House 4 Sale, homeowners previously hired Niwit & Nitwit waterproofing

Specific Inspection Topics Structural Inspections
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that’s right, there are exterior morons as well or, DIYers etc, well Mr Niwwit and son here backfilled with the same clay soil n did not use any hydraulic cement in/over crack so it kept water out for about 1 year lol. The clay soil they backfilled with settled and as it settled it pulled own the top 1’ or so of the tar that was applied and the top of visqueen as you can see in photos, WASTE of money! YOU think your saving a few hundred when, obviously your not.

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also note the GRADE, is the grade raised and sloped away enough for you? And why didn’t this raised grade keep water out? hellloo!

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the RIGHT side of porch is where they leak, was always where they leaked they said

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see the top 1’ or so of the tar and visqueen? lol

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see Marky’s pretty little scraper?

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see any exterior opening where water was getting in? lolol

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done.

please do tell, what good would an interior drainage system and 29 sump pumps have done to STOP further water penetration? And at what cost $ ?

== SCAM!

The exterior crack was not visible from inside the basement, this means lol when you looked at the block walls, where they meet inside there was NO crack, nada, you’d only see water that came in where the bottom of the foundation wall meets the basement floor.

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At least some clients are getting educated by you, Mark, but, not enough compared to the fast talking salesmen for the interior systems.

To keep water out, one has to correct it from the out side!..Sheesh!

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Larry, know how much shit i catch from so many people? It’s unreal man, from some HI’s to many city inspectors etc, then i catch shit from just posting videos or photos on NextDoor or FB etc, i have been 86th from Nextdoor just from posting facts, i see the INT system buttheads even have ‘their own’ on these boards, yep, they most certainly do. Then there is the BBB, Angies List, Home Advisor etc, ALL scams, all there to ‘protect’ the criminal sob, truth.

and some wonder why i’m ‘crusty’ ? lol

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Mark, keep it simple… it’s all about the money. INT = more money first time, INT failure = more money second time, third time, four time, etc… all parties you named benefit financially. Yes, your fellow chimps are selfish, greedy, egoistic creatures, that don’t like to listen unless they are in a happy mood :smiley:

INT solution = address (cover up) the symptom
EXT solution = address (fix) the cause

Mark, keep it simple!

Admit, too, INT systems do work at least in same case at least for some time, at least somewhat. It’s is the reason why they are still used.

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Simon, no sir i cannot n will not do that, no sir. (a simple admisssion that INT systems work)

I’ll put it like this for now, IF and when AFTER going through ALL the possible ways water can get in basements and water still winds up on basement floor then sure, go right ahead and install a partial or full system, but THAT is one of the big problems in this business… the INT system chumps and quite a few homeowners don’t go through the full list of possibilities of the water intrusion, NOPE!

Can, could the installation of an INT basement system “keep water off the floor”, for awhile? Yes sir, of course.

But just because these lying morons are sometimes successful in keeping water ‘off the floor’ does not ever mean, they were honest at the start during the intial inspection/estimate to all homeowners and doesn’t mean the INT terds ‘stopped’ the water from where it was actually entering (like through an EXT crack in block wall which highly likely would have cost much less $ to fix).

I see n hear this incompetent crap all the time from some homeowners who called n hired n had an INT system installed, they say “Markkkkky, i don’t see, get water on my floor anymore after Pee Wee waterproofing installed their system.”

Yes, they are sometimes successful in diverting INCOMING water through walls, that doesn’t quite mean they were HONEST, doesn’t mean the INT system was truly what was needed n again doesn’t mean they were successful in ‘WATERPROOFING’ the basement or the actual existing problem.

When a homeowner tells me that crap, they don’t get water on floor anymore, i ask them, "Ok Mrs Jimmy Beam thats fine, may i ask you how much money you spent of the system? And they say, waay too much, or they tell me the actual number which is many more thousands of dollars was spent when they only were leaking in one or two areas due to a 1 - 2 cracks in wall or some rod holes etc, could have spent MUCH less and would have STOPPED the water from where it is… STILL entering lol

POINT, some homeowners are verrry HAPPY lol that after installing an INT system that cost $15,000 to $25,000 they don’t get water in anymore n they THINK their problems were actually fixed, when they weren’t! Say nth time, they spent many thousands more than necessary for a water diverting system

I can tell ya’s i have seen MANY< MANY times where after a long, heavy rain, homeowners call… they tell me they had Foundation Systems out for an EST, and Everdry and so on and they all wanted to install a full perimeter system n sump… NONE of them brought up the possibility that there could be a problem, a clog etc in the lateral line/clean out… in many cases i have seen, THIS is all the homeowners needed!!! What the INT system chumps do is, THEY will have a plumber come and SNAKE while they are installing their QUACK system… ya folla?

The ONLY thing needed was snaking YET, they continue with their INT system even though it was not at all necessary, homeowners out many thousands

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I hear you… Let me ask you, when the exterior stem wall is waterproofed from top to bottom of the footing, can water find its way under the footing and up through the floor/slab? how is this fixed the proper way?

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in 40+ years HERE i never seen a problem with water getting on floor that, got on floor lol, from going under a footing. I did see ONE where water got on floor periemter in one 10’ area and found it was entering through a crack in footing. i have seen 3 where i could NOT determine the exact reason why, where, water was getting on those 3 floors but each case, i could only do so much myself n so i obviously mentioned the only possibilities to homeowners as to why water may be accumulating under their floor and come up along one or more perimeter walls or up through 1 or more floor cracks. THEY needed to do further investigation through others (like a plumber etc) and i am told they did NOT, they hired an INT system co and since, 2 of them have not had water on floors. One of those 2 homeowners was helped my a Nachi member Mike B.

I have seen prolly about 1,000-2,000 homeowners who got water on their floors n it was not coming in through any part of the F walls, most DO get water in on floors that first enters through wall (s) so many many more thousands.

Most of those had a blockage or other problem in their clean out/lateral line.

Some got the water pooling on floors because city pumping stations operator fell asleep or pumps didn’t work etc.

Some had water accumulating under floors from a leak in their water-line that goes DOWN in through the concrete floor.

The leaky basements i have looked at on-site in Ohio and PA, all had water coming in through walls which puddled on floors and these and many other leaky basements can FOOL homeowners and others because they ONLY see the water where bottom of foundation wall and floor meet n so, they are easily fooled by many INT system scammers who tell them they supposedly have a hydrostatic pressure problem under their floors that only their INT system can remedy which i’ve shown repeatedly was ALL bullshtt, lies.

I had 2 homeowners who had ONE hole in their basement floor,small hole by, under their last step into basement n they’d get water that would come up through it, told 'em try jamming hydraulic cement in that stupid hole and, they did n did not get any more water in lol. We all get water under our floor so, just like basement walls, any cracks/openings can allow water in, UP in a case of a floor. Obvious differnce with a floor is it’s horizontal and cannot get underneath it to seal/waterproof it lol, walls are vertical. But yeah, we all get water under floors, especially during, after a good rain so no mystery to me that there’s x-amount of water under a floor, it doesn’t at all mean that ‘the drain tiles are clogged under floor’, ya know, that often used bogus line by INT co’s

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scroll down to, TOO much too Quick
in-part it goes,
‘The sewers are not built to handle that much water in short period of time’

'The massive amount of water seeped through cracks in the sewer LATERALS and main pipes, THEN flowed BACK into homes… any blockage in the laterals from homes TO main pipes compounded the problem…

‘…Kappel pegged ’ clogged laterals as the CAUSE of much of the basement flooding…’
https://archive.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee48646722.html/

and we can guess how many homeowners called INT system co’s here, and of course elsewhere and get scammed and lost $$$ when they only needed a plumber

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Mark, first you say:

Then you say:

I’m just trying to understand something… forget the INT systems… let’s assume there are no sewer laterals or any other leaky plumbing…

Here is the question: strictly speaking natural sources of water (rain, groundwater, streams, creeks, etc…) Since we cannot get under the slab to waterproof it, is it possible for water to come up through the slab and or its perimeter where it abuts the walls? yes or no? if yes, how is it fixed?

Your first part of the reply made it sound like the water cannot come up once it’s under the slab… your second part of the reply made it sound like it’s possible.

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well i’m juggling a few things at the moment so IF it seemed like i was here n there, so sorry lol,

first i deal in reality when the subject is leaky basements and so it seems like you are trying to get rid of some or alot of what i see n deal with every day, week, decades, just saying not bitching brother.

yes is the answer as i DID say that, yes, yes yes lol

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…i mean, you said slab, well let me spin that at ya, a slab, like a driveway or patio slab, answer again would be yes, water gets under patio slabs, driveway slabs and can OOZE up through an opening, right? lol

i looked back at that post, you asked about water getting under FOOTING n then on floor, i did answer it lol. i said i have seen that, not under a footing n then on floor.

the water that gets under many floors is because or should i say, through the T-tile openings, through footing at-near middle of basement wall-footing, yes even though there is a T-tile there, water still goes IN through those openings and then UNDER the basement floor

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There is a reason why I removed those obvious elements such as plumbing. Of course if the plumbing is leaking that is what you fix… of course if there is a crack in the wall you fix that crack. Those are obvious… what isn’t obvious is what I’m asking about and trying to understand :slight_smile:

So, now that you said the water can get under and then come up (OOZE) through the floor (I say a slab because all basements here where I am are concrete slab) through those places you mentioned, what is the fix for it?

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fix ? lolol as i mentioned, water will always get under B floors, yes sir, doesn’t mean there is a leaky basement. But water will get under floors through those holes in footings where T tile exists, if you are saying THAT is a problem then i disagree.

i mentioned several ways Simon, that water can ACCUMULATE and rise… under a floor, n i gave some of the solutions.

I did not say that water entering through footing holes causes leaky basements, i said water can get under floor slab because of the holes, most houses here have them but again i said, water gets under floors through these but i didn’t say it caused flooding etc in basement.

N i said, what i have repeatedly seen in regard to leaky basements where there were NO cracks in walls etc that one main reason is because of a clog in lateral line/clean out, solution = plumber

i popped that JS ONLINE link, many leaky, flooded basements… from UNDERNEATH, yeah some water came in through B windows etc, point is many of those were caused by lateral line problems as the guy stated, TOO much TOO quick, sewer not built to handle that much water, thats in Milwaukee

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Okay, I’m giving up… I tried… you keep going back to the sewer laterals… and windows and wall cracks. All I was trying to understand is if there can be a water seepage going around the waterproofed foundation wall, its footing, and then coming up through the basement’s concrete slab that isn’t caused by plumbing, leaky windows, doors, wall cracks, and tree roots pushing on the foundation walls. And if so, what would the solution be since we cannot dig under and seal the slab from below. Don’t know why it’s so confusing, but I guess it can be, or perhaps it’s something else. Maybe the answer is no, but it sounds like it could be a yes, I’m still not sure. Well, I tried :slight_smile:

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Simon, lolool i said i have personally never seen a leaky basement due to, what u asked, due to water that is getting in UNDER the footings, NO, i saw one where water got in THROUGH a crack in footing, yes.

i have answerd your questions left n right, sheesh, what are YOU getting at? hahaha

i have not seen water go under footings n then onto floors no, thats me 40 yrs.

If you are asking something like, if a house, basement was built on a SWAMP let’s say n even when it wasn’t raining sometimes homeowners would get water on floor DUE to house built where it shouldn’t have been built on a swamp, then i guess they would need at least lol several sump pumps to try n control that amount of water under a floor, slab, what say YOU brother Simon

Did you miss the article i posted where a homeowner hired an INT system co, they did their thing, they had intitially put in 2 sump pumps, well kept leaking, eventually they had 9 sump pumps installed, several already replaced and Simon, still leaked hahahahaaaaasaaa Yes sir!

Simon wants me to say, that INT system can sometimes help DIVERT water in leaky basements, yes, they can divert water n keep FLOOR dry, sometimes… but your azz better watch out because these INT companies r good at ONE thing, lying to you, bsing you into the ONE thing they do.

Yeah i do one thing, they do one, they say they give you options, MY azz! OPtions as to how much green ya got, thats about it.

Where is R Young, HE could have gave you the answer you wanted a long time ago lololllll

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I was asking… and learning, listening closely… I looked at a 6k sqft house by water with 6 sump pumps… nobody lived in it for months, private sewer, water meter not spinning, no rain for a week… the pumps were running nonstop. I asked myself what would happen if they didn’t have them. Would they have water inside the basement or not. I don’t know the answer to that, not yet. Yes, I understood (long ago) that most of the time the issue is either lack of proper foundation waterproofing and or plumbing leak. Glad we could make some progress, I never seen you say what you did above (I could’ve missed it).

Let’s make something clear :slight_smile: I don’t care or promote INT systems… I’m here to learn building science and your hands-on experience is very valuable and much appreciated! Thank you!

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i can post some photos or videos of the following if ya like lol, but here’s a thought, have you Simon ever seen some INT systems where, its obvious, the perimeter floor, the concrete was poured back in too thin of course, and when it rains there are damp spots in several areas right where they put their concrete back in? And have ya noticed that concrete pretty often cracks in several areas, then water or dampness appears? I sure have lol

The US Army Corps Engs did a long massive study in Amerst NY, one of things THEY found n stated was , "Most of the basement floor slabs they CORED were significantly thinner than what the plans called for.

Thin floors can be a problem, water gets under all of ours floor so if one or more areas of the floor is thin and one gets a heavy long rain then the water that can accumulate under a floor get wet, saturate that thin shtt and appear on the floor or it gets damp

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and Simon, sorry so many … why don’t the powers that be who conjure up duh codes, make it mandatory to have all exterior F walls waterproofed, not damproofed, and backfilled with mostly gravel and, lol, why not go ahead and make it code to use reinforcing steel in walls and may as well put in sump pump too,a good one, in areas like the swamps of Jersey etc

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There are provisions for drainage, waterproofing, and backfill (especially for areas with expansive soils). Of course, you will probably not agree with most of their “waterproofing” :slight_smile: but it is there nonetheless for new construction.

R406.2 Concrete and Masonry Foundation Waterproofing

In areas where a high water table or other severe soil-water conditions are known to exist, exterior foundation [walls] that retain earth and enclose interior spaces and floors below *[grade] shall be waterproofed from the higher of (a) the top of the footing or (b) 6 inches (152 mm) below the top of the [basement] floor, to the finished *[grade]. [Walls] shall be waterproofed in accordance with one of the following:

  1. Two-ply hot-mopped felts.
  2. Fifty-five-pound (25 kg) roll roofing.
  3. Six-mil (0.15 mm) polyvinyl chloride.
  4. Six-mil (0.15 mm) polyethylene.
  5. Forty-mil (1 mm) polymer-modified asphalt.
  6. Sixty-mil (1.5 mm) flexible polymer cement.
  7. One-eighth-inch (3 mm) cement-based, fiber-reinforced, waterproof coating.
  8. Sixty-mil (1.5 mm) solvent-free liquid-applied synthetic rubber…
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yeah one can waterproof the ext walls in areas where high water table exists but where’s the gravel backfill against ext walls, and re-in steel in walls, talk to your people Simon lol