Hi
I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now (please see video below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8

One contractor came and said that area in the wall is not isolated and it is not drywall but somewhere in the middle of that wall, drywall starts from middle until the window. he said that area (from the middle to the button) need to be removed to install new drywall.

I am thinking about quick and more cost effect solution. I thought of buying a drywall and cut it to cover that area and that will provide a support to existing wall. I will be very similar to what i did in the following video but the board will be bigger (higher) so it will meet with another dry wall and then screw them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs

is that good idea?

Went to Home depot and found they have the following
1) dry wall
2)tile backer (dens shield)
3) cement board
4) cgc gypsum board
5) fiberock panel

Which board should I use in this case

Thanks a lot.

leza wang wrote:
Hi
I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now
(please see video below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8

One contractor came and said that area in the wall is not isolated
and it is not drywall but somewhere in the middle of that wall,
drywall starts from middle until the window. he said that area (from
the middle to the button) need to be removed to install new drywall.

I am thinking about quick and more cost effect solution. I thought of
buying a drywall and cut it to cover that area and that will provide
a support to existing wall. I will be very similar to what i did in
the following video but the board will be bigger (higher) so it will
meet with another dry wall and then screw them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs

is that good idea?

Went to Home depot and found they have the following
1) dry wall
2)tile backer (dens shield)
3) cement board
4) cgc gypsum board
5) fiberock panel

Which board should I use in this case

Thanks a lot.

First, you would need to know what the wall is made of -- meaning how it is
constructed.

You are using the terms "dry wall" and "drywall" in different ways.

A "dry wall" is a wall that is not wet (in other words, a wall that is dry).

"Drywall" is another name or term for sheetrock (also known as plasterboard,
wallboard, gypsum board, or gyprock):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drywall .

Water is causing the damage to your wall. From the view that you showed, it
looks like the wall under the window is below the ground level. In other
words, when looking at the window from the outside, it would be above the
ground level, and then there is dirt. The exterior wall below the ground
level in your basement/laundry area is probably stone, or masonry, or
cement, or whatever -- but I doubt that it is "drywall" (sheetrock). But,
the only way to know what the wall is on the inside in the laundry room is
to break out a little section of it where the leak and wet area is and see
what's there.

The next problem is figuring out how to stop the water from getting into the
wall from the outside. That can be done in different ways, but sometimes it
is just a matter of directing rain the water away from the wall.

Can you provide a photo or video of that laundry room window area from the
outside so we can see what's out there?

If the wall itself (on the inside in the laundry room, under the window) is
some kind of masonry or cement, you may be able to repair the wall with
mortar, masonry, cement etc.

Putting any kind of sheetrock, wood, etc. on the inside is not going to stop
the water from coming in.

I have a hunch that when the contractor was telling you that you don't have
"dry wall" at the bottom, but you do have "dry wall" starting about halfway
up and going up to the window -- he just meant that the wall is "wet" at the
bottom and "dry" on the upper half -- NOT that you have sheetrock
("drywall") on the upper half of the wall.

On Friday, June 28, 2013 5:22:29 PM UTC-4, leza wang wrote:
Hi

I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now (please see video below)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8



One contractor came and said that area in the wall is not isolated and it is not drywall but somewhere in the middle of that wall, drywall starts from middle until the window. he said that area (from the middle to the button) need to be removed to install new drywall.



I am thinking about quick and more cost effect solution. I thought of buying a drywall and cut it to cover that area and that will provide a support to existing wall. I will be very similar to what i did in the following video but the board will be bigger (higher) so it will meet with another dry wall and then screw them.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs



is that good idea?



Went to Home depot and found they have the following

1) dry wall

2)tile backer (dens shield)

3) cement board

4) cgc gypsum board

5) fiberock panel



Which board should I use in this case



Thanks a lot.

On Friday, June 28, 2013 6:13:07 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:
leza wang wrote:

Hi

I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now

(please see video below)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8



One contractor came and said that area in the wall is not isolated

and it is not drywall but somewhere in the middle of that wall,

drywall starts from middle until the window. he said that area (from

the middle to the button) need to be removed to install new drywall.



I am thinking about quick and more cost effect solution. I thought of

buying a drywall and cut it to cover that area and that will provide

a support to existing wall. I will be very similar to what i did in

the following video but the board will be bigger (higher) so it will

meet with another dry wall and then screw them.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs



is that good idea?



Went to Home depot and found they have the following

1) dry wall

2)tile backer (dens shield)

3) cement board

4) cgc gypsum board

5) fiberock panel



Which board should I use in this case



Thanks a lot.



First, you would need to know what the wall is made of -- meaning how it is

constructed.



You are using the terms "dry wall" and "drywall" in different ways.



A "dry wall" is a wall that is not wet (in other words, a wall that is dry).



"Drywall" is another name or term for sheetrock (also known as plasterboard,

wallboard, gypsum board, or gyprock):



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drywall .



Water is causing the damage to your wall. From the view that you showed, it

looks like the wall under the window is below the ground level. In other

words, when looking at the window from the outside, it would be above the

ground level, and then there is dirt. The exterior wall below the ground

level in your basement/laundry area is probably stone, or masonry, or

cement, or whatever -- but I doubt that it is "drywall" (sheetrock). But,

the only way to know what the wall is on the inside in the laundry room is

to break out a little section of it where the leak and wet area is and see

what's there.



The next problem is figuring out how to stop the water from getting into the

wall from the outside. That can be done in different ways, but sometimes it

is just a matter of directing rain the water away from the wall.



Can you provide a photo or video of that laundry room window area from the

outside so we can see what's out there?



If the wall itself (on the inside in the laundry room, under the window) is

some kind of masonry or cement, you may be able to repair the wall with

mortar, masonry, cement etc.



Putting any kind of sheetrock, wood, etc. on the inside is not going to stop

the water from coming in.



I have a hunch that when the contractor was telling you that you don't have

"dry wall" at the bottom, but you do have "dry wall" starting about halfway

up and going up to the window -- he just meant that the wall is "wet" at the

bottom and "dry" on the upper half -- NOT that you have sheetrock

("drywall") on the upper half of the wall.

Thanks TomR for your reply. Actually I meant Drywall (sheetrock). I just went there and removed some part of that wall to see what is behind it. It looks to me it is like a Drywall but different material (like mud inside) and it is mounted on cement (i think the foundation is cement), please see this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFOpazKu_z0

now i am thinking i can take out all that board and put a new one (Drywall) maybe, but I am not sure how to mount a Drywall onto cement. I really scared from damaging the foundation if i hammer a nail that might crack it since the house is old (1925)

the window from outside is look like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfazDyGeh2Y

Thanks once again

"leza wang" wrote in message
...
On Friday, June 28, 2013 6:13:07 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:
leza wang wrote:

Hi

I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now

(please see video below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs


Thanks TomR for your reply. Actually I meant Drywall (sheetrock). I just
went there and removed some part of that wall to see what is behind it.
It looks to me it is like a Drywall but different material (like mud
inside) and it is mounted on cement (i think the foundation is cement),
please see this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFOpazKu_z0

now i am thinking i can take out all that board and put a new one
(Drywall) maybe, but I am not sure how to mount a Drywall onto cement. I
really scared from damaging the foundation if i hammer a nail that might
crack it since the house is old (1925)

the window from outside is look like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfazDyGeh2Y

The videos help a lot.

It looks like you have some type of masonry/cement (I don't know the exact
term) foundation/basement wall. And, the wall is covered on the inside with
sheetrock/drywall as you said. It looks like someone added the sheetrock to
try to give a finished look to the walls in the laundry room.

It's hard to tell how the sheetrock is attached. It could be that there are
wood furring strips attached to the basement foundation wall and the
sheetrock attached to that. Or, maybe the sheetrock is just glued to the
foundation wall.

The problem is that with the wall leaking, no sheetrock or anything else
that you put there is going to stop the water from getting in and the wall
deteriorating. And, no sheetrock or other wall covering is going to make
the wall stronger or hold it up better.

The water is coming in because the bottom of the window is at ground level,
and I'm sure when it rain water creates a little lake on that slab of
concrete and paver stones and then flows down in through the bottom of the
window and probably down into the ground next to the wall. To help direct
the water away, you could put in a smaller window (smaller in height) and
create a cement/brick barrier a couple of inches high along the bottom of
the existing window opening. Or, build a small cement/concrete barrier a
couple of inches high across the front of the existing window to help keep
water from coming in. It would also be good if you could find a way to
grade the water run-off in the back so it flows away from the house and
window -- but that doesn't look too easy to do. And, if those are cracks in
the concrete slab next to the window, seal those cracks to prevent water
from draining down into the ground underneath the slab

For the inside of the wall, you could break away the sheetrock covering that
is there now. That won't weaken the wall. Then, after solving the water
problem, decide how to "finish" the inside of the wall. Depending on what
is underneath the sheetrock, you could patch and fill any cracks in the wall
with patching cement that is made for that. Then, maybe just paint the
masonry/cement wall with Drylok paint or something similar.

Good luck.

On Fri, 28 Jun 2013 14:22:29 -0700 (PDT), leza wang
wrote:

Hi
I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now (please see video below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8

I was wrong. It really is a hole. I could see a red panda peeking
out. You live in DC, right?

One contractor came and said that area in the wall is not isolated and it is not drywall but somewhere in the middle of that wall, drywall starts from middle until the window. he said that area (from the middle to the button) need to be removed to install new drywall.

A lot of workmen like to do things right. Even I like to do things
right, but you have to make a choice between doing it right and doing
it basement ugly. It's not like your guests will be checking behind
the washing machine.

If your wall is wet, you can't paint it with UGL waterproofing paint.
Follow the directions. It works. It's almost a miracle. The one
problem is that if there is enough water and it can't get in where
you've painted, it may come in somewhere to the left or right. But
if it's just a little dampness, and that's what the damage looks like
to me, I'd just use UGL.

IIRC you can paint anything with it, cinder block, cement, stones.
YOu can paint sheet rock, but you should paint the side that faces the
wall. If you paint the side t hat faces the room, the whole other
side and inside will get wet and it will fall apart.


I am thinking about quick and more cost effect solution. I thought of buying a drywall and cut it to cover that area and that will provide a support to existing wall. I will be very similar to what i did in the following video but the board will be bigger (higher) so it will meet with another dry wall and then screw them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs

is that good idea?

Looks good to me. You should probably paint the wood on all sides
so that moisture doesn't damage it much.


Went to Home depot and found they have the following
1) dry wall
2)tile backer (dens shield)
3) cement board
4) cgc gypsum board
5) fiberock panel

Which board should I use in this case

Thanks a lot.

On Friday, June 28, 2013 11:13:09 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:
"leza wang" wrote in message

...

On Friday, June 28, 2013 6:13:07 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:

leza wang wrote:



Hi



I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now



(please see video below)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs





Thanks TomR for your reply. Actually I meant Drywall (sheetrock). I just

went there and removed some part of that wall to see what is behind it.

It looks to me it is like a Drywall but different material (like mud

inside) and it is mounted on cement (i think the foundation is cement),

please see this video



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFOpazKu_z0



now i am thinking i can take out all that board and put a new one

(Drywall) maybe, but I am not sure how to mount a Drywall onto cement. I

really scared from damaging the foundation if i hammer a nail that might

crack it since the house is old (1925)



the window from outside is look like this



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfazDyGeh2Y



The videos help a lot.



It looks like you have some type of masonry/cement (I don't know the exact

term) foundation/basement wall. And, the wall is covered on the inside with

sheetrock/drywall as you said. It looks like someone added the sheetrock to

try to give a finished look to the walls in the laundry room.



It's hard to tell how the sheetrock is attached. It could be that there are

wood furring strips attached to the basement foundation wall and the

sheetrock attached to that. Or, maybe the sheetrock is just glued to the

foundation wall.



The problem is that with the wall leaking, no sheetrock or anything else

that you put there is going to stop the water from getting in and the wall

deteriorating. And, no sheetrock or other wall covering is going to make

the wall stronger or hold it up better.



The water is coming in because the bottom of the window is at ground level,

and I'm sure when it rain water creates a little lake on that slab of

concrete and paver stones and then flows down in through the bottom of the

window and probably down into the ground next to the wall. To help direct

the water away, you could put in a smaller window (smaller in height) and

create a cement/brick barrier a couple of inches high along the bottom of

the existing window opening. Or, build a small cement/concrete barrier a

couple of inches high across the front of the existing window to help keep

water from coming in. It would also be good if you could find a way to

grade the water run-off in the back so it flows away from the house and

window -- but that doesn't look too easy to do. And, if those are cracks in

the concrete slab next to the window, seal those cracks to prevent water

from draining down into the ground underneath the slab



For the inside of the wall, you could break away the sheetrock covering that

is there now. That won't weaken the wall. Then, after solving the water

problem, decide how to "finish" the inside of the wall. Depending on what

is underneath the sheetrock, you could patch and fill any cracks in the wall

with patching cement that is made for that. Then, maybe just paint the

masonry/cement wall with Drylok paint or something similar.



Good luck.



Agree with the essence of what Tom said. There is a
lot wrong here and it's not a simple easy fix. First
problem, like Tom said, that window should not be
touching the concrete slab outside. If the window
hasn't rotted away yet, it will. How is the slab
pitched? I would not be surprised that it either
has no pitch or it's pitched toward the house,
instead of away. The bottom of the whole window,
ie the outside of the window frame, should be
2" min ABOVE the concrete slab. Is that window made
of wood, have an outside wood frame? Any wood in
direct contact with water like that will wick it
up and rot. It may take 10, 20 years for it to be
totally shot, but it will happen. If the window is
vinyl and set into the foundation wall without wood,
then it will last, but it still will have the water
leakage problem.

A possible way to fix that would be to put in a
window well. That would work as long as only a
reasonable amount of water gets to the well and
the soil has decent drainage. If not, then it can
be solved with a window well that drains somewhere.
The "somewhere" is the next problem. Unless there
is a low enough spot on the lot to drain it to
above ground, the other option is to dig down all
the way to the weeping tile system and direct it
there. I saw Holmes on Homes show do exactly that
in one of their episodes.

Next issue outside is what is happening with the
gutters? Are they clean or overflowing?
Where is rain water being directed? It
should be taken 6 to 10 feet away from the house.
And the grading all around the perimeter should
slope AWAY from the house.

With any basement water issue, you always want
to start with the outside. Some simple, easy and
cheap things to fix outside can keep a lot of
water from coming in. And if you don't do that,
a lot of expensive attempts from inside won't
work.

Moving to the inside, what you have there is just
cheap, dumb, poor construction. Someone put up
drywall almost directly in contact with the
basement foundation wall. As Tom pointed out,
looks like there is some very thin furring strips,
then drywall. It should have been framed out using
2 x 4 studs. Then you have some decent seperation
from the masonry wall which will always have some
dampness and the drywall. There should also be
a vapor barrier. IMO, as built, it's destined
to fail, no matter how much you try to fix it. It's
also a great place for mold to grow.
The plywood sheet, as you realize, is just a bandaid.

Another thing I would consider is how necessary
having that laundry room drywalled really is.
There are plenty of basements that have a washer/dryer
that don't have them in a finished area. Just
thought I'd throw that out as an option that could
simplify things. To really solve your problem down
there, if you want it finished you have to:

A - Fix the water issues outside I listed

B - Tear down all that sheetrock mess inside and redo
it as stated above.

IMO, anything you do short of that is just a bandaid.
I also take it from your other posts that this house
is a relatively new purchase. Before I rebuilt that
basement laundry room, I'd make sure I had some history
of what happens in heavy rains. I'd also put on a raincoat,
go outside in a heavy rain and look at where water is
going that comes off the roof. Do the gutters take it
away from the house? Or is it pouring out near the house,
some downspouts overflowing, water flowing the wrong way,
towards the foundation, etc. And see what water comes
in the basement during a heavy rain.

Finally, if you had contractors over and they didn't
discuss all, or at least most of the above with you, I'd
look for another contractor. Also, I'd be interested in
knowing if you had a home inspection done and what the
home inspector said about this. If the inspector missed
this, then you have a legitimate claim against them,
because this is very basic inspection 101 type stuff.
Whether you could collect anything is another matter.
If they have small claims court there, that could be an
option. And if the inspector didn't flag this,I'd be
very concerned about what else he missed. Also, regarding
the water problem, IDK what the laws are in CA, but
here in most of the US, if the seller didn't disclose this
to you, you'd have a decent shot at a case against them
to make them pay. It's hard to believe they didn't know
the laudry room was getting wet and rotting away. What
did you see when you looked at it? Fresh paint?

On Friday, June 28, 2013 11:13:09 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:
"leza wang" wrote in message

...

On Friday, June 28, 2013 6:13:07 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:

leza wang wrote:



Hi



I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now



(please see video below)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs





Thanks TomR for your reply. Actually I meant Drywall (sheetrock). I just

went there and removed some part of that wall to see what is behind it.

It looks to me it is like a Drywall but different material (like mud

inside) and it is mounted on cement (i think the foundation is cement),

please see this video



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFOpazKu_z0



now i am thinking i can take out all that board and put a new one

(Drywall) maybe, but I am not sure how to mount a Drywall onto cement.. I

really scared from damaging the foundation if i hammer a nail that might

crack it since the house is old (1925)



the window from outside is look like this



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfazDyGeh2Y



The videos help a lot.



It looks like you have some type of masonry/cement (I don't know the exact

term) foundation/basement wall. And, the wall is covered on the inside with

sheetrock/drywall as you said. It looks like someone added the sheetrock to

try to give a finished look to the walls in the laundry room.



It's hard to tell how the sheetrock is attached. It could be that there are

wood furring strips attached to the basement foundation wall and the

sheetrock attached to that. Or, maybe the sheetrock is just glued to the

foundation wall.



The problem is that with the wall leaking, no sheetrock or anything else

that you put there is going to stop the water from getting in and the wall

deteriorating. And, no sheetrock or other wall covering is going to make

the wall stronger or hold it up better.



The water is coming in because the bottom of the window is at ground level,

and I'm sure when it rain water creates a little lake on that slab of

concrete and paver stones and then flows down in through the bottom of the

window and probably down into the ground next to the wall. To help direct

the water away, you could put in a smaller window (smaller in height) and

create a cement/brick barrier a couple of inches high along the bottom of

the existing window opening. Or, build a small cement/concrete barrier a

couple of inches high across the front of the existing window to help keep

water from coming in. It would also be good if you could find a way to

grade the water run-off in the back so it flows away from the house and

window -- but that doesn't look too easy to do. And, if those are cracks in

the concrete slab next to the window, seal those cracks to prevent water

from draining down into the ground underneath the slab



For the inside of the wall, you could break away the sheetrock covering that

is there now. That won't weaken the wall. Then, after solving the water

problem, decide how to "finish" the inside of the wall. Depending on what

is underneath the sheetrock, you could patch and fill any cracks in the wall

with patching cement that is made for that. Then, maybe just paint the

masonry/cement wall with Drylok paint or something similar.



Good luck.

Thanks a lot TomR. I will fix the issue from outside .. about the inside, I really liked the idea of using patching cement to replace the not-so-dry Drywall. I took must of it out now, but I wonder if there is any special cement for that or regular cement can be used? Thanks once again for all the help.

On Saturday, June 29, 2013 9:05:06 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Friday, June 28, 2013 11:13:09 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:

"leza wang" wrote in message



...



On Friday, June 28, 2013 6:13:07 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:



leza wang wrote:







Hi







I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now







(please see video below)







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs











Thanks TomR for your reply. Actually I meant Drywall (sheetrock). I just



went there and removed some part of that wall to see what is behind it.



It looks to me it is like a Drywall but different material (like mud



inside) and it is mounted on cement (i think the foundation is cement),



please see this video







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFOpazKu_z0







now i am thinking i can take out all that board and put a new one



(Drywall) maybe, but I am not sure how to mount a Drywall onto cement. I



really scared from damaging the foundation if i hammer a nail that might



crack it since the house is old (1925)







the window from outside is look like this







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfazDyGeh2Y







The videos help a lot.







It looks like you have some type of masonry/cement (I don't know the exact



term) foundation/basement wall. And, the wall is covered on the inside with



sheetrock/drywall as you said. It looks like someone added the sheetrock to



try to give a finished look to the walls in the laundry room.







It's hard to tell how the sheetrock is attached. It could be that there are



wood furring strips attached to the basement foundation wall and the



sheetrock attached to that. Or, maybe the sheetrock is just glued to the



foundation wall.







The problem is that with the wall leaking, no sheetrock or anything else



that you put there is going to stop the water from getting in and the wall



deteriorating. And, no sheetrock or other wall covering is going to make



the wall stronger or hold it up better.







The water is coming in because the bottom of the window is at ground level,



and I'm sure when it rain water creates a little lake on that slab of



concrete and paver stones and then flows down in through the bottom of the



window and probably down into the ground next to the wall. To help direct



the water away, you could put in a smaller window (smaller in height) and



create a cement/brick barrier a couple of inches high along the bottom of



the existing window opening. Or, build a small cement/concrete barrier a



couple of inches high across the front of the existing window to help keep



water from coming in. It would also be good if you could find a way to



grade the water run-off in the back so it flows away from the house and



window -- but that doesn't look too easy to do. And, if those are cracks in



the concrete slab next to the window, seal those cracks to prevent water



from draining down into the ground underneath the slab







For the inside of the wall, you could break away the sheetrock covering that



is there now. That won't weaken the wall. Then, after solving the water



problem, decide how to "finish" the inside of the wall. Depending on what



is underneath the sheetrock, you could patch and fill any cracks in the wall



with patching cement that is made for that. Then, maybe just paint the



masonry/cement wall with Drylok paint or something similar.







Good luck.







Agree with the essence of what Tom said. There is a

lot wrong here and it's not a simple easy fix. First

problem, like Tom said, that window should not be

touching the concrete slab outside. If the window

hasn't rotted away yet, it will. How is the slab

pitched? I would not be surprised that it either

has no pitch or it's pitched toward the house,

instead of away. The bottom of the whole window,

ie the outside of the window frame, should be

2" min ABOVE the concrete slab. Is that window made

of wood, have an outside wood frame? Any wood in

direct contact with water like that will wick it

up and rot. It may take 10, 20 years for it to be

totally shot, but it will happen. If the window is

vinyl and set into the foundation wall without wood,

then it will last, but it still will have the water

leakage problem.



A possible way to fix that would be to put in a

window well. That would work as long as only a

reasonable amount of water gets to the well and

the soil has decent drainage. If not, then it can

be solved with a window well that drains somewhere.

The "somewhere" is the next problem. Unless there

is a low enough spot on the lot to drain it to

above ground, the other option is to dig down all

the way to the weeping tile system and direct it

there. I saw Holmes on Homes show do exactly that

in one of their episodes.



Next issue outside is what is happening with the

gutters? Are they clean or overflowing?

Where is rain water being directed? It

should be taken 6 to 10 feet away from the house.

And the grading all around the perimeter should

slope AWAY from the house.



With any basement water issue, you always want

to start with the outside. Some simple, easy and

cheap things to fix outside can keep a lot of

water from coming in. And if you don't do that,

a lot of expensive attempts from inside won't

work.



Moving to the inside, what you have there is just

cheap, dumb, poor construction. Someone put up

drywall almost directly in contact with the

basement foundation wall. As Tom pointed out,

looks like there is some very thin furring strips,

then drywall. It should have been framed out using

2 x 4 studs. Then you have some decent seperation

from the masonry wall which will always have some

dampness and the drywall. There should also be

a vapor barrier. IMO, as built, it's destined

to fail, no matter how much you try to fix it. It's

also a great place for mold to grow.

The plywood sheet, as you realize, is just a bandaid.



Another thing I would consider is how necessary

having that laundry room drywalled really is.

There are plenty of basements that have a washer/dryer

that don't have them in a finished area. Just

thought I'd throw that out as an option that could

simplify things. To really solve your problem down

there, if you want it finished you have to:



A - Fix the water issues outside I listed



B - Tear down all that sheetrock mess inside and redo

it as stated above.



IMO, anything you do short of that is just a bandaid.

I also take it from your other posts that this house

is a relatively new purchase. Before I rebuilt that

basement laundry room, I'd make sure I had some history

of what happens in heavy rains. I'd also put on a raincoat,

go outside in a heavy rain and look at where water is

going that comes off the roof. Do the gutters take it

away from the house? Or is it pouring out near the house,

some downspouts overflowing, water flowing the wrong way,

towards the foundation, etc. And see what water comes

in the basement during a heavy rain.



Finally, if you had contractors over and they didn't

discuss all, or at least most of the above with you, I'd

look for another contractor. Also, I'd be interested in

knowing if you had a home inspection done and what the

home inspector said about this. If the inspector missed

this, then you have a legitimate claim against them,

because this is very basic inspection 101 type stuff.

Whether you could collect anything is another matter.

If they have small claims court there, that could be an

option. And if the inspector didn't flag this,I'd be

very concerned about what else he missed. Also, regarding

the water problem, IDK what the laws are in CA, but

here in most of the US, if the seller didn't disclose this

to you, you'd have a decent shot at a case against them

to make them pay. It's hard to believe they didn't know

the laudry room was getting wet and rotting away. What

did you see when you looked at it? Fresh paint?

Thanks tra for the help, i really appreciate it very much. the cement/concrete slap in front of the window, i am the one who made it! There were bricks there and i removed them and put cement there. Now the water stays at some part, so what I am planning to do now is to put more cement there to upper that part. I will start from the window and move away toward the outside as you suggested.

About the inside, I started tearing up the Drywall. Sorry did you suggested to keep as it is after removing the Drywall? I do not mind it to leave it unfinished. I do not care about the look now, I care if it works or not.

The house was not inspected and I bought it "As-it-is" condition! Clearly, I am paying the price now!

The contractor did not even talk about the window, he just said he will replace the Drywall. I will do it myself with help from friends and people from here and thank you so much.

On Saturday, June 29, 2013 9:29:37 AM UTC-4, leza wang wrote:
On Saturday, June 29, 2013 9:05:06 AM UTC-4, wrote:

On Friday, June 28, 2013 11:13:09 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:



"leza wang" wrote in message







...







On Friday, June 28, 2013 6:13:07 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:







leza wang wrote:















Hi















I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now















(please see video below)















https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8















https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs























Thanks TomR for your reply. Actually I meant Drywall (sheetrock). I just







went there and removed some part of that wall to see what is behind it.







It looks to me it is like a Drywall but different material (like mud







inside) and it is mounted on cement (i think the foundation is cement),







please see this video















http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFOpazKu_z0















now i am thinking i can take out all that board and put a new one







(Drywall) maybe, but I am not sure how to mount a Drywall onto cement. I







really scared from damaging the foundation if i hammer a nail that might







crack it since the house is old (1925)















the window from outside is look like this















http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfazDyGeh2Y















The videos help a lot.















It looks like you have some type of masonry/cement (I don't know the exact







term) foundation/basement wall. And, the wall is covered on the inside with







sheetrock/drywall as you said. It looks like someone added the sheetrock to







try to give a finished look to the walls in the laundry room.















It's hard to tell how the sheetrock is attached. It could be that there are







wood furring strips attached to the basement foundation wall and the







sheetrock attached to that. Or, maybe the sheetrock is just glued to the







foundation wall.















The problem is that with the wall leaking, no sheetrock or anything else







that you put there is going to stop the water from getting in and the wall







deteriorating. And, no sheetrock or other wall covering is going to make







the wall stronger or hold it up better.















The water is coming in because the bottom of the window is at ground level,







and I'm sure when it rain water creates a little lake on that slab of







concrete and paver stones and then flows down in through the bottom of the







window and probably down into the ground next to the wall. To help direct







the water away, you could put in a smaller window (smaller in height) and







create a cement/brick barrier a couple of inches high along the bottom of







the existing window opening. Or, build a small cement/concrete barrier a







couple of inches high across the front of the existing window to help keep







water from coming in. It would also be good if you could find a way to







grade the water run-off in the back so it flows away from the house and







window -- but that doesn't look too easy to do. And, if those are cracks in







the concrete slab next to the window, seal those cracks to prevent water







from draining down into the ground underneath the slab















For the inside of the wall, you could break away the sheetrock covering that







is there now. That won't weaken the wall. Then, after solving the water







problem, decide how to "finish" the inside of the wall. Depending on what







is underneath the sheetrock, you could patch and fill any cracks in the wall







with patching cement that is made for that. Then, maybe just paint the







masonry/cement wall with Drylok paint or something similar.















Good luck.















Agree with the essence of what Tom said. There is a



lot wrong here and it's not a simple easy fix. First



problem, like Tom said, that window should not be



touching the concrete slab outside. If the window



hasn't rotted away yet, it will. How is the slab



pitched? I would not be surprised that it either



has no pitch or it's pitched toward the house,



instead of away. The bottom of the whole window,



ie the outside of the window frame, should be



2" min ABOVE the concrete slab. Is that window made



of wood, have an outside wood frame? Any wood in



direct contact with water like that will wick it



up and rot. It may take 10, 20 years for it to be



totally shot, but it will happen. If the window is



vinyl and set into the foundation wall without wood,



then it will last, but it still will have the water



leakage problem.







A possible way to fix that would be to put in a



window well. That would work as long as only a



reasonable amount of water gets to the well and



the soil has decent drainage. If not, then it can



be solved with a window well that drains somewhere.



The "somewhere" is the next problem. Unless there



is a low enough spot on the lot to drain it to



above ground, the other option is to dig down all



the way to the weeping tile system and direct it



there. I saw Holmes on Homes show do exactly that



in one of their episodes.







Next issue outside is what is happening with the



gutters? Are they clean or overflowing?



Where is rain water being directed? It



should be taken 6 to 10 feet away from the house.



And the grading all around the perimeter should



slope AWAY from the house.







With any basement water issue, you always want



to start with the outside. Some simple, easy and



cheap things to fix outside can keep a lot of



water from coming in. And if you don't do that,



a lot of expensive attempts from inside won't



work.







Moving to the inside, what you have there is just



cheap, dumb, poor construction. Someone put up



drywall almost directly in contact with the



basement foundation wall. As Tom pointed out,



looks like there is some very thin furring strips,



then drywall. It should have been framed out using



2 x 4 studs. Then you have some decent seperation



from the masonry wall which will always have some



dampness and the drywall. There should also be



a vapor barrier. IMO, as built, it's destined



to fail, no matter how much you try to fix it. It's



also a great place for mold to grow.



The plywood sheet, as you realize, is just a bandaid.







Another thing I would consider is how necessary



having that laundry room drywalled really is.



There are plenty of basements that have a washer/dryer



that don't have them in a finished area. Just



thought I'd throw that out as an option that could



simplify things. To really solve your problem down



there, if you want it finished you have to:







A - Fix the water issues outside I listed







B - Tear down all that sheetrock mess inside and redo



it as stated above.







IMO, anything you do short of that is just a bandaid.



I also take it from your other posts that this house



is a relatively new purchase. Before I rebuilt that



basement laundry room, I'd make sure I had some history



of what happens in heavy rains. I'd also put on a raincoat,



go outside in a heavy rain and look at where water is



going that comes off the roof. Do the gutters take it



away from the house? Or is it pouring out near the house,



some downspouts overflowing, water flowing the wrong way,



towards the foundation, etc. And see what water comes



in the basement during a heavy rain.







Finally, if you had contractors over and they didn't



discuss all, or at least most of the above with you, I'd



look for another contractor. Also, I'd be interested in



knowing if you had a home inspection done and what the



home inspector said about this. If the inspector missed



this, then you have a legitimate claim against them,



because this is very basic inspection 101 type stuff.



Whether you could collect anything is another matter.



If they have small claims court there, that could be an



option. And if the inspector didn't flag this,I'd be



very concerned about what else he missed. Also, regarding



the water problem, IDK what the laws are in CA, but



here in most of the US, if the seller didn't disclose this



to you, you'd have a decent shot at a case against them



to make them pay. It's hard to believe they didn't know



the laudry room was getting wet and rotting away. What



did you see when you looked at it? Fresh paint?



Thanks tra for the help, i really appreciate it very much. the cement/concrete slap in front of the window, i am the one who made it! There were bricks there and i removed them and put cement there. Now the water stays at some part, so what I am planning to do now is to put more cement there to upper that part. I will start from the window and move away toward the outside as you suggested.



I don't seee how you could do that. The cement is already
up to the bottom of the window, looks like it covers the
window frame, which again isn't right.







About the inside, I started tearing up the Drywall. Sorry did you suggested to keep as it is after removing the Drywall? I do not mind it to leave it unfinished. I do not care about the look now, I care if it works or not.


You can do what you want. I for sure would not waste money on
attempted fixes inside until the water problems are fixed.
I don't know how the laundry area fits in with the rest of the
basement, whether the rest is finished or not, etc. IF you can
live with it unfinished, that is the easiest solution.




The house was not inspected and I bought it "As-it-is" condition! Clearly, I am paying the price now!


Why didn't you get it inspected? I hope you got a huge
discount. Even then, unless you know enough about how to
inspect yourself, I would never recommend anyone buy a house
without an inspection. You could pay $100K for a house that
needs $50K of work.





The contractor did not even talk about the window, he just said he will replace the Drywall. I will do it myself with help from friends and people from here and thank you so much.

Cross that contractor off your list. This is very basic stuff
and if he didn't address the real issues, you would just be paying
him $$$ for a fix that isn't going to work. If he just replaced
that inside drywall, you could have problems again after the first
big rain.

leza wang wrote:
On Friday, June 28, 2013 11:13:09 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:
"leza wang" wrote in message

I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs

Thanks a lot TomR. I will fix the issue from outside .. about the
inside, I really liked the idea of using patching cement to replace
the not-so-dry Drywall. I took must of it out now, but I wonder if
there is any special cement for that or regular cement can be used?
Thanks once again for all the help.

You are doing a great job with the photos and videos. That really helps so
everyone can see exactly what you have there and maybe figure out the best
way to fix it.

Since you have most of the drywall out or off, if you could do another photo
or two (or video) of the wall without the drywall there, that would probably
help too.

I doubt that there would be any reason to try to put up any new drywall --
definitely, at least not now.

Depending on how the original foundation wall looks, I'm sure it would be
easy to figure out what to do with it. There are different types of fillers
and coatings that can be used, but it depends on what is there now, whether
there are big cracks, etc.

I have various properties with different types of basement walls. Deciding
how to finish them is easy once the type of wall and amount of damage is
taken into consideration.

My guess is that the water damage has washed away some parts of the basement
wall, but the can probably be patched or fixed fairly easily.

leza wang wrote:
I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs

Thanks tra for the help, i really appreciate it very much. the
cement/concrete slap in front of the window, i am the one who made
it! There were bricks there and i removed them and put cement there.
Now the water stays at some part, so what I am planning to do now is
to put more cement there to upper that part. I will start from the
window and move away toward the outside as you suggested.

From looking at the videos, it looks like it will not be easy to add to the
cement/concrete slab to make it higher and make the water run away from the
house. There doesn't seem to be much opportunity to raise it along the
house side due to the window.

If it were me, I would start with trying to deal with the window where the
biggest problem is that the bottom of the window is at ground level. There
are a couple of possibilities that would be quick, easy, and cheap to do
that will probably help the problem for now. These won't be complete fixes
I don't think, but you could try one or more of them easily and see what
happens.

The idea is to use the wall of the house and the existing concrete slab as
the barriers that prevent the water from getting into the basement. But,
one major "weak point" is the bottom 1/4 or 1/3 of the window. You need a
barrier across the bottom 1/4 to 1/3 of the window to keep the water from
getting in there.

I have one property where 2 basement windows are located like yours are --
with the bottom of the window at ground level. For various reasons, I can't
lower the ground level or get it to slope completely away from those two
windows. So, what I did was get 2 pieces of "Lexan" (clear hard plastic)
that are longer than the window width and about 8 inches high. In other
words, two pieces that are about 8 inches by 30 inches. I slid them down
into the dirt along the wall in front of each window so that the piece of
Lexan goes across the bottom of each window and covers about the bottom 4
inches of the window. That creates a barrier to keep the water from flowing
into the bottom of each window. I used clear 100% silicone caulk and put
caulk between the Lexan and the wall on each side of the window to help keep
water from getting in through the sides along the wall. That worked. The
real fix for me would have been new windows where I created a higher window
sill first and put in smaller-height windows. But, I ended up not having
to do that because my quick fix worked well for me.

In your case, you have a concrete slab that goes right up to the wall and
window, so you probably can't slide Lexan pieces down in that space along
the wall (I had dirt to slide the Lexan down into). But I would bet that
you could do the same trick by using Lexan plastic as a barrier, and just
figure out a way to set it in place across the bottom 1/4 to 1/3 of the
windows on top of the concrete slab, and then use clear 100% silicone caulk
to caulk it at the bottom and the two sides to make a waterproof seal to
keep the water out of the window.

Next, caulk along the area where the concrete slab meets the wall. And, if
the lines that I see in the concrete slab in the video are actually cracks,
seal and caulk those cracks. What I am think looks like cracks may just be
an extension cord or something like that laying on the slab, but if there
are cracks, caulk them to seal them. For the concrete cracks and along the
edge where the slab meets the wall, use the right type of caulk -- maybe not
the 100% silicone, but I'm not sure about that. You could look and see what
they have at Home Depot for caulking or sealing concrete cracks. Or, you
may want to try this stuff called "Quad":
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/quad...7-295ml/969588 .

I'll write a separate post about keeping more water away from your house and
foundation in that area in general.

About the inside, I started tearing up the Drywall. Sorry did you
suggested to keep as it is after removing the Drywall? I do not mind
it to leave it unfinished. I do not care about the look now, I care
if it works or not.

I agree with the idea of keeping the wall as-is after removing the drywall.
Leave it unfinished for now. Then, figure out how to do any patching if
needed. But, don't add back any covering like drywall etc.

And, don't paint it. If, after fixing the wall, you decide that you want to
paint it, you should use something like Drylok waterproofing paint. Don't
do that until you are at the right point where that may make sense. Drylok
is just one brand, and there are others. But, those waterproofing
products/paints do not work if you paint the wall first with any regular
paint. The FIRST coating on the unfinished/unpainted wall has to be Drylok
or other brand waterproofing paint. It is really a waterproofing
"cement-like" mixture and I think some people call it waterproofing cement
(not sure).

The house was not inspected and I bought it "As-it-is" condition!
Clearly, I am paying the price now!

Don't lose too much sleep over whether you had a home inspection or not.
Yes, they are a good idea, especially if you are not sure about what to look
for on your own. But that's "water under the bridge", or in this case,
"water into the laundry room" now (my little poor sense of humor), and you
can't really do anything about that now.

The contractor did not even talk about the window, he just said he
will replace the Drywall.

That's an indication that the contractor is not someone that you would want
to use. He should have seen and explained what the real problem is, and
then talked about various options that you may have to correct the
situation.

On Friday, June 28, 2013 4:22:29 PM UTC-5, leza wang wrote:
Hi I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now (please see video below) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8 One contractor came and said that area in the wall is not isolated and it is not drywall but somewhere in the middle of that wall, drywall starts from middle until the window. he said that area (from the middle to the button) need to be removed to install new drywall. I am thinking about quick and more cost effect solution. I thought of buying a drywall and cut it to cover that area and that will provide a support to existing wall. I will be very similar to what i did in the following video but the board will be bigger (higher) so it will meet with another dry wall and then screw them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs is that good idea? Went to Home depot and found they have the following 1) dry wall 2)tile backer (dens shield) 3) cement board 4) cgc gypsum board 5) fiberock panel Which board should I use in this case Thanks a lot.

Tom R's suggestion about a piece of clear plastic all along the outside bottom of the laudry room sounds like a good idea. Just get all the surfaces where you will be applying the silicone rubber sealant very clean so that the rubber is against something solid, not a layer of dirt which will allow leakage.

wrote:
On Friday, June 28, 2013 4:22:29 PM UTC-5, leza wang wrote:
Hi I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now
(please see video below) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8
One contractor came and said that area in the wall is not isolated
and it is not drywall but somewhere in the middle of that wall,
drywall starts from middle until the window. he said that area (from
the middle to the button) need to be removed to install new drywall.

Tom R's suggestion about a piece of clear plastic all along the
outside bottom of the laundry room sounds like a good idea.

Thanks, but I just meant a piece of clear plastic (such as Lexan) across
where the window is rather than along the whole wall. That should keep
water from getting in where the window is and, in effect, allow water to
puddle up in front of the window without getting into the window. The same
thing could be done by building a small cement wall across the front of the
window, but I found the clear piece of lexan to look better and works fine.

Then, I would just do caulking along the rest of the wall where the
concrete/cement slab meets the brick wall to keep water from getting in
through that seam.

Just get
all the surfaces where you will be applying the silicone rubber
sealant very clean so that the rubber is against something solid, not
a layer of dirt which will allow leakage.

True.

On Saturday, June 29, 2013 2:57:13 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Friday, June 28, 2013 4:22:29 PM UTC-5, leza wang wrote:

Hi I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now (please see video below) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8 One contractor came and said that area in the wall is not isolated and it is not drywall but somewhere in the middle of that wall, drywall starts from middle until the window. he said that area (from the middle to the button) need to be removed to install new drywall. I am thinking about quick and more cost effect solution. I thought of buying a drywall and cut it to cover that area and that will provide a support to existing wall. I will be very similar to what i did in the following video but the board will be bigger (higher) so it will meet with another dry wall and then screw them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs is that good idea? Went to Home depot and found they have the following 1) dry wall 2)tile backer (dens shield) 3) cement board 4) cgc gypsum board 5) fiberock panel Which board should I use in this case Thanks a lot.



Tom R's suggestion about a piece of clear plastic all along the outside bottom of the laudry room sounds like a good idea. Just get all the surfaces where you will be applying the silicone rubber sealant very clean so that the rubber is against something solid, not a layer of dirt which will allow leakage.


Are you aware the bottom of the laundry room is about 8 feett below grade?
I don't think screwing around with plastic is worth the effort. This is
one of those things that you either fix right, or it's going to be problems
forever. It's more work to do it right, but then you don't have to keep
screwing with it, because the half measures don't work.

On Fri, 28 Jun 2013 14:22:29 -0700 (PDT), leza wang
wrote:

Hi
I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now (please see video below)

BTW, I too think probably if that grill work on the dryer output
extends beyond the 4" circle, you can remove the grill and a lot of
right-angle tubes will fit.

I would try to use the one that takes up the least space, since your
laundry room seems pretty crowded as it is. So if it works, the
plastic right angle seems, afaict, to use less space then the metal
one.

OTOH, a while back a url posted here showed, as a sketch, not real
life, an especially flush right angle that wasted no space going
backwards and started "up" immediately, with the dryer connecting to
the side of it.. I don't know for sure that they make such a thing
in reality, and I don't know if it would fit your dryer and not be
obstructed by something else on the dryer, but that would be the thing
to have if they sell it.

My house came with the flexible, temporary 4" hose connecting it to
the outside vent. I think the previous owner didn't know any better
(He did a lot of things wrong.) But iirc, it uses less space between
the dryer and the wall than does the proper metal or plastic right
angle. The flexible is not good becasue lint collects on the
constant non-smooth parts of the hose, and it's a fire hazard,
especially if you use your dryer on higher heat settings. But I
checked 15 years in and the hose was empty of lint. Now it's 30 years
and I'm assuming it still is. There is a healthy breeze coming out
of the far end. And I always use the lowest heat setting, because I
think it's better for the clothes. Nothing shrinks and the sta-press
doesn't get wrinkles. And it might save electricirty.

Of course I live alone and use mostly sta press (I don't like all
cotton, and I certainly dont' think it feels literally cooler. I
think it's hotter, and so are t-shirts) , so 30 years for me might be
6 years for a family.

P&M

On Saturday, June 29, 2013 1:38:01 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:
leza wang wrote:

I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs



Thanks tra for the help, i really appreciate it very much. the

cement/concrete slap in front of the window, i am the one who made

it! There were bricks there and i removed them and put cement there.

Now the water stays at some part, so what I am planning to do now is

to put more cement there to upper that part. I will start from the

window and move away toward the outside as you suggested.



From looking at the videos, it looks like it will not be easy to add to the

cement/concrete slab to make it higher and make the water run away from the

house. There doesn't seem to be much opportunity to raise it along the

house side due to the window.



If it were me, I would start with trying to deal with the window where the

biggest problem is that the bottom of the window is at ground level. There

are a couple of possibilities that would be quick, easy, and cheap to do

that will probably help the problem for now. These won't be complete fixes

I don't think, but you could try one or more of them easily and see what

happens.



The idea is to use the wall of the house and the existing concrete slab as

the barriers that prevent the water from getting into the basement. But,

one major "weak point" is the bottom 1/4 or 1/3 of the window. You need a

barrier across the bottom 1/4 to 1/3 of the window to keep the water from

getting in there.



I have one property where 2 basement windows are located like yours are --

with the bottom of the window at ground level. For various reasons, I can't

lower the ground level or get it to slope completely away from those two

windows. So, what I did was get 2 pieces of "Lexan" (clear hard plastic)

that are longer than the window width and about 8 inches high. In other

words, two pieces that are about 8 inches by 30 inches. I slid them down

into the dirt along the wall in front of each window so that the piece of

Lexan goes across the bottom of each window and covers about the bottom 4

inches of the window. That creates a barrier to keep the water from flowing

into the bottom of each window. I used clear 100% silicone caulk and put

caulk between the Lexan and the wall on each side of the window to help keep

water from getting in through the sides along the wall. That worked. The

real fix for me would have been new windows where I created a higher window

sill first and put in smaller-height windows. But, I ended up not having

to do that because my quick fix worked well for me.



In your case, you have a concrete slab that goes right up to the wall and

window, so you probably can't slide Lexan pieces down in that space along

the wall (I had dirt to slide the Lexan down into). But I would bet that

you could do the same trick by using Lexan plastic as a barrier, and just

figure out a way to set it in place across the bottom 1/4 to 1/3 of the

windows on top of the concrete slab, and then use clear 100% silicone caulk

to caulk it at the bottom and the two sides to make a waterproof seal to

keep the water out of the window.



Next, caulk along the area where the concrete slab meets the wall. And, if

the lines that I see in the concrete slab in the video are actually cracks,

seal and caulk those cracks. What I am think looks like cracks may just be

an extension cord or something like that laying on the slab, but if there

are cracks, caulk them to seal them. For the concrete cracks and along the

edge where the slab meets the wall, use the right type of caulk -- maybe not

the 100% silicone, but I'm not sure about that. You could look and see what

they have at Home Depot for caulking or sealing concrete cracks. Or, you

may want to try this stuff called "Quad":

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/quad...7-295ml/969588 .



I'll write a separate post about keeping more water away from your house and

foundation in that area in general.



About the inside, I started tearing up the Drywall. Sorry did you

suggested to keep as it is after removing the Drywall? I do not mind

it to leave it unfinished. I do not care about the look now, I care

if it works or not.



I agree with the idea of keeping the wall as-is after removing the drywall.

Leave it unfinished for now. Then, figure out how to do any patching if

needed. But, don't add back any covering like drywall etc.



And, don't paint it. If, after fixing the wall, you decide that you want to

paint it, you should use something like Drylok waterproofing paint. Don't

do that until you are at the right point where that may make sense. Drylok

is just one brand, and there are others. But, those waterproofing

products/paints do not work if you paint the wall first with any regular

paint. The FIRST coating on the unfinished/unpainted wall has to be Drylok

or other brand waterproofing paint. It is really a waterproofing

"cement-like" mixture and I think some people call it waterproofing cement

(not sure).



The house was not inspected and I bought it "As-it-is" condition!

Clearly, I am paying the price now!



Don't lose too much sleep over whether you had a home inspection or not.

Yes, they are a good idea, especially if you are not sure about what to look

for on your own. But that's "water under the bridge", or in this case,

"water into the laundry room" now (my little poor sense of humor), and you

can't really do anything about that now.



The contractor did not even talk about the window, he just said he

will replace the Drywall.



That's an indication that the contractor is not someone that you would want

to use. He should have seen and explained what the real problem is, and

then talked about various options that you may have to correct the

situation.

Thanks all for all your help. I removed the Drywall, please see the video below. Now should I paint it with "Drylok" paint? if yes which one of these I should buy?

http://www.rona.ca/en/brand/DRYLOK

now the wall look like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XMXebzxaC8

if you noticed there are some crack close to the window (0:30), can I use the silicon you just suggested for that?

I am thinking to clean the wall with paint Thinner and wait to dry before i paint it, just to keep it clean, is that good idea?

There some black ants going in/outside the Drywall, when i removed the drywall found some tunnels (nothing inside)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snIXZTuMiHg

are these termites tunnels? i do not see they ate the concrete!

Thanks a lot.

On Saturday, June 29, 2013 6:59:06 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Saturday, June 29, 2013 2:57:13 PM UTC-4, wrote:

On Friday, June 28, 2013 4:22:29 PM UTC-5, leza wang wrote:



Hi I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now (please see video below) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8 One contractor came and said that area in the wall is not isolated and it is not drywall but somewhere in the middle of that wall, drywall starts from middle until the window. he said that area (from the middle to the button) need to be removed to install new drywall. I am thinking about quick and more cost effect solution. I thought of buying a drywall and cut it to cover that area and that will provide a support to existing wall. I will be very similar to what i did in the following video but the board will be bigger (higher) so it will meet with another dry wall and then screw them. https://www..youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs is that good idea? Went to Home depot and found they have the following 1) dry wall 2)tile backer (dens shield) 3) cement board 4) cgc gypsum board 5) fiberock panel Which board should I use in this case Thanks a lot.







Tom R's suggestion about a piece of clear plastic all along the outside bottom of the laudry room sounds like a good idea. Just get all the surfaces where you will be applying the silicone rubber sealant very clean so that the rubber is against something solid, not a layer of dirt which will allow leakage.





Are you aware the bottom of the laundry room is about 8 feett below grade?

I don't think screwing around with plastic is worth the effort. This is

one of those things that you either fix right, or it's going to be problems

forever. It's more work to do it right, but then you don't have to keep

screwing with it, because the half measures don't work.

So i should not do the Lexan stuff?

On Friday, June 28, 2013 4:22:29 PM UTC-5, leza wang wrote:
Hi I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now (please see video below) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8 One contractor came and said that area in the wall is not isolated and it is not drywall but somewhere in the middle of that wall, drywall starts from middle until the window. he said that area (from the middle to the button) need to be removed to install new drywall. I am thinking about quick and more cost effect solution. I thought of buying a drywall and cut it to cover that area and that will provide a support to existing wall. I will be very similar to what i did in the following video but the board will be bigger (higher) so it will meet with another dry wall and then screw them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs is that good idea? Went to Home depot and found they have the following 1) dry wall 2)tile backer (dens shield) 3) cement board 4) cgc gypsum board 5) fiberock panel Which board should I use in this case Thanks a lot.

I meant the idea of a clear piece of plastic all along the bottom outside edge of the window, not the bottom on the inside.

I would consider putting the dryer vent 4" diameter hole along the side of the upper part of the window, that way the vent sould be 10 - 15" above the outside ground level. I would use a screened vent to keep critters out. I don't think there were termite tunnels behid the sheetrock/drywall that was removed, the termites would have been going up to get at wood not down to the concrete floor. I would use a wire brush to scrub on the inside wall behind where the drywall was removed before painting with a drylock style paint, to give the paint a good clean dust and debris-free surface to grab on to.

"leza wang" wrote in message
...

Thanks all for all your help. I removed the Drywall, please see the video
below. Now should I paint it with "Drylok" paint? if yes which one of
these I should buy?

http://www.rona.ca/en/brand/DRYLOK

now the wall look like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XMXebzxaC8

if you noticed there are some crack close to the window (0:30), can I use
the silicon you just suggested for that?

I am thinking to clean the wall with paint Thinner and wait to dry before
i paint it, just to keep it clean, is that good idea?

There some black ants going in/outside the Drywall, when i removed the
drywall found some tunnels (nothing inside)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snIXZTuMiHg

are these termites tunnels? i do not see they ate the concrete!

Thanks a lot.



I would say do not paint or repair the wall just yet. First, wait for more
rain, and then watch and see where the water is coming in now that the wall
is almost fully exposed. Once you know more about where the water is coming
in, you can decide how to solve the water leak problem first.

The exposed wall does not appear to be in that bad of shape. I have a hunch
that when it rains you will find that most (or all) of the water that is
coming in is coming in at the top of the wall where the window is -- meaning
through the bottom of the window and then the water running down from there.

Do not patch any cracks in the inside wall with silicone sealant. Any wall
patching or repairs on the inside will need to be done with cement-based
products and/or Drylok products -- not silicone.

If it turns out that most or all of the water coming in is through the
window, you can probably fix that in a couple of different ways. It may be
that replacing the window with a slightly smaller window (in height) will
work. By that I mean, you may be able to remove that window, including the
wooden frame and wooden window sill -- and then build a new concrete window
sill that goes up a few inches higher than the existing window sill. You
would probably do that by breaking out the section along the bottom of the
window where the cracks are now, then building the new concrete window sill
from there up. (That would be better than trying to fill or repair the
cracks under the window sill). Then, you would have to put a new window in
on top of that new (higher) concrete window sill. The new higher concrete
window sill will block the water from coming in through there.

The other options are to leave the window in place now and build a barrier
across the bottom of the window on the outside to block the water -- either
cement/concrete or Lexan -- as I described before.

Once you have figured out and solved the water problem; then you can later
deal with patching and sealing the exposed wall -- but don't do that now.

Here is a brief link that shows the steps that Drylok describes for
waterproofing the wall:

http://www.drylok.com/step-by-step/ .



They talk about "etching" (or acid washing) the wall first, then patching
any cracks or holes with Drylok FastPlug, then using the Drylok
waterproofing paint (probably the Latex version, in my opinion).



About the possible termites -- I don't think what you have there looks like
termite tubes or tunnels. It looks more like where the ants made a home
behind the old drywall.

"leza wang" wrote in message

the window from outside is look like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfazDyGeh2Y .

This is about how to fix the water problem on the outside of the house:

Depending on what the real water problem is, this could be a fairly big job.
If you are lucky and the only real problem is water that is getting in
through the window, then the fix may be much simpler as I described in other
posts.

But, in general, the fix for a water problem is to get the outside water to
run AWAY from the house.

There are various ways of doing that. One is, if it is possible, you may be
able to remove dirt etc. to grade the ground so water runs away from your
house and out through the side or back boundaries of your property. That
would involve digging out and removing dirt and allowing the water to run to
a lower area (such as the side driveway etc.

Also, it is possible that you would need to take up the bricks and the
concrete slab that you built, then dig a deep trench down along the wall on
the outside, the "parge" and seal the wall from the outside. That's a big
job, and I have a hunch that other fixes that you could do will solve the
problem and prevent having to remove the slab, dig, and parge, and seal on
the outside. "Parge", by the wall, means putting a coating of mortar or
cement on the outside of the wall (below the ground level) to help seal and
waterproof the wall on the outside. After Parging, the wall can also be
sealed with an asphalt-based waterproof coating that would be below the
ground level, then fill the dirt back in.

"TomR" wrote:
"leza wang" wrote in message
...

Thanks all for all your help. I removed the Drywall, please see the
video below. Now should I paint it with "Drylok" paint? if yes which
one of these I should buy?

http://www.rona.ca/en/brand/DRYLOK

now the wall look like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XMXebzxaC8

if you noticed there are some crack close to the window (0:30), can I
use the silicon you just suggested for that?

I am thinking to clean the wall with paint Thinner and wait to dry
before i paint it, just to keep it clean, is that good idea?

There some black ants going in/outside the Drywall, when i removed the
drywall found some tunnels (nothing inside)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snIXZTuMiHg

are these termites tunnels? i do not see they ate the concrete!

Thanks a lot.



I would say do not paint or repair the wall just yet. First, wait for
more rain, and then watch and see where the water is coming in now that
the wall is almost fully exposed. Once you know more about where the
water is coming in, you can decide how to solve the water leak problem first.

The exposed wall does not appear to be in that bad of shape. I have a
hunch that when it rains you will find that most (or all) of the water
that is coming in is coming in at the top of the wall where the window is
-- meaning through the bottom of the window and then the water running down from there.

Do not patch any cracks in the inside wall with silicone sealant. Any
wall patching or repairs on the inside will need to be done with
cement-based products and/or Drylok products -- not silicone.

If it turns out that most or all of the water coming in is through the
window, you can probably fix that in a couple of different ways. It may
be that replacing the window with a slightly smaller window (in height)
will work. By that I mean, you may be able to remove that window,
including the wooden frame and wooden window sill -- and then build a new
concrete window sill that goes up a few inches higher than the existing
window sill. You would probably do that by breaking out the section
along the bottom of the window where the cracks are now, then building
the new concrete window sill from there up. (That would be better than
trying to fill or repair the cracks under the window sill). Then, you
would have to put a new window in on top of that new (higher) concrete
window sill. The new higher concrete window sill will block the water
from coming in through there.

The other options are to leave the window in place now and build a
barrier across the bottom of the window on the outside to block the water
-- either cement/concrete or Lexan -- as I described before.


One possible fix for the window is to remove the old frame, get down to
good block and mortar in a 2€� thick patio block to create a flat surface
for a glass block window. The patio block (or 2?) may give you the height
you need to keep the water out.

And guess what? You can get a dryer vent designed to fit in a glass block
window. Here's just one example.

http://www.starkglassblock.com/m_pho...hoto.asp?id=76

On Sunday, June 30, 2013 9:32:23 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:
"leza wang" wrote in message



the window from outside is look like this



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfazDyGeh2Y .



This is about how to fix the water problem on the outside of the house:



Depending on what the real water problem is, this could be a fairly big job.

If you are lucky and the only real problem is water that is getting in

through the window, then the fix may be much simpler as I described in other

posts.



But, in general, the fix for a water problem is to get the outside water to

run AWAY from the house.



There are various ways of doing that. One is, if it is possible, you may be

able to remove dirt etc. to grade the ground so water runs away from your

house and out through the side or back boundaries of your property. That

would involve digging out and removing dirt and allowing the water to run to

a lower area (such as the side driveway etc.



Also, it is possible that you would need to take up the bricks and the

concrete slab that you built, then dig a deep trench down along the wall on

the outside, the "parge" and seal the wall from the outside. That's a big

job, and I have a hunch that other fixes that you could do will solve the

problem and prevent having to remove the slab, dig, and parge, and seal on

the outside. "Parge", by the wall, means putting a coating of mortar or

cement on the outside of the wall (below the ground level) to help seal and

waterproof the wall on the outside. After Parging, the wall can also be

sealed with an asphalt-based waterproof coating that would be below the

ground level, then fill the dirt back in.

Thanks a lot for all your help. I am going to do that now (remove dirt etc). Thanks once again really appreciate it.

On Monday, July 1, 2013 8:45:24 AM UTC-4, leza wang wrote:

Thanks a lot for all your help. I am going to do that now (remove dirt etc). Thanks once again really appreciate it.

Did you see my post about replacing the window with glass block? Just in case you didn't:

One possible fix for the window is to remove the old frame, get down to good block and mortar in a 2” thick patio block to create a flat surface for a glass block window. The patio block (or 2?) may give you the height you need to keep the water out.

And guess what? You can get a dryer vent designed to fit in a glass block window. Here's just one example.

http://www.starkglassblock.com/m_pho...hoto.asp?id=76

On Sunday, June 30, 2013 9:18:04 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:
"leza wang" wrote in message

...



Thanks all for all your help. I removed the Drywall, please see the video

below. Now should I paint it with "Drylok" paint? if yes which one of

these I should buy?



http://www.rona.ca/en/brand/DRYLOK



now the wall look like this



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XMXebzxaC8



if you noticed there are some crack close to the window (0:30), can I use

the silicon you just suggested for that?



I am thinking to clean the wall with paint Thinner and wait to dry before

i paint it, just to keep it clean, is that good idea?



There some black ants going in/outside the Drywall, when i removed the

drywall found some tunnels (nothing inside)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snIXZTuMiHg



are these termites tunnels? i do not see they ate the concrete!



Do the "ants" have wings? The video is blurry, can't see much.
Termites have wings. There are also carpenter ants, which are
large black ants, no wings. If you see tunneling into the wood,
eating it away, then you definitely have some kind of wood insect
that needs to be addressed. Left untreated, they can destroy the
whole house.





I would say do not paint or repair the wall just yet. First, wait for more

rain, and then watch and see where the water is coming in now that the wall

is almost fully exposed. Once you know more about where the water is coming

in, you can decide how to solve the water leak problem first.

+1. I would not use Drylock until the water problem is first fixed
from the OUTSIDE. The way that slab outside runs right up to the
window, Drylock isn't going to solve anything.






The exposed wall does not appear to be in that bad of shape. I have a hunch

that when it rains you will find that most (or all) of the water that is

coming in is coming in at the top of the wall where the window is -- meaning

through the bottom of the window and then the water running down from there.


Agree. With the bottom of the window being defined as the lowest portion
of the window and whatever it's framed into, before the concrete starts.





Do not patch any cracks in the inside wall with silicone sealant. Any wall

patching or repairs on the inside will need to be done with cement-based

products and/or Drylok products -- not silicone.

+1 and no Drylock until the water problem is fixed.






If it turns out that most or all of the water coming in is through the

window, you can probably fix that in a couple of different ways. It may be

that replacing the window with a slightly smaller window (in height) will

work. By that I mean, you may be able to remove that window, including the

wooden frame and wooden window sill -- and then build a new concrete window

sill that goes up a few inches higher than the existing window sill. You

would probably do that by breaking out the section along the bottom of the

window where the cracks are now, then building the new concrete window sill

from there up. (That would be better than trying to fill or repair the

cracks under the window sill). Then, you would have to put a new window in

on top of that new (higher) concrete window sill. The new higher concrete

window sill will block the water from coming in through there.



I doubt that will work. As long as water can pool up outside,
it will find a way in.





The other options are to leave the window in place now and build a barrier

across the bottom of the window on the outside to block the water -- either

cement/concrete or Lexan -- as I described before.


Doubt that will work either. The solution is proper grading, perhaps
a window well.






Once you have figured out and solved the water problem; then you can later

deal with patching and sealing the exposed wall -- but don't do that now.



+1



Here is a brief link that shows the steps that Drylok describes for

waterproofing the wall:



http://www.drylok.com/step-by-step/ .







They talk about "etching" (or acid washing) the wall first, then patching

any cracks or holes with Drylok FastPlug, then using the Drylok

waterproofing paint (probably the Latex version, in my opinion).







About the possible termites -- I don't think what you have there looks like

termite tubes or tunnels. It looks more like where the ants made a home

behind the old drywall.

Could be just common ants. They will nest in wood cavities, but they don't
eat the wood. If there is evidence of tunneling, wood gone, then it could
be termites or carpenter ants. Anytime you have wood in contact with water,
you're inviting them in. That's why with proper construction, you don't
have wood in contact with soil, except in certain circumstances using pressure
treated lumber.

On Sunday, June 30, 2013 6:36:10 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Friday, June 28, 2013 4:22:29 PM UTC-5, leza wang wrote:

Hi I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now (please see video below) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8 One contractor came and said that area in the wall is not isolated and it is not drywall but somewhere in the middle of that wall, drywall starts from middle until the window. he said that area (from the middle to the button) need to be removed to install new drywall. I am thinking about quick and more cost effect solution. I thought of buying a drywall and cut it to cover that area and that will provide a support to existing wall. I will be very similar to what i did in the following video but the board will be bigger (higher) so it will meet with another dry wall and then screw them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs is that good idea? Went to Home depot and found they have the following 1) dry wall 2)tile backer (dens shield) 3) cement board 4) cgc gypsum board 5) fiberock panel Which board should I use in this case Thanks a lot.



I meant the idea of a clear piece of plastic all along the bottom outside edge of the window, not the bottom on the inside.



I would consider putting the dryer vent 4" diameter hole along the side of the upper part of the window, that way the vent sould be 10 - 15" above the outside ground level. I would use a screened vent to keep critters out. I don't think there were termite tunnels behid the sheetrock/drywall that was removed, the termites would have been going up to get at wood not down to the concrete floor. I would use a wire brush to scrub on the inside wall behind where the drywall was removed before painting with a drylock style paint, to give the paint a good clean dust and debris-free surface to grab on to.

You don't solve water problems by first resorting to Drylock. From
the video, there is a serious problem OUTSIDE and no amount of Drylock
is going to fix that.

On 6/29/2013 9:29 AM, leza wang wrote:
On Saturday, June 29, 2013 9:05:06 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Friday, June 28, 2013 11:13:09 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:

"leza wang" wrote in message



...



On Friday, June 28, 2013 6:13:07 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:



leza wang wrote:







Hi







I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now







(please see video below)







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs











Thanks TomR for your reply. Actually I meant Drywall (sheetrock). I just



went there and removed some part of that wall to see what is behind it.



It looks to me it is like a Drywall but different material (like mud



inside) and it is mounted on cement (i think the foundation is cement),



please see this video







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFOpazKu_z0







now i am thinking i can take out all that board and put a new one



(Drywall) maybe, but I am not sure how to mount a Drywall onto cement. I



really scared from damaging the foundation if i hammer a nail that might



crack it since the house is old (1925)







the window from outside is look like this







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfazDyGeh2Y







The videos help a lot.







It looks like you have some type of masonry/cement (I don't know the exact



term) foundation/basement wall. And, the wall is covered on the inside with



sheetrock/drywall as you said. It looks like someone added the sheetrock to



try to give a finished look to the walls in the laundry room.







It's hard to tell how the sheetrock is attached. It could be that there are



wood furring strips attached to the basement foundation wall and the



sheetrock attached to that. Or, maybe the sheetrock is just glued to the



foundation wall.







The problem is that with the wall leaking, no sheetrock or anything else



that you put there is going to stop the water from getting in and the wall



deteriorating. And, no sheetrock or other wall covering is going to make



the wall stronger or hold it up better.







The water is coming in because the bottom of the window is at ground level,



and I'm sure when it rain water creates a little lake on that slab of



concrete and paver stones and then flows down in through the bottom of the



window and probably down into the ground next to the wall. To help direct



the water away, you could put in a smaller window (smaller in height) and



create a cement/brick barrier a couple of inches high along the bottom of



the existing window opening. Or, build a small cement/concrete barrier a



couple of inches high across the front of the existing window to help keep



water from coming in. It would also be good if you could find a way to



grade the water run-off in the back so it flows away from the house and



window -- but that doesn't look too easy to do. And, if those are cracks in



the concrete slab next to the window, seal those cracks to prevent water



from draining down into the ground underneath the slab







For the inside of the wall, you could break away the sheetrock covering that



is there now. That won't weaken the wall. Then, after solving the water



problem, decide how to "finish" the inside of the wall. Depending on what



is underneath the sheetrock, you could patch and fill any cracks in the wall



with patching cement that is made for that. Then, maybe just paint the



masonry/cement wall with Drylok paint or something similar.







Good luck.







Agree with the essence of what Tom said. There is a

lot wrong here and it's not a simple easy fix. First

problem, like Tom said, that window should not be

touching the concrete slab outside. If the window

hasn't rotted away yet, it will. How is the slab

pitched? I would not be surprised that it either

has no pitch or it's pitched toward the house,

instead of away. The bottom of the whole window,

ie the outside of the window frame, should be

2" min ABOVE the concrete slab. Is that window made

of wood, have an outside wood frame? Any wood in

direct contact with water like that will wick it

up and rot. It may take 10, 20 years for it to be

totally shot, but it will happen. If the window is

vinyl and set into the foundation wall without wood,

then it will last, but it still will have the water

leakage problem.



A possible way to fix that would be to put in a

window well. That would work as long as only a

reasonable amount of water gets to the well and

the soil has decent drainage. If not, then it can

be solved with a window well that drains somewhere.

The "somewhere" is the next problem. Unless there

is a low enough spot on the lot to drain it to

above ground, the other option is to dig down all

the way to the weeping tile system and direct it

there. I saw Holmes on Homes show do exactly that

in one of their episodes.



Next issue outside is what is happening with the

gutters? Are they clean or overflowing?

Where is rain water being directed? It

should be taken 6 to 10 feet away from the house.

And the grading all around the perimeter should

slope AWAY from the house.



With any basement water issue, you always want

to start with the outside. Some simple, easy and

cheap things to fix outside can keep a lot of

water from coming in. And if you don't do that,

a lot of expensive attempts from inside won't

work.



Moving to the inside, what you have there is just

cheap, dumb, poor construction. Someone put up

drywall almost directly in contact with the

basement foundation wall. As Tom pointed out,

looks like there is some very thin furring strips,

then drywall. It should have been framed out using

2 x 4 studs. Then you have some decent seperation

from the masonry wall which will always have some

dampness and the drywall. There should also be

a vapor barrier. IMO, as built, it's destined

to fail, no matter how much you try to fix it. It's

also a great place for mold to grow.

The plywood sheet, as you realize, is just a bandaid.



Another thing I would consider is how necessary

having that laundry room drywalled really is.

There are plenty of basements that have a washer/dryer

that don't have them in a finished area. Just

thought I'd throw that out as an option that could

simplify things. To really solve your problem down

there, if you want it finished you have to:



A - Fix the water issues outside I listed



B - Tear down all that sheetrock mess inside and redo

it as stated above.



IMO, anything you do short of that is just a bandaid.

I also take it from your other posts that this house

is a relatively new purchase. Before I rebuilt that

basement laundry room, I'd make sure I had some history

of what happens in heavy rains. I'd also put on a raincoat,

go outside in a heavy rain and look at where water is

going that comes off the roof. Do the gutters take it

away from the house? Or is it pouring out near the house,

some downspouts overflowing, water flowing the wrong way,

towards the foundation, etc. And see what water comes

in the basement during a heavy rain.



Finally, if you had contractors over and they didn't

discuss all, or at least most of the above with you, I'd

look for another contractor. Also, I'd be interested in

knowing if you had a home inspection done and what the

home inspector said about this. If the inspector missed

this, then you have a legitimate claim against them,

because this is very basic inspection 101 type stuff.

Whether you could collect anything is another matter.

If they have small claims court there, that could be an

option. And if the inspector didn't flag this,I'd be

very concerned about what else he missed. Also, regarding

the water problem, IDK what the laws are in CA, but

here in most of the US, if the seller didn't disclose this

to you, you'd have a decent shot at a case against them

to make them pay. It's hard to believe they didn't know

the laudry room was getting wet and rotting away. What

did you see when you looked at it? Fresh paint?

Thanks tra for the help, i really appreciate it very much. the cement/concrete slap in front of the window, i am the one who made it! There were bricks there and i removed them and put cement there. Now the water stays at some part, so what I am planning to do now is to put more cement there to upper that part. I will start from the window and move away toward the outside as you suggested.

About the inside, I started tearing up the Drywall. Sorry did you suggested to keep as it is after removing the Drywall? I do not mind it to leave it unfinished. I do not care about the look now, I care if it works or not.

The house was not inspected and I bought it "As-it-is" condition! Clearly, I am paying the price now!

The contractor did not even talk about the window, he just said he will replace the Drywall. I will do it myself with help from friends and people from here and thank you so much.


I could not see the "tunnels" you referred to, but black ants in tunnels
are usually Carpenter ants. They tunnel into damp/rotten wood and
sometimes into old termite tunnels. With the water-damaged wood and
drywall beneath the window, I would be surprised NOT to find Carpenter
ants. Have you had the house inspected by termite company or other pest
control contractor? If not, you should and it should be done yearly.
Also, look online for information about avoiding termite infestations,
and try to find info specific to your locale. Different species of
termites are predominant in different areas of the country and in
different conditions.

Stores like Lowes and Home Depot have good "how to" books for homeowners
that are good for beginners....if you are familiar with how things are
done to build or repair home, you will be better able to spot problems
before they become big ones.

As for termites, if there are areas like your basement window, you can
check around the window to spot signs of termites....little lines of
blistered-appearing paint on surface of drywall, wings shed on sills of
windows, tap on wood around window to see if areas sound more hollow
than the areas that are not damaged. On outside of foundation,
subterranean termites build "mud tubes" to reach from soil to
wood...they do not crawl in areas open to the sunlight. Soil should not
be closer than 6 to 8 inches below the wood sills of the exterior walls.
Keep trees and shrubs trimmed so they do not contact roof or wood
parts of the house.

wrote:
On Sunday, June 30, 2013 6:36:10 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Friday, June 28, 2013 4:22:29 PM UTC-5, leza wang wrote:

Hi I am trying to fix my laundry room wall, which has this issue now (please see video below) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M91IraGxkc8 One contractor came and said that area in the wall is not isolated and it is not drywall but somewhere in the middle of that wall, drywall starts from middle until the window. he said that area (from the middle to the button) need to be removed to install new drywall. I am thinking about quick and more cost effect solution. I thought of buying a drywall and cut it to cover that area and that will provide a support to existing wall. I will be very similar to what i did in the following video but the board will be bigger (higher) so it will meet with another dry wall and then screw them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZvPxKf9Rs is that good idea? Went to Home depot and found they have the following 1) dry wall 2)tile backer (dens shield) 3) cement board 4) cgc gypsum board 5) fiberock panel Which board should I use in this case Thanks a lot.



I meant the idea of a clear piece of plastic all along the bottom outside edge of the window, not the bottom on the inside.



I would consider putting the dryer vent 4" diameter hole along the side of the upper part of the window, that way the vent sould be 10 - 15" above the outside ground level. I would use a screened vent to keep critters out. I don't think there were termite tunnels behid the sheetrock/drywall that was removed, the termites would have been going up to get at wood not down to the concrete floor. I would use a wire brush to scrub on the inside wall behind where the drywall was removed before painting with a drylock style paint, to give the paint a good clean dust and debris-free surface to grab on to.

You don't solve water problems by first resorting to Drylock. From
the video, there is a serious problem OUTSIDE and no amount of Drylock
is going to fix that.

Hi,
Fix the cause, not the symptom. I am a strong believer of do it first
time right and forget long time. Start with water drainage around house
perimeter. Is the yard graded right? Does the down spouts discharge
water right? Is there any weeping tile around basement foundation?

No neighbors to give a hand or some useful advice? No help from local HD
store staff? Our neighborhood HD store has many retired trades people
with good knowledge and experience. No. 1 rated in the country for
good service and customer satisfaction.
To get a good answer, one has to ask a good question. LOL.

I never lived in a pre-owned house. Always had one built for my family.
5 times over the years. I know every thing about my house with a set of
blue prints I keep. When I sell the house the blue prints and history of
any "good to know" documented maintenance record is turned over to new
owner.

wrote in message
...
On Sunday, June 30, 2013 9:18:04 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:

The other options are to leave the window in place now and build a
barrier
across the bottom of the window on the outside to block the water --
either
cement/concrete or Lexan -- as I described before.

Doubt that will work either. The solution is proper grading, perhaps
a window well.

Trader4,

I've noticed that we generally seem to be thinking along the same lines on
this whole project -- except that I keep referring to building some kind of
barrier in front of the window and you talk more instead about building a
window well.

Then it dawned on me that we may be talking about a similar approach but
using different terms. I was thinking that by "window well" you meant to
dig out around the front of the window and create a window well. But maybe
what you meant was to create a metal, plastic, or masonry/stone window well
wall around the window (without digging down below the existing grade
level); then maybe adding a clear plastic window well cover on top of that
to let light in but keep the rain out of the window well; and, then build up
the ground level around the new window well so the ground can be graded to
allow the water to run off away from the house.

I think that would work.

TomR wrote:
"leza wang" wrote in message

the window from outside is look like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfazDyGeh2Y .

This is about how to fix the water problem on the outside of the
house . . . ,

This is some additional information about dealing with the water that comes
in through the window:

I keep trying to do online searches for what I call "window wells" --
semi-circular mini-walls that go in front of basment windows on the outside
and attach to the foundation wall. I see these in Home Depot and Lowes
stores all the time, but when I try to do online searches to show you what I
mean, I don't have much luck. This is especially true when I do searches on
the Canadian Home Depot and Lowes websites.

But, this is one example of what I mean:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_11197-205-75204_4294809480__?productId=1119411&Ns=p_product_ qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_produ ct_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo= .

Another example is:

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?...llow&cId=PDIO1 .

My idea is to place one of these in front of the basement window on the
outside, attach it to the brick foundation wall, and use silicone caulk to
seal the sides where it attaches to the brick wall. If you do it by placing
it on top of the concrete slab, maybe add some cement around the bottom to
keep water from getting in underneath it. Or, if you break out the concrete
slab in that area, place it in the dirt underneath and still seal the
bottom.

That in itself may help keep the water out, especially if the existing slab
doesn't fill up with water. Or, if you decide to raise the ground level
along the house so water runs away from the house, this semi-circular wall
around the window will let you build up the dirt without blocking the
window.

They also make clear plastic window well covers to go on top of these to
keep the rain out of the window well that you create with one of these.

On Monday, July 1, 2013 10:21:57 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:
wrote in message

...

On Sunday, June 30, 2013 9:18:04 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:



The other options are to leave the window in place now and build a

barrier

across the bottom of the window on the outside to block the water --

either

cement/concrete or Lexan -- as I described before.



Doubt that will work either. The solution is proper grading, perhaps

a window well.



Trader4,



I've noticed that we generally seem to be thinking along the same lines on

this whole project -- except that I keep referring to building some kind of

barrier in front of the window and you talk more instead about building a

window well.



Then it dawned on me that we may be talking about a similar approach but

using different terms. I was thinking that by "window well" you meant to

dig out around the front of the window and create a window well. But maybe

what you meant was to create a metal, plastic, or masonry/stone window well

wall around the window (without digging down below the existing grade

level); then maybe adding a clear plastic window well cover on top of that

to let light in but keep the rain out of the window well; and, then build up

the ground level around the new window well so the ground can be graded to

allow the water to run off away from the house.



I think that would work.

When you install a window well below grade, you're not relying
on caulking or anything else to seal it and keep the water out.
You have a well that is either deep enough with the soil having
enough percolation to accomadate the water that goes in, or
you could have it tied into the weeping tile system at the footers.
I saw Holmes up in CA doing one like that, ie tied to the footer
drainage. Either way, the water comes into the well and drains away.
To try to keep the water out by caulking around any kind of
barrier is just a temporary fix, at best.

Other than that, I agree we have similar ideas on how it should
be fixed.

wrote:

TomR wrote:
. . . maybe . . . create a metal, plastic, or masonry/stone
window well wall around the window . . .
then maybe adding a clear plastic window well cover on top
of that to let light in but keep the rain out of the window well;
and, then build up
the ground level around the new window well so the ground can be
graded to allow the water to run off away from the house.

When you install a window well below grade, you're not relying
on caulking or anything else to seal it and keep the water out.
You have a well that is either deep enough with the soil having
enough percolation to accommodate the water that goes in, or
you could have it tied into the weeping tile system at the footers.
I saw Holmes up in CA doing one like that, ie tied to the footer
drainage. Either way, the water comes into the well and drains away.
To try to keep the water out by caulking around any kind of
barrier is just a temporary fix, at best.

My thinking is that not much water is really getting into her basement, but
most, if not all, of the water that is getting in is just running across the
bottom sill of the window because it is at ground level. In one of the OP's
photos or videos, it looks like the cement slab that she built is relatively
flat and does not build up any large puddles. So, my hunch is that if she
can keep the water away from the window, and maybe caulk or seal the seam
along the outside foundation wall where the slab meets it, her water problem
might be solved.

That's why I think a low-cost barrier in front of the window (like the
semi-circular plastic window well wall) and a window well cover may be the
only fix she needs.

On the inside, there doesn't appear to be much evidence that water is coming
in through the lower parts of the wall -- just overflow from the window.
But, that's why I suggested that she leave the wall bare until after a
couple a rain storms and watch to see where the water is coming in.

I do know what you mean by the Holmes-show-style window well solutions, but
I'm not sure that the OP's situation would require that.