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#1
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hole in the basement floor
Hi
I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be |
#2
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hole in the basement floor
"leza wang" wrote in message ... Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be Leza Did you buy this house without first seeing it? There seems to be to many things wrong with it?WW |
#3
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hole in the basement floor
On Sat, 6 Jul 2013 19:04:01 -0700 (PDT), leza wang
wrote: Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be That hole was put there for a reason so it would be good to find out why before you fill it in. There may have been a leak and the previous owner made the hold to act as a drain field or a sump. It may have been to access sewer pips running around there, as to repair a leak. Or is may have been a hiding place for gold. Is the hole dry? If so, you can fill it easily. If the hole wet? If so, you want to find the reason and stop it before filling the hole. If you are sure you want it filled, you can use any combination of rocks, dirt, sand. Bring it in a bucket at a time. |
#4
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hole in the basement floor
On Sat, 6 Jul 2013 20:24:14 -0600, "WW"
wrote: "leza wang" wrote in message ... Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be Leza Did you buy this house without first seeing it? There seems to be to many things wrong with it?WW Sounds like a house a friend bought. She bought the house up in cottage country because it was cheap. It was sold as a "4 season" home and it has no foundation(sitting on concrete blocks) and no insulation in the floors. In March when she bought it, everything was level - the roof ridge was straight, and all doors and windows operated. Throughout the winter the ridgepole was up to 8 inches out of line and most windows would not operate. By March it was straight again - but the heating bill for the winter was about $2000. There were all kinds of electrical issues and plumbing issues. Now she can't afford to keep living in it - so she needs to sell it. Good luck. People who don't know about houses shopuldn't buy them without the assistance of someone who does. ( same goes for buying used cars, as far as that goes) |
#5
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hole in the basement floor
On Saturday, July 6, 2013 9:04:01 PM UTC-5, leza wang wrote:
Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really.. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be Leza, Are there any pipes or any anything inside the hole, that look as though they might connect to somethintg else, like it is part of a perimeter drain system? Does water come up in the hole when it rains? Is the window in the picture right at ground level like your laundry room window? Is it on the same side of the house as the laundry room window? |
#6
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hole in the basement floor
leza wang wrote:
Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be The floor is what material and how thick ? Greg |
#7
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hole in the basement floor
leza wang wrote:
Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be Hi, Are you in Toronto? which part of the city? I used to live in Scarboro, left Ontario in the spring of 1970 on a company transfer. How big is the hole? Maybe it is a drain pit? Then you should remedy the leak problem first. If you bought that house, have you used the service of house inspector? |
#9
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hole in the basement floor
On Sat, 6 Jul 2013 20:24:14 -0600, "WW"
wrote: "leza wang" wrote in message ... Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be Leza Did you buy this house without first seeing it? There seems to be to many things wrong with it?WW But only in the basement and maybe the patio. Walking down the stairs** I was impressed at how much nicer the stairs looked than the basement. Not everyone's basement is at all "finished". **I like that btw. You had lost the Hitchcock touch in many of your videos, but this one defintely had it. By the time you got to the bottom of the stairs I was scared to death. When you backed out of the stairwell, I was sure someone was going to grab you. Did you post this video, or was it your kidnapper? And what does he want to release you? |
#10
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hole in the basement floor
On Sat, 06 Jul 2013 23:02:25 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On Sat, 6 Jul 2013 19:04:01 -0700 (PDT), leza wang wrote: Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be That hole was put there for a reason so it would be good to find out why before you fill it in. There may have been a leak and the previous owner made the hold to act as a drain field or a sump. It may have been to access sewer pips running around there, as to repair a leak. Or is may have been a hiding place for gold. I thnk the kidnapper was looking for the gold. Probably found it and that's why the hole is empty. The OP probably came home early and that's why he snatched her too. Is the hole dry? If so, you can fill it easily. If the hole wet? If so, you want to find the reason and stop it before filling the hole. If you are sure you want it filled, you can use any combination of rocks, dirt, sand. Bring it in a bucket at a time. Rocks tend to be free, and they make the filling go quickly, except for spaces between the rocks. But they might be harder to remove when you want to get your gold. |
#11
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hole in the basement floor
On Saturday, July 6, 2013 11:02:25 PM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On Sat, 6 Jul 2013 19:04:01 -0700 (PDT), leza wang wrote: Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be That hole was put there for a reason so it would be good to find out why before you fill it in. There may have been a leak and the previous owner made the hold to act as a drain field or a sump. It may have been to access sewer pips running around there, as to repair a leak. Or is may have been a hiding place for gold. Is the hole dry? If so, you can fill it easily. If the hole wet? If so, you want to find the reason and stop it before filling the hole. Agree. And she has no experience with the house in various conditions, ie like after heavy rains for 4 days. Maybe it fills with water for all we know. There is a *lot* wrong with this house. Best advice I can give is that she needs to find a competent home inspector and get the whole house inspected to find out the extent of everything that is wrong. It doesn't make sense to be fixing one thing here, one thing there, only to find out a year later that there are very serious problems that require a tear-out of all the work you'be just done to fix correctly. The few things she has found already could be just the start. And for an example of how you could wind up doing work for nothing, there is the basement window example. Apparently she removed pavers and poured concrete right up to the window. Two things wrong there. First, it was apparently graded the wrong way. Second, by pouring a slab instead of pavers, the water has no place to go and is brought right to the window to pour into the basement. She needs a complete home inspection, which should have been done before purchase. There is no way of knowing what all is wrong and it could be tens of thousands of dollars of trouble here. |
#12
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hole in the basement floor
On Sun, 7 Jul 2013 04:08:59 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote: She needs a complete home inspection, which should have been done before purchase. There is no way of knowing what all is wrong and it could be tens of thousands of dollars of trouble here. True. It would be a good idea for her to find a decent handyman, make him a pot roast, maybe. If the house was a gift / inheritance I would take, fix it and move. I wish she would follow-up on some threads so we know what was fixed and what was not - fence , trees out front, etc. ... just sayin' This reminds me of the movie "The Money Pit is a 1986 comedy film, directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as a couple who attempt to renovate a recently purchased house." |
#13
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hole in the basement floor
On Sun, 7 Jul 2013 04:10:01 +0000 (UTC), gregz
wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be The floor is what material and how thick ? Greg We may be thinking the same thing. Replace the landing sub floor? |
#14
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hole in the basement floor
On 7/6/2013 9:04 PM, leza wang wrote:
Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be There are probably a few things "out of the ordinary" with your house, but if you take a good look at any old house you will find a few things "out of the ordinary." If it were antique furniture the term would be "patina." The thing about patina is you leave it alone or the antique will lose value. Think of your house the same way. The hole has been there for some time. It was put there for a reason. Until you can find out the reason, leave things alone. If it is a drain then let it drain or find the leak and repair it. Some problems are minor and can be lived with, some have to be fixed. You can't fix a problem until you know what the problem is. See what happens after a heavy rainfall. Keep an eye on things for a few days or weeks. Out of curiosity, how did you find the hole to begin with. It looks like you tore up the floor to find it? LdB |
#15
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hole in the basement floor
I would leave the hole as is till you know what its supposed to do......
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#16
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hole in the basement floor
leza wang wrote:
Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be I think it's hard to tell exactly what the hole is for or how it got there. I assume that the landing where the hole is located is at the same level as the rest of the basement floor. right? In other words, after you go through that door at the bottom of the stairway, there are no more steps going down from there, right? So far, it does look like someone broke out the original concrete basement floor in that area and dug out a hole down along the foundation wall footing. Your video didn't show what it looks like inside the hole if you look toward where the steps are. Is there a dirt wall there or something else there, or does the opening go further along the side wall under the steps? And, maybe you can do a little video or photo of that window from the outside. Maybe that is or was a problem area where water was getting in which caused the water leak in that area that you saw before. It might be the same deal -- the ground not being graded away from the house to allow water to run off away from the house rather than into the foundation wall. I also agree with the others that you should wait for some heavy rains and see what happens with the hole open. |
#17
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hole in the basement floor
She needs a complete home inspection, which should have been done before purchase. There is no way of knowing what all is wrong and it could be tens of thousands of dollars of trouble here. True. It would be a good idea for her to find a decent handyman, make him a pot roast, maybe. If the house was a gift / inheritance I would take, fix it and move. I wish she would follow-up on some threads so we know what was fixed and what was not - fence , trees out front, etc. ... just sayin' This reminds me of the movie "The Money Pit is a 1986 comedy film, directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as a couple who attempt to renovate a recently purchased house." Some of you guys can be a real downer when she's still in the middle of fixing things. Are you trying to break her spirit? You don't know what the rest of the house looks like, what she paid, or how much money she has. I've long noticed in this group and others that some people write like everything can be fixed with money and everyone has enough money to do so. It's not true. Many people have to put up with things far less than perfect because they don't have as much money as others do. |
#18
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hole in the basement floor
"Tony Hwang" wrote in message ... wrote: On Sat, 6 Jul 2013 20:24:14 -0600, "WW" wrote: "leza wang" wrote in message ... Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be Leza Did you buy this house without first seeing it? There seems to be to many things wrong with it?WW Sounds like a house a friend bought. She bought the house up in cottage country because it was cheap. It was sold as a "4 season" home and it has no foundation(sitting on concrete blocks) and no insulation in the floors. In March when she bought it, everything was level - the roof ridge was straight, and all doors and windows operated. Throughout the winter the ridgepole was up to 8 inches out of line and most windows would not operate. By March it was straight again - but the heating bill for the winter was about $2000. There were all kinds of electrical issues and plumbing issues. Now she can't afford to keep living in it - so she needs to sell it. Good luck. People who don't know about houses shopuldn't buy them without the assistance of someone who does. ( same goes for buying used cars, as far as that goes) Hmmm, A expensive lesson. I never lived in a pre-owned house. Wife designed house. I had it built after getting her design OK'd from pros and local building permit dept. Good for you Tony. Not everyone has the good fortune of being able to not having to buy used. Since you never had to buy a pre-owned house, you haven't any experience with them. Probably time for you to shut your trap. |
#19
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hole in the basement floor
I had the same thing happen once, I'd bought some fence post holes on sale and stored them in the basement, mice chewed a hole in the package and they leaked on the floor. |
#20
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hole in the basement floor
On Sunday, July 7, 2013 1:45:04 PM UTC-4, Oren wrote:
On Sun, 7 Jul 2013 04:08:59 -0700 (PDT), " wrote: She needs a complete home inspection, which should have been done before purchase. There is no way of knowing what all is wrong and it could be tens of thousands of dollars of trouble here. True. It would be a good idea for her to find a decent handyman, make him a pot roast, maybe. If the house was a gift / inheritance I would take, fix it and move. I wish she would follow-up on some threads so we know what was fixed and what was not - fence , trees out front, etc. ... just sayin' This reminds me of the movie "The Money Pit is a 1986 comedy film, directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as a couple who attempt to renovate a recently purchased house." Thanks a lot for your reply. Most of my problems got fixed, thanks for all advices I have got from this group and we have been learning a lot. I do not mind to hire people but do they really make it right? Many advices I got it from here, no any contractors/handymen mentioned to me when we asked them to come over and give us an estimate! Thanks a lot. |
#21
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hole in the basement floor
On Sunday, July 7, 2013 1:48:26 PM UTC-4, Oren wrote:
On Sun, 7 Jul 2013 04:10:01 +0000 (UTC), gregz wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be The floor is what material and how thick ? Greg We may be thinking the same thing. Replace the landing sub floor? It is cement I guess. Now in that area, Laminate then Vinly (peel and stick) then cement floor. |
#22
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hole in the basement floor
On Sunday, July 7, 2013 2:14:09 PM UTC-4, LdB wrote:
On 7/6/2013 9:04 PM, leza wang wrote: Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be There are probably a few things "out of the ordinary" with your house, but if you take a good look at any old house you will find a few things "out of the ordinary." If it were antique furniture the term would be "patina." The thing about patina is you leave it alone or the antique will lose value. Think of your house the same way. The hole has been there for some time. It was put there for a reason. Until you can find out the reason, leave things alone. If it is a drain then let it drain or find the leak and repair it. Some problems are minor and can be lived with, some have to be fixed. You can't fix a problem until you know what the problem is. See what happens after a heavy rainfall. Keep an eye on things for a few days or weeks. Out of curiosity, how did you find the hole to begin with. It looks like you tore up the floor to find it? LdB Thanks for your reply. Today was heavy rain and I did not see water goes to that hole. That wall has been dry. I put some cement from the outside and that might helped to push the water away not sure! The laminate floor in that area was not firm and moving so I decided to re-seat them and that is how i found the whole. the previous owner did put a cement block in that hole, i guess just for safety if someone press that area and his/her leg go inside. |
#23
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hole in the basement floor
On Sunday, July 7, 2013 3:30:54 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:
leza wang wrote: Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be I think it's hard to tell exactly what the hole is for or how it got there. I assume that the landing where the hole is located is at the same level as the rest of the basement floor. right? In other words, after you go through that door at the bottom of the stairway, there are no more steps going down from there, right? So far, it does look like someone broke out the original concrete basement floor in that area and dug out a hole down along the foundation wall footing. Your video didn't show what it looks like inside the hole if you look toward where the steps are. Is there a dirt wall there or something else there, or does the opening go further along the side wall under the steps? And, maybe you can do a little video or photo of that window from the outside. Maybe that is or was a problem area where water was getting in which caused the water leak in that area that you saw before. It might be the same deal -- the ground not being graded away from the house to allow water to run off away from the house rather than into the foundation wall.. I also agree with the others that you should wait for some heavy rains and see what happens with the hole open. Yes Tom, you are right, the floor in the same level there is no more stairs.. Yes the window there has exactly the same issue. It is level with the ground. What is inside the whole, I see stones around the hole and dirt/sand in the ground. I will take another video shortly. Thanks a lot once again. |
#24
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hole in the basement floor
On Sunday, July 7, 2013 4:20:58 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
She needs a complete home inspection, which should have been done before purchase. There is no way of knowing what all is wrong and it could be tens of thousands of dollars of trouble here. True. It would be a good idea for her to find a decent handyman, make him a pot roast, maybe. If the house was a gift / inheritance I would take, fix it and move. I wish she would follow-up on some threads so we know what was fixed and what was not - fence , trees out front, etc. ... just sayin' This reminds me of the movie "The Money Pit is a 1986 comedy film, directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as a couple who attempt to renovate a recently purchased house." Some of you guys can be a real downer when she's still in the middle of fixing things. Are you trying to break her spirit? You don't know what the rest of the house looks like, what she paid, or how much money she has. I've long noticed in this group and others that some people write like everything can be fixed with money and everyone has enough money to do so. It's not true. Many people have to put up with things far less than perfect because they don't have as much money as others do. Thanks a lot Micky, really appreciate it. |
#25
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hole in the basement floor
On 7/7/2013 6:12 PM, leza wang wrote:
On Sunday, July 7, 2013 1:48:26 PM UTC-4, Oren wrote: On Sun, 7 Jul 2013 04:10:01 +0000 (UTC), .... The floor is what material and how thick ? .... We may be thinking the same thing. Replace the landing sub floor? It is cement I guess. Now in that area, Laminate then Vinly (peel and stick) then cement floor. It appears that it was poured slab over a crawl space from the video. Need as somebody else says to a) determine what the purpose of making the hole in the first place was b) determine if that reason has either been fixed or remains That determines whether you actually to retain access permanently or temporarily In the end it looks like it should eventually be formed from the bottom w/ some supporting and probably re-poured. It'll take some sort of structural work underneath or insert rod or other support by drilling into current slab (a lot more work in all likelihood) to get something solid. Alternatively, again start w/ a support structure underneath and frame in a short section as if it were regular floor joist at level to support a subfloor (1" T&G or couple layers 3/4" would be solid enough). After that you can re-lay flooring to match whatever. But again, it all needs to start w/ determining the "why" of what went on. If need be, contact previous owner and see if have any information. If it's a concealed defect that wasn't revealed you may have recourse in getting at least some help on repairs if it does turn out to be major problem underlying that reason and not just repairing the remnants of the repairs. -- |
#26
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hole in the basement floor
On Saturday, July 6, 2013 9:04:01 PM UTC-5, leza wang wrote:
Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really.. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be Good point by last poster. Is there any way you can contact the previous owner. Even if you do not have contact information, your arealtor should be able to put you in contact with the sellers Realtor, and he/she should know how to contact the previous owners since that is where the check with the $$ from the sale went to. |
#27
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hole in the basement floor
On Sunday, July 7, 2013 4:20:58 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
She needs a complete home inspection, which should have been done before purchase. There is no way of knowing what all is wrong and it could be tens of thousands of dollars of trouble here. True. It would be a good idea for her to find a decent handyman, make him a pot roast, maybe. If the house was a gift / inheritance I would take, fix it and move. I wish she would follow-up on some threads so we know what was fixed and what was not - fence , trees out front, etc. ... just sayin' This reminds me of the movie "The Money Pit is a 1986 comedy film, directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as a couple who attempt to renovate a recently purchased house." Some of you guys can be a real downer when she's still in the middle of fixing things. Are you trying to break her spirit? You don't know what the rest of the house looks like, what she paid, or how much money she has. That's why I suggested getting a competent professional in to do a complete inspection and find out the real scope of all the problems. She's already poured some money into an "improvement" that was work for nothing because instead of solving a problem, it's making it worse. I've long noticed in this group and others that some people write like everything can be fixed with money and everyone has enough money to do so. It's not true. Many people have to put up with things far less than perfect because they don't have as much money as others do. I think most of the time people here give very practical and good advice and there are a range of possible options covering various price points. The overall thing here that stands out is that no one without experience should ever buy a house without a house inspection. If you do that, you could be paying $100K for a house that is worth $20K. That's not to break someone's spirit or be mean, it's just the truth. |
#28
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hole in the basement floor
On Saturday, July 6, 2013 9:04:01 PM UTC-5, leza wang wrote:
Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really.. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be Somehow, it doesn't see likely that Leeza's spirit will be broken. She seems like a bright lady who wants to learn as much as possible. |
#29
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hole in the basement floor
On Mon, 8 Jul 2013 09:18:46 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote: On Sunday, July 7, 2013 4:20:58 PM UTC-4, micky wrote: She needs a complete home inspection, which should have been done before purchase. There is no way of knowing what all is wrong and it could be tens of thousands of dollars of trouble here. True. It would be a good idea for her to find a decent handyman, make him a pot roast, maybe. If the house was a gift / inheritance I would take, fix it and move. I wish she would follow-up on some threads so we know what was fixed and what was not - fence , trees out front, etc. ... just sayin' This reminds me of the movie "The Money Pit is a 1986 comedy film, directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as a couple who attempt to renovate a recently purchased house." Some of you guys can be a real downer when she's still in the middle of fixing things. Are you trying to break her spirit? You don't know what the rest of the house looks like, what she paid, or how much money she has. That's why I suggested getting a competent professional in to do a complete inspection and find out the real scope of all the problems. She's already poured some money into an "improvement" that was work for nothing because instead of solving a problem, it's making it worse. I've long noticed in this group and others that some people write like everything can be fixed with money and everyone has enough money to do so. It's not true. Many people have to put up with things far less than perfect because they don't have as much money as others do. I think most of the time people here give very practical and good advice and there are a range of possible options covering various price points. I agree. The overall thing here that stands out is that no one without experience should ever buy a house without a house inspection. If you do that, you could be paying $100K for a house that is worth $20K. That's not to break someone's spirit or be mean, it's just the truth. That you think it is the truth, or even that something is the truth, does not mean that one has chosen the right time to express it. It's of no value to her to be told she should have hired an inspector before she bought the house, because she's bought the house already, and she's in the middle of fixing it up. This can be a joyful experience, as one by one, the problems get fixed. Instead, such advice may turn it into months or years of berating oneself while awake, and inabiltiy to sleep. If things go badly all-in-all, she won't need you to convince her to hire an inspector before the next house. She'll figure it out herself, or she'll hear about it later. At any rate, a separate thread or inclusion in some other thread will make the same point to everyone else who might benefit by hearing it. |
#30
Posted to alt.home.repair
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hole in the basement floor
On Mon, 8 Jul 2013 09:18:46 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote: I think most of the time people here give very practical and good advice and there are a range of possible options covering various price points. The overall thing here that stands out is that no one without experience should ever buy a house without a house inspection. If you do that, you could be paying $100K for a house that is worth $20K. That's not to break someone's spirit or be mean, it's just the truth. I accept your answer that you werent' trying to break her spirit. In fact I probably never thought you were. It was just a manner of speaking. Maybe I should have said, "You risk breaking her spirit, or taking the joy out of the process even if you don't break her". |
#31
Posted to alt.home.repair
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hole in the basement floor
On Monday, July 8, 2013 5:54:11 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
On Mon, 8 Jul 2013 09:18:46 -0700 (PDT), " wrote: On Sunday, July 7, 2013 4:20:58 PM UTC-4, micky wrote: She needs a complete home inspection, which should have been done before purchase. There is no way of knowing what all is wrong and it could be tens of thousands of dollars of trouble here. True. It would be a good idea for her to find a decent handyman, make him a pot roast, maybe. If the house was a gift / inheritance I would take, fix it and move. I wish she would follow-up on some threads so we know what was fixed and what was not - fence , trees out front, etc. ... just sayin' This reminds me of the movie "The Money Pit is a 1986 comedy film, directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as a couple who attempt to renovate a recently purchased house." Some of you guys can be a real downer when she's still in the middle of fixing things. Are you trying to break her spirit? You don't know what the rest of the house looks like, what she paid, or how much money she has. That's why I suggested getting a competent professional in to do a complete inspection and find out the real scope of all the problems. She's already poured some money into an "improvement" that was work for nothing because instead of solving a problem, it's making it worse. I've long noticed in this group and others that some people write like everything can be fixed with money and everyone has enough money to do so. It's not true. Many people have to put up with things far less than perfect because they don't have as much money as others do. I think most of the time people here give very practical and good advice and there are a range of possible options covering various price points. I agree. The overall thing here that stands out is that no one without experience should ever buy a house without a house inspection. If you do that, you could be paying $100K for a house that is worth $20K. That's not to break someone's spirit or be mean, it's just the truth. That you think it is the truth, or even that something is the truth, does not mean that one has chosen the right time to express it. It is the truth plain and simple. And in my world, it's far better to tell someone how to avoid a potential disaster, so they learn, instead of sugar coating the obvious. Do you disagree that it's a mistake for someone not experienced in checking out a house to not get an inspection done before buying it? It's of no value to her to be told she should have hired an inspector before she bought the house, because she's bought the house already, and she's in the middle of fixing it up. This can be a joyful experience, as one by one, the problems get fixed. Why would you start fixing stuff when you have no idea the extent of the problems? She already poured a concrete slab that not only didn't fix anything, but made it worse. She could do a lot of repairs, pour money into it, only to find out that to fix other problems that she can't recognize, those repairs she just made need to be torn out. Instead, such advice may turn it into months or years of berating oneself while awake, and inabiltiy to sleep. If that happens, it's not because of my advice. If things go badly all-in-all, she won't need you to convince her to hire an inspector before the next house. She'll figure it out herself, or she'll hear about it later. At any rate, a separate thread or inclusion in some other thread will make the same point to everyone else who might benefit by hearing it. Leza is the one that needs to get hear what I and others have said. Good grief. All I said was that she needs a competent inspection done to find out what all is wrong with the house. She should have done that before the purchase. If she chooses to not do it now, it's another mistake. And I'm not buying that some etiquette says that I'm not supposed to tell her the truth. |
#32
Posted to alt.home.repair
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hole in the basement floor
On Mon, 08 Jul 2013 17:54:11 -0400, micky
wrote: On Mon, 8 Jul 2013 09:18:46 -0700 (PDT), " wrote: On Sunday, July 7, 2013 4:20:58 PM UTC-4, micky wrote: She needs a complete home inspection, which should have been done before purchase. There is no way of knowing what all is wrong and it could be tens of thousands of dollars of trouble here. True. It would be a good idea for her to find a decent handyman, make him a pot roast, maybe. If the house was a gift / inheritance I would take, fix it and move. I wish she would follow-up on some threads so we know what was fixed and what was not - fence , trees out front, etc. ... just sayin' This reminds me of the movie "The Money Pit is a 1986 comedy film, directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as a couple who attempt to renovate a recently purchased house." Some of you guys can be a real downer when she's still in the middle of fixing things. Are you trying to break her spirit? You don't know what the rest of the house looks like, what she paid, or how much money she has. That's why I suggested getting a competent professional in to do a complete inspection and find out the real scope of all the problems. She's already poured some money into an "improvement" that was work for nothing because instead of solving a problem, it's making it worse. I've long noticed in this group and others that some people write like everything can be fixed with money and everyone has enough money to do so. It's not true. Many people have to put up with things far less than perfect because they don't have as much money as others do. I think most of the time people here give very practical and good advice and there are a range of possible options covering various price points. I agree. The overall thing here that stands out is that no one without experience should ever buy a house without a house inspection. If you do that, you could be paying $100K for a house that is worth $20K. That's not to break someone's spirit or be mean, it's just the truth. That you think it is the truth, or even that something is the truth, does not mean that one has chosen the right time to express it. It's of no value to her to be told she should have hired an inspector before she bought the house, because she's bought the house already, and she's in the middle of fixing it up. This can be a joyful experience, as one by one, the problems get fixed. Instead, such advice may turn it into months or years of berating oneself while awake, and inabiltiy to sleep. If things go badly all-in-all, she won't need you to convince her to hire an inspector before the next house. She'll figure it out herself, or she'll hear about it later. At any rate, a separate thread or inclusion in some other thread will make the same point to everyone else who might benefit by hearing it. She seems to be handling it fairly well - and who knows, she may have gotten a real bargain on the place, even with the problems. In the future she will LIKELY investigate a bit more before buying - but with the home inspectors I've run across she could quite well have paid the man and still gotten the surprises. A good contractor or handyman looking it over may have been a better investment - who knows?? |
#33
Posted to alt.home.repair
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hole in the basement floor
wrote:
She seems to be handling it fairly well - and who knows, she may have gotten a real bargain on the place, even with the problems. In the future she will LIKELY investigate a bit more before buying - but with the home inspectors I've run across she could quite well have paid the man and still gotten the surprises. I wonder how many inspectors would have pulled the floor and found the hole. |
#34
Posted to alt.home.repair
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hole in the basement floor
On Tue, 9 Jul 2013 02:48:34 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote: wrote: She seems to be handling it fairly well - and who knows, she may have gotten a real bargain on the place, even with the problems. In the future she will LIKELY investigate a bit more before buying - but with the home inspectors I've run across she could quite well have paid the man and still gotten the surprises. I wonder how many inspectors would have pulled the floor and found the hole. What I was saying. Half of them couldn't see it if it had a hinged lid. |
#35
Posted to alt.home.repair
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hole in the basement floor
On Monday, July 8, 2013 11:41:14 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Tue, 9 Jul 2013 02:48:34 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03 wrote: wrote: She seems to be handling it fairly well - and who knows, she may have gotten a real bargain on the place, even with the problems. In the future she will LIKELY investigate a bit more before buying - but with the home inspectors I've run across she could quite well have paid the man and still gotten the surprises. I wonder how many inspectors would have pulled the floor and found the hole. What I was saying. Half of them couldn't see it if it had a hinged lid. An inspector may have missed the hole in the floor. But from the other threads, there are other obvious problems that any competent inspector would have easily identified. |
#36
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hole in the basement floor
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#37
Posted to alt.home.repair
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hole in the basement floor
On Mon, 8 Jul 2013 15:12:44 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote: The overall thing here that stands out is that no one without experience should ever buy a house without a house inspection. If you do that, you could be paying $100K for a house that is worth $20K. That's not to break someone's spirit or be mean, it's just the truth. That you think it is the truth, or even that something is the truth, does not mean that one has chosen the right time to express it. It is the truth plain and simple. Are you saying the statements were plain and simple, or that because something is the truth, it's always the right time to say it? I take major issue with the latter, and I'll explain why if that is what you meant. And in my world, it's far better to tell someone how to avoid a potential disaster, so they learn, instead of sugar coating the obvious. Do you disagree that it's a mistake for someone not experienced in checking out a house to not get an inspection done before buying it? I think that's the wrong question, and I thought I made clear in the previous post and even the first one why: She had bought the house already so it doesn't apply to her. And you're not telling her how to avoid a potential disaster. It's of no value to her to be told she should have hired an inspector before she bought the house, because she's bought the house already, and she's in the middle of fixing it up. This can be a joyful experience, as one by one, the problems get fixed. Why would you start fixing stuff when you have no idea the extent of the problems? She already poured a concrete slab that not only didn't fix anything, but made it worse. She could do a lot of repairs, pour money into it, only to find out that to fix other problems that she can't recognize, those repairs she just made need to be torn out. Now you're talking about hiring an inspector after purchase to give advice about what repairs to make. But in the paragraph you're replying to I was referring hiring an "an inspector before she bought the house". Because you had said "She needs a complete home inspection, which should have been done before purchase. " BTW, in my first post on this subject, I deleted both attibution lines, including yours, so as to not make it look like I was replying especially to you. There had been other posts elswhere in the thread that almost got the same reaction from me -- I don't know who wrote them - but not enought to make me post. I didnt' complain about everything you and others said, only being a downer and risking breaking her spirit (as in "and it could be tens of thousands of dollars of trouble here." Instead, such advice may turn it into months or years of berating oneself while awake, and inabiltiy to sleep. If that happens, it's not because of my advice. If things go badly all-in-all, she won't need you to convince her to hire an inspector before the next house. She'll figure it out herself, or she'll hear about it later. At any rate, a separate thread or inclusion in some other thread will make the same point to everyone else who might benefit by hearing it. Leza is the one that needs to get hear what I and others have said. Good grief. All I said was that she needs a competent inspection done to find out what all is wrong with the house. She should have done that before the purchase. If she chooses to not do it now, it's another mistake. And I'm not buying that some etiquette says that I'm not supposed to tell her the truth. I'm not relying on etiquette. It's common sense. Or "Love your neighbor as yourself" I assume you saw the short reply that followed yesterday's longer reply by a few mintues. I apologize for annoying you, and for hurting your feelings if I did so. I was just looking out for Leza and other posters in her shoes. |
#38
Posted to alt.home.repair
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hole in the basement floor
On Tuesday, July 9, 2013 9:12:56 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
On Mon, 8 Jul 2013 15:12:44 -0700 (PDT), " wrote: The overall thing here that stands out is that no one without experience should ever buy a house without a house inspection. If you do that, you could be paying $100K for a house that is worth $20K. That's not to break someone's spirit or be mean, it's just the truth. That you think it is the truth, or even that something is the truth, does not mean that one has chosen the right time to express it. It is the truth plain and simple. Are you saying the statements were plain and simple, or that because something is the truth, it's always the right time to say it? Do you have a reading comprehension problem? I said it's the plain and simple truth that if you don't have the necessary skills to inspect a house yourself, you should hire a competent home inspector before buying a house. I take major issue with the latter, and I'll explain why if that is what you meant. Don't bother. And in my world, it's far better to tell someone how to avoid a potential disaster, so they learn, instead of sugar coating the obvious. Do you disagree that it's a mistake for someone not experienced in checking out a house to not get an inspection done before buying it? I think that's the wrong question, It's only the wrong question because you don't want to answer it. and I thought I made clear in the previous post and even the first one why: She had bought the house already so it doesn't apply to her. And you're not telling her how to avoid a potential disaster. Yes I am. For two reasons. First, she needs a home inspector now for the obvious reasons I stated. Second, if I don't tell her now that she should have had a home inspector before she bought this house, what makes you think anyone is going to tell her that before she buys another house? Good grief. It's of no value to her to be told she should have hired an inspector before she bought the house, because she's bought the house already, and she's in the middle of fixing it up. This can be a joyful experience, as one by one, the problems get fixed. Why would you start fixing stuff when you have no idea the extent of the problems? She already poured a concrete slab that not only didn't fix anything, but made it worse. She could do a lot of repairs, pour money into it, only to find out that to fix other problems that she can't recognize, those repairs she just made need to be torn out. Now you're talking about hiring an inspector after purchase to give advice about what repairs to make. But in the paragraph you're replying to I was referring hiring an "an inspector before she bought the house". Because you had said "She needs a complete home inspection, which should have been done before purchase. " See the above comments. Good grief. BTW, in my first post on this subject, I deleted both attibution lines, including yours, so as to not make it look like I was replying especially to you. There had been other posts elswhere in the thread that almost got the same reaction from me -- I don't know who wrote them - but not enought to make me post. But here you are, bitching at me, for giving good sound advice. I didnt' complain about everything you and others said, only being a downer and risking breaking her spirit (as in "and it could be tens of thousands of dollars of trouble here." It could be tens of thousands of dollars of trouble. It's even possible that the house has so many problems that the best thing she could do is walk away from it, instead of pouring more money into it. But no one will know what she has unless she gets an inspection done. Instead, such advice may turn it into months or years of berating oneself while awake, and inabiltiy to sleep. If that happens, it's not because of my advice. If things go badly all-in-all, she won't need you to convince her to hire an inspector before the next house. She'll figure it out herself, or she'll hear about it later. At any rate, a separate thread or inclusion in some other thread will make the same point to everyone else who might benefit by hearing it. Leza is the one that needs to get hear what I and others have said. Good grief. All I said was that she needs a competent inspection done to find out what all is wrong with the house. She should have done that before the purchase. If she chooses to not do it now, it's another mistake. And I'm not buying that some etiquette says that I'm not supposed to tell her the truth. I'm not relying on etiquette. It's common sense. Or "Love your neighbor as yourself" Your definition of common sense obviously doesn't equal mine. I assume you saw the short reply that followed yesterday's longer reply by a few mintues. I apologize for annoying you, and for hurting your feelings if I did so. I was just looking out for Leza and other posters in her shoes. No you're not. Because you want to hold back the simple truth that people need to hear because you think it's going to hurt their "feelings". I suppose if someone had cancer, you'd just whisper sweet nothings in their ear, instead of telling them what they need to know so that they can get treatment. PS: I don't see Leza bitching about this, only you. |
#39
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hole in the basement floor
leza wang wrote:
Hi I have found that there is a hole in the basement floor! Please see the video below. Before I bought the house I saw water leakage in that corner, so now I am thinking they did that hole to fix something! not sure really. My question, with what i should fill that hole? I am thinking to buy sands, or you think I should do something else? Thanks a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz6M...ature=youtu.be Even though I live in the U.S. on the East Coast (New Jersey), I heard on the news on radio this morning that Toronto had record setting rain yesterday, and more rain may be coming soon. Here's one news story that I just looked up online: http://www.thestar.com/news/2013/07/...n_the_way.html . So, of course, I am curious -- how did your laundry room leak and the basement hole issue do through the rain storm? |
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