I am not involved with this. It happened / is happening next door in a home
over 650k.

Around December it was about 10 degrees. Bulldozers were in, forms installed
and concrete foundation was poured. Less than 24 hours - I think it was like
16 hours the forms were removed. We saw the humidity / steam from 75 feet
away - it was below freezing. Other neighbor thinks that he heard a popping
noise for a couple of days afterwards - could that have been the foundation
cracking??? What is the correct length of time for forms to be left in place
in the northeast in winter - I thought it was like 3 days?

Next around 3 months later the garage floor for 2 cars was poured against
existing foundation. Its maybe 8 feet above cellar floor.

The house foundation floor is above the water table. However there is water
coming through into the cellar where the floor meets the walls almost
everywhere. The grading is sloped away from house, there is maybe 6 inches
of earth, and then its all sand. No one in neighborhood has sump pumps and
these houses are higher than half the other neighbors houses.

Today I met new potential buyers who were allowed to bring things in before
the closing. They asked me about the hardwood floors which I could see
starting to cup. I install hardwood and I noticed it within 10 seconds. The
floors are maybe 3 months old. We got humidity meter out and checked it in
our house where it registered 6 percent. In this new house cellar the floor
joists in first floor measured in the cellar were over 16 percent (off our
scale).

Question 1: is it possible to seal a foundation?

Question 2: potential new homeowner doesn't want the drain with pump in
cellar floor. They want a french drain. What are the odds of this working?

Question 3: had anyone ever had a new foundation done by lifting the house?
And what is a wild guess for the cost to pick up a 3100 sq foot house on 2
levels? Myself if I bought it I would hold back that amount at closing and
if the builder couldn't make it dry for a year than I would want that done.
There is no way that the cellar could ever be finished with the water and
humidity which is a shame because it has ceilings maybe 9 feet high.

TIA.

Oh ya - there is yet another house next door and we looked in that cellar.
Its wet. And its not sold.

oreo123 wrote:

I am not involved with this. It happened / is happening next door in a home
over 650k.

Around December it was about 10 degrees. Bulldozers were in, forms installed
and concrete foundation was poured. Less than 24 hours - I think it was like
16 hours the forms were removed. We saw the humidity / steam from 75 feet
away - it was below freezing. Other neighbor thinks that he heard a popping
noise for a couple of days afterwards - could that have been the foundation
cracking??? What is the correct length of time for forms to be left in place
in the northeast in winter - I thought it was like 3 days?

Next around 3 months later the garage floor for 2 cars was poured against
existing foundation. Its maybe 8 feet above cellar floor.

The house foundation floor is above the water table. However there is water
coming through into the cellar where the floor meets the walls almost
everywhere. The grading is sloped away from house, there is maybe 6 inches
of earth, and then its all sand. No one in neighborhood has sump pumps and
these houses are higher than half the other neighbors houses.

Today I met new potential buyers who were allowed to bring things in before
the closing. They asked me about the hardwood floors which I could see
starting to cup. I install hardwood and I noticed it within 10 seconds. The
floors are maybe 3 months old. We got humidity meter out and checked it in
our house where it registered 6 percent. In this new house cellar the floor
joists in first floor measured in the cellar were over 16 percent (off our
scale).

Question 1: is it possible to seal a foundation?

Question 2: potential new homeowner doesn't want the drain with pump in
cellar floor. They want a french drain. What are the odds of this working?

Question 3: had anyone ever had a new foundation done by lifting the house?
And what is a wild guess for the cost to pick up a 3100 sq foot house on 2
levels? Myself if I bought it I would hold back that amount at closing and
if the builder couldn't make it dry for a year than I would want that done.
There is no way that the cellar could ever be finished with the water and
humidity which is a shame because it has ceilings maybe 9 feet high.

TIA.

Oh ya - there is yet another house next door and we looked in that cellar.
Its wet. And its not sold.


Hi,
Demolish and start all over again. Pouring foundation in dead winter is
OK but looks like that house was built really shoddy from bottom up.
Bad news for years to come. I live in Alberta. Looks like you have way
more crooked builders down there. Up here every new house comes with
warranty footed by industry. There was an instances whole house
had to be rebuilt because of poor workmanship. They do basic thing right
at least. And they police themselves.
Tony

16% in all wood , or different in areas , wood take a Long time to dry
when wet, new and green. House is not heated or dehumidified. I have a
good Delmhorst Moisture meter, it took a frame sill 1 yr to dry after
being soaked. It measured maybe 15% after the leak was fixed 6 months
later. Today years later it is 0% 1%, a humid basement.
Jack a house you are kidding , you dont even know its bad. Its not
even your house.

French drain probably necessary . French drains usualy use pumps.

Its their house , they can see the floor and leaks , it passed
inspection Right. So you are going to new home owners scaring the ****
out of them and being a nosy body telling people their new floors are
bad , that Somebody may have heard their foundation Crack in the Real
cold winter , when you suspect they did it wrong anyway. and their
foundation may fail their house is on a lake and full of extremely high
wood moisture. Its a good thing you werent allowed in the house while
it was being built, you would condem the whole place

Did you ever stop to think it aint your business, it may be normal, and
you are an intrusive , disruptive pest ruining peoples privacy and new
home and scaring the **** out of them. What you hate the builder ?
this is your revenge. You should worry about your life and house not
people that you dont know or didnt ask for your two cents worth of
doughtfull fears.

oreo123 wrote:
I am not involved with this. It happened / is happening next door in
a home over 650k.

Around December it was about 10 degrees. Bulldozers were in, forms
installed and concrete foundation was poured. Less than 24 hours - I
think it was like 16 hours the forms were removed. We saw the
humidity / steam from 75 feet away - it was below freezing. Other
neighbor thinks that he heard a popping noise for a couple of days
afterwards - could that have been the foundation cracking??? What is
the correct length of time for forms to be left in place in the
northeast in winter - I thought it was like 3 days?

Next around 3 months later the garage floor for 2 cars was poured
against existing foundation. Its maybe 8 feet above cellar floor.

The house foundation floor is above the water table. However there is
water coming through into the cellar where the floor meets the walls
almost everywhere. The grading is sloped away from house, there is
maybe 6 inches of earth, and then its all sand. No one in
neighborhood has sump pumps and these houses are higher than half the
other neighbors houses.

Today I met new potential buyers who were allowed to bring things in
before the closing. They asked me about the hardwood floors which I
could see starting to cup. I install hardwood and I noticed it within
10 seconds. The floors are maybe 3 months old. We got humidity meter
out and checked it in our house where it registered 6 percent. In
this new house cellar the floor joists in first floor measured in the
cellar were over 16 percent (off our scale).

Question 1: is it possible to seal a foundation?

Question 2: potential new homeowner doesn't want the drain with pump
in cellar floor. They want a french drain. What are the odds of this
working?

Question 3: had anyone ever had a new foundation done by lifting the
house? And what is a wild guess for the cost to pick up a 3100 sq
foot house on 2 levels? Myself if I bought it I would hold back that
amount at closing and if the builder couldn't make it dry for a year
than I would want that done. There is no way that the cellar could
ever be finished with the water and humidity which is a shame because
it has ceilings maybe 9 feet high.

TIA.

Oh ya - there is yet another house next door and we looked in that
cellar. Its wet. And its not sold.

Tell the new homeowners they should have a home inspector out to take a
look now, well really before they signed anything. They really should get
the inspector out before they take possession.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

"m Ransley" wrote in message
...
16% in all wood , or different in areas , wood take a Long time to dry
when wet, new and green. House is not heated or dehumidified. I have a
good Delmhorst Moisture meter, it took a frame sill 1 yr to dry after
being soaked. It measured maybe 15% after the leak was fixed 6 months
later. Today years later it is 0% 1%, a humid basement.
Jack a house you are kidding , you dont even know its bad. Its not
even your house.

French drain probably necessary . French drains usualy use pumps.

Its their house , they can see the floor and leaks , it passed
inspection Right. So you are going to new home owners scaring the ****
out of them and being a nosy body telling people their new floors are
bad , that Somebody may have heard their foundation Crack in the Real
cold winter , when you suspect they did it wrong anyway. and their
foundation may fail their house is on a lake and full of extremely high
wood moisture. Its a good thing you werent allowed in the house while
it was being built, you would condem the whole place

Did you ever stop to think it aint your business, it may be normal, and
you are an intrusive , disruptive pest ruining peoples privacy and new
home and scaring the **** out of them. What you hate the builder ?
this is your revenge. You should worry about your life and house not
people that you dont know or didnt ask for your two cents worth of
doughtfull fears.

I met the new - well potentially new - neighbors yesterday. They asked if we
had water in our cellar and I said never. They asked me to look at theirs. I
have installed lots of hardwood flooring and when walking towards the cellar
I saw the cupping of 2 month old hardwood already. And 2 steps downstairs
into basement a musty odor. There is standing water on 75 percent of entire
foundation where it meets the floor. And one spot in the middle of the
foundation. Last shower here was about 5 days ago.

What seems to have happened here is the foundation was poured, the forms
were removed around 16 hours later, and there was never any attempt to keep
it at 50 degrees. It was below freezing those nights. For the next 10 days
it never got over 50 degrees and every night it was below freezing. I have
nothing against the builder at all. He subbed it out and he should have been
watching his project. I just feel bad when someone gets ripped off by shoddy
construction. And in this case the new people want to finish the cellar off
into a playroom - not a damp sauna.

Ive yet to see a concrete co pour when its to cold for their mix.
Additives are used for freezing. Records are kept by them temp and
additives known so as to not have future liability. Considering jacking
up the house and A new foundation is a little crazy and
unsubstantiating fear. If floor is wet its wet builder should fix
before selling , buyer should not buy before fixing. The house uheated
or dehumidified will not have normal humidity in wood. Things wet may
not dry. My sill took so long to dry I was sure it was still leaking.
maybe a year in a heated dehumidified basement.

Are we talking 10 degrees farenheit or celsius when the concrete was
poured? Concrete will cure ok down to temps just above freezing,
though the curing times increase quite a bit. Below that, it will not
cure properly. There are forms available which are insulated and
additives that will make it cure faster, etc. The concrete generates
heat itself, so if the correct procedures are used to keep it
insulated, pours can be done well below zero. Has anyone talked to
the building inspector? He should have done an inspection, was he
aware of the conditions it was poured in and procedures used?

As for the french drain, it sounds like the house should already have
these. There should be a drain tile system along the foundation,
leading to a sump pump hole, which is there to then pump the water
out. Just having these doesnt guarantee a dry basement, but it is a
big help.

It's not uncommon for new homes under construction to have some water
on the basement floor as they are being built. Typically, the site
has unsettled soil, improper grading, etc at that stage. Once
everything is finished, that's when I would become concerned with any
water.

(m Ransley) wrote in message ...
Ive yet to see a concrete co pour when its to cold for their mix.
Additives are used for freezing. Records are kept by them temp and
additives known so as to not have future liability. Considering jacking
up the house and A new foundation is a little crazy and
unsubstantiating fear. If floor is wet its wet builder should fix
before selling , buyer should not buy before fixing. The house uheated
or dehumidified will not have normal humidity in wood. Things wet may
not dry. My sill took so long to dry I was sure it was still leaking.
maybe a year in a heated dehumidified basement.


Also kind of curious that the original post claimed it was 10 degrees
when the concrete was poured. Now, in another post, it's stated it
was never over 50 and got below freezing at night. Quite a difference
and a long way from 10 degrees. I'm also assuming the original 10 was
faranheit, since 50 sure can't be celsius.

(Chet Hayes) wrote in message om...
Are we talking 10 degrees farenheit or celsius when the concrete was
poured? Concrete will cure ok down to temps just above freezing,
though the curing times increase quite a bit. Below that, it will not
cure properly. There are forms available which are insulated and
additives that will make it cure faster, etc. The concrete generates
heat itself, so if the correct procedures are used to keep it
insulated, pours can be done well below zero. Has anyone talked to
the building inspector? He should have done an inspection, was he
aware of the conditions it was poured in and procedures used?

As for the french drain, it sounds like the house should already have
these. There should be a drain tile system along the foundation,
leading to a sump pump hole, which is there to then pump the water
out. Just having these doesnt guarantee a dry basement, but it is a
big help.

It's not uncommon for new homes under construction to have some water
on the basement floor as they are being built. Typically, the site
has unsettled soil, improper grading, etc at that stage. Once
everything is finished, that's when I would become concerned with any
water.


Meant to say that if correct procedures are followed, pours can be
done to well below freezing.

Sorry all about not fully explaining everything.

I was talking ferinheit and not c. I pulled weather records and it was below
freezing every night after pour. And the forms were yanked around 16 hours
later. There was no heat applied, no blankets, nothing. The second or third
night it was around 15 or 20 F.

I wonder this - if a foundation has cracks can it really be fixed? Its not
my house - its next door. When I cruised though the cellar yesterday it was
really humid.

"Chet Hayes" wrote in message
om...
(m Ransley) wrote in message
...
Ive yet to see a concrete co pour when its to cold for their mix.
Additives are used for freezing. Records are kept by them temp and
additives known so as to not have future liability. Considering jacking
up the house and A new foundation is a little crazy and
unsubstantiating fear. If floor is wet its wet builder should fix
before selling , buyer should not buy before fixing. The house uheated
or dehumidified will not have normal humidity in wood. Things wet may
not dry. My sill took so long to dry I was sure it was still leaking.
maybe a year in a heated dehumidified basement.


Also kind of curious that the original post claimed it was 10 degrees
when the concrete was poured. Now, in another post, it's stated it
was never over 50 and got below freezing at night. Quite a difference
and a long way from 10 degrees. I'm also assuming the original 10 was
faranheit, since 50 sure can't be celsius.

Does it have cracks? Have you actualy seen any? Yes they can be
fixed . A neighbor hearing popping isnt relavent as is you mentioning
jacking the house and putting a new foundation. Conctete companys are
very carefull in winter especialy, their liability is very great and
they use additives when necessary . And stop work when weather makes it
unsafe for product performance. Leaks are a separate issue that need
to be fixed , but a closed -sealed new unventilated house can have
extremely high humidity as with tight construction and no air
circulating causing alot of issues even mold and floor cupping. Talk
to your concrete co for pour parameters and your top building
inspector. Or hire an indepandant engineer.

"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message ...


Tell the new homeowners they should have a home inspector out to take a
look now, well really before they signed anything. They really should get
the inspector out before they take possession.

Now that's good, neighborly advice!