Home inspector said what? Why so obtuse on this subject

Specific Inspection Topics Structural Inspections
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LACK of knowledge on this subject leads quite a few people to stupid assumptions, myths, which often hurt homeowners, buyers in particular, feel me? Here feel this.

1:05 “Usually 90% of the time this is DUE TO poor grading, poor downspout direction”
hahahahahha!

If you had some hands-on experience in basement waterproofing, foundation repair then you wouldn’t talk shtt like this.

Here’s 2 quick ON SITE videos that clearly show the actual problem(s) most homeowners have and the ONLY damn solution if you really wanna STOP the friggin water from entering
Warren Mich, block walls, house was up for sale, seller already tried slapping drylok paint on inside walls and in past played with the stupid grade-of driveway, SEE the actual problem for buyers sake n at some point, your own

Why the hell can’t ya learn, why do so many BLINDLY believe bullshttt? Who the hell told you that the stupid grade is 90% of the problem? Glen Haege? Or some scamming, loser inside system chump? Did you read it in some home inspector training book?

Here’s another exterior corner crack Twinkle Toes, the CRACKS were THE problem, NOT THE MORONIC GRADE!!!

Yeah some idiot dug it before n it didn’t last long, why? lol
Because they didn’t use hydraulic cement IN, over the cracks and they backfilled with most of the same shtty clay soil = big mistakes.

Are the twits spreading these myths, LIES to homeowners the same ones who might now begin injecting themselves with clorox? wouldn’t surprise me one damn bit, idiotzzzzzzzzzz

Inside brick foundation walls, she already RAISED the GRADE!
She added longer downspout ext’s!
Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!
There were multiple exterior cracks in the walls that allowed water in basement n CAUSED what you see inside! How difficult is this to UNDERSTAND!!!

–Building code, why bother to have damn codes if they aren’t going to be adhered to biaacthes
Foundation walls and Exterior walls, "All building or structure foundation walls shall be maintained plumb and FREE from OPEN CRACKS and breaks, and shall be kept in such condition so as to prevent the entry of rodents and other pests. Basement walls shall be maintained so as to PREVENT water leakage and keep basement in dry condition…

…All building and structure exterior walls shall be free from breaks, holes and loose or rotting materials and shall be maintained weatherproof and properly surface coated to prevent deterioration"

Installing interior basement drainage systems and/or grading and adding 5 mile long downspout ext’s does NOT ever, repair, waterproof ANY exterior crack, break, hole nor does that CRAP prevent deterioration nor does they prevent water leakage nor keep rodents, pests OUT!

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You’re getting the word out, Marc! Keep it up.

Google finds how to fix exterior cracks properly. :smile:

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Good job Mark

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Actually I find at least 50% of wet basements in my area caused by poor grading, improper drainage, downspouts dropping next to the foundation or simple things to correct versus a foundation contractor selling the owners a $7,000 - $10,000 water-proofing system, etc.

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ok Dan

short video one of our jobs, homeowner already raised and sloped the grade n added longer downspout ext’s, basement kept leaking and wall got worse, bowed in… video is evidence/proof of how/why/where water was allowed to get in, had zero to do with the grade aka improper drainage, imo total nonsense.

So Dan, others who think it’s often ‘the grade’… lol, the video i posted, say again they already raised n sloped the grade etc, WHAT would you have recomended to them, maybe play with grade again?
Install a piece of shtt scamball interior drainage system?
Install a goofball exterior shallow frenchie-drain, you know with drain tile?

Dan, diff house, basement leaks, grade does slope away from house/walls and homeowner got suckered into paying am told $1,500 ish for this drain tile garbage… they kept leaking
3 short videos show why, where it actually leaked

same house

same, here is WHY water was allowed to get in basement, regardless of grade and the cost of the drain tile crap

85 yr old homeowner, she was told the ‘pitch’ of her older driveway slabs was "THE’ problem, was told she needed better DRAINAGE, was told the NEW driveway,the better pitch of of new slabs would give her better drainage so that supposedly (pfft) the water wouldn’t get in her basement, total nonsense.
One can see/tell the slabs were UP against bricks ABOVE grade, abobe the newer driveway n can tell she also paid $ n had someone caulk/tar the perimeter along the stupid house, all that n all that $$$ did NOT stop water from getting in her basement, see WHY

News flash, it is never the GRADE, hlll no, that is not why basements leak/seep, nonsense. There is something open, something else occurred that now allows water to get in, this is what i have always found for 41 years and often these homeowners have told me, they were told by a home inspector etc that suppsoedly all they needed to do was raise n slope the grade or add 9 mile long downspout ext’s, TOTAL nonsense, lack of experience on this subject, yes sir. The reason you, some other home inspectors do not know this is because you folks did (d0) NOT find, identify, take the time to unveil the actual existing problem(s), thats right. I understand you aren’t going to do what i do, i get that. So apparently what some HI’s are trying to tell me isthat, what i have seen, found for 41 years is 50-90% untrue, hahhaa and i KNOW without any doubt these statements made by some HI’s are total bullshit.

Say again, every damn leaky basement i have been in over 40 yrs was always due to 1 or more of the folowing, these r most not all
crack (s) on exterior of foundation wall or cracked parging or NO parging on wall
1 or more cracked, open deteriorating mortar joints or bricks just below grade or above grade
openings in, around,just under basement windows or B window sills, SAME with doors
first-floor windows, new or old, have also seen 2nd floor, YES 2nd floor window allow water in bsmt
deteriorated leaky rod holes
openings in, around any service line like a gas line that goes through foundation wall
condensation occurring ON basement wall due to excessive humidity or sometimes from plastic on wall, seen a few where homeowner had toilet in basement near-agst wall n water droplets dripping onto floor creating puddle etc
clog, blockage, break in lateral line (clean out) or a back up from city, sometimes due to idiot operating pump station
sump pump, installed improperly or power went out etc
water lines that run into basement floor, a crack etc occurred in line under floor…
…n several more
NONE of these actual existing problems/defects can be repaired/remedied by toying with the grade aka improper grade/drainage!! Hence anyone recommending grading n other crap INSTEAD of finding how, where, why the water is coming from, where its first-entering or buidling up under floor is lost in space. N say again, since HI isn’t gonna remove some drywall etc in order to help identify the dang real problem is full of it n NOT helping the homeowner, the seller, the buyers, NOPE!!!

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finished basement, leaks… so i was supposed to do what Dan or some others say solves 50–90% of all leaky basements and recommend to this homeowner to raise n slope grade???

IS THIS what Marky should have done??? yes of fk me no? sheesh, irritating as hlll, nothing changes.
LACK of knowledge, lack of experience on this subject is what it is n always has been

See what, where his ACTUAL problems and solution is… it is NOT grading aka better drainage!

Dan, am quite certain you are a good man and a good HI but man oh man you r more than a tad off on this one

Senior homeowner, HE says he received estimate from Foundation systems of Michigan for approx $15,000… and so THAT TOO, an INT system would not have stopped the water from where its entering because they were not going to seal/repair the rod holes etc, they were going to slap some vinyl or plastic sheeting agst the wall and allow the water to continue to enter lol, totally unnecessary to spend $15,000… AND toying witht he grade doesn’t quite repair/seal the rod holes etc now does it.
We’ve been called many, many… MANY times after home inspector or someone else told homeowner to raise n slope the grade, mudjack slabs etc, so we have seen this crap, these so called solutions a TON of times that never solved anything! Yep, the home inspector or whoever walks away incorrectly thinking/assuming their recommendation solved the problem when the truth is, it did not and these homeowners simply did NOT call YOU back!!! smfhtenorffg

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To be totally clear … I grew up in a foundation / heavy equipment family building basements for houses, shopping centers, apartments, and doing streets, highways, etc. Part of my family still have a very prominent foundation repair / water-proofing company in MY area. I know fully well that many basements need a structural OR other type of repair … But in my area we have not done block for many years (poured concrete is what we mainly do), and again with over 35 yrs inspecting plus 20 yrs before that in the trade … I see at least 50% of basements leaking due to issues like poor grade, improper drainage, downspouts next to the foundation, etc. MANY times a leakage problem can be stopped without the high dollar fix. Other times there are unsealed cracks, drain tiles missing, damaged or stopped up that need a stouter fix to stop the leakage.

Each case is different. For a home buyer I may recommend one thing WHILE for an existing homeowner I might recommend they TRY something else to see if a less expensive fix may work.

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all due respect Dan, but having heavy equipment, using heavy equipment n building basements, shopping centers, apt’s, highways doesn’t mean that person has learned, gained the expertise needed on this-subject to find/identify n solve most leaky basements. Doing-this-job hands-on is quite a bit different than building basements, apts, highways.

i can see you have what you have in your head n so, nobody is gonna change your tune.

Dan, how many leaky basements, bowed in walls have you dug out, repaired/waterproofed and guaranteed for 20 or more years?

Recommending grading games and not identifying, not determining the exact problem (s) AND NOT offering a long guarantee on re-grading or whatever your recommendation on leaky basements isn’t quite the same as locating where, how, why the water is truly getting in, fixing it and a 20 year guarantee on that area waterproofed.

If HI’s had to guarantee their words, their bs recommnedations on leaky basements they’d change their tune in a heartbeat
GRADE was raised 2 bricks high, did doing that solve the leaky basement at-near this corner? No, see why water was allowed to get IN underneath the raised grade

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I see Mark is playing with holes&crackz, again :slight_smile:

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seeeeeeeecret, ssssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhh, know what Bubbamilk did to that ho?

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Mark, I’m afraid to ask :face_with_raised_eyebrow: :upside_down_face:

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you n all others should be, got milk?

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Not only, but it brings all the chicks to my backyard! Ya dig! LOL

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hahahaa how about this one?
OPEN, From Dusk 'till Dawn, Ti__Y Twister
got milk?

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There doesn’t always have to be foundation wall cracks to cause water seepage into basements. Hydrostatic pressure alone can force water under the footing and up through floor cracks and sometimes between the wall/footing joint. There are some basements built in poor soil types that drain very slowly, i.e. like a sponge they hold water and may have a high water table within a foot of the ground surface. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) publishes soil survey manuals for just about every county. If you have one, they typically publish tables showing soil types that are bad for basement foundations typically due to high soil moisture content and/or high shrink-swell characteristics. Since all basements will have some cracks develop over time, exterior water management is something ALL home inspectors should recommend. Will it stop a basement from leaking, maybe or maybe not. There are situations especially on hill side homes where subsurface water needs to be addressed. In other situations, depending on the soil type and location the basement should never have been built there in the first place. It was common in southern Missouri for 1940’s and older basements to have a 3 or 4 inch gutter formed in the basement floor at the base of the walls that drained into a sump pit or out through a floor drain system. They had the philosophy the basement will leak and planned ahead to deal with it. Inferring home inspectors are stupid for suggesting better exterior drainage to a client does not solve the problem. To solve basement leaks the solution should start long before the house is built. First the proposed location should be checked for soil type, shrink-swell issues, surface and subsurface drainage issues. If the soil type is not suitable don’t build there or be prepared to spend allot of money trying to mitigate the anticipated water problems. Next if you build in areas not ideal for basements you will need expert advice on foundation wall design and waterproofing measures. Back filling with the wrong soil type alone can cause foundation failure. Do your due diligence when selecting contractors. Some unfortunately can’t read building plans or haven’t had training in installing advanced waterproofing materials. I suggest more and better training for homeowners, inspectors and contractors will solve more problems than name calling.

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I recently inspected a house where it had significant issues with water coming in the crawlspace. Poor grading, downspouts with no extension, cracks all over the foundation, I wrote it up and told the client to watch your YouTube videos to help explain issues and preventative maintenance/care/solution. Good job on these videos and keep them coming!

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Like Randy Mayo and I have said … There doesn’t always have to be foundation wall cracks to cause water seepage into basements.

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Agree with Jacob, keep the videos coming because much of the time proper exterior sealing and waterproofing is what is needed.

Mark is crusty and he does great work! LOL

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am with you, and i never said there are always foundation cracks lol.

have seen some crazy ways water got onto basement floors.

grading is bullshit other than it can n does help somewhat limit the amount of saturation in expansive soil which obv can cause problems

blame the builders and city inspectors n codes for backfilling w/expansive soil AND not waterproofing the ext walls, dmproofing is more bullshtt, why bother with that? Oh yeah, codes pft.

am simply explaining what we have seen for 4 decades and i’ll say again, interior drainage system companies are liars, crooks, if anyone bothered to listen to some of the homeowners in some of my videos, that alone should be ample to wake some morons up.

agree some houses/basements should never been built where they were.

way too much focus on drain tiles and very little on waterproofing EXT walls and backfilling with gravel

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thanks Jacob, just trying to help some people because when they seek honest help in their areas, all they’ll often find are the INT system crooks = not good.