron Davis" wrote in message
news:T9Tsl.603150$yE1.530961@attbi_s21...
My house is a 2 bedroom ranch style build in 1953. It sits on a
concrete slab - no basement or crawl space. The air ducts for the
furnace are down in the slab. The house has a rectangular shape, and
the furnace is at one end. Water is getting into the air ducts. The
floor vents for the half of the house closest to the furnace work and
have air coming out. The floor vents in the half of the house
furthest from the furnace have no air coming out, and when the
furnace runs I can hear water gurgling. There is also a damp scent
coming from those vents. Apparently, they are blocked by water. There
was no problem with the HVAC system last night, but there is this
morning. We had rain yesterday and overnight.

What do I do? There is no way to find the place where water is
getting in without demolishing the slab. I suppose new vents could be
run over the ceiling, but I still have to deal with the water. I'm
very concerned that it's going to back up into the house. Even if the
old vents are taken out of commission the leaks still have to be
fixed somehow. What do I do? Who do I call? A furnace company? A
general contractor? This sounds like it could cost a fortune to fix.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I'm really in over my head
and have no idea what to do. But, I've got to do something soon
before the house floods.

I don't think I'd be to concerned about water coming up, but it seems
like a bizarre way to install the system in the first place. I think
you need to call a HVAC contractor, probably close up and fill with
cement the old ducts, then run new ones overhead. It can't be healthy
to have drainage water flowing into heating ducts. You're right, it's
probably gonna cost

It's really not a bizarre system at all. A custom home we built in NE
Ohio
in the mid 1980s had the ducts to the first floor imbedded or molded
into the slab, as were plumbing pipes and electrical conduit. I
understand the same type of systems are still being installed.

In this case, obviously something has broken through allowing water to
seep in when there is rain or high water levels. A lot can happen to a
56 year old house.

I would also vote for closing off the old system with concrete and
installing new ductwork in the attic. If the problem is being caused
by a defect beneath the slab, destroying it would be one of the few
ways to find it, much less correct it. However, every effort to find
an inlet around the perimeter of the slab and in each of the openings
in the house should also be made.



--
Wayne Boatwright

"One man's meat is another man's poison" - Oswald Dykes, English
writer, 1709.





--
Wayne Boatwright

"One man's meat is another man's poison"
- Oswald Dykes, English writer, 1709.