Concrete huh? So again, some home inspectors/realtors etc incompetently tell homeowners like this homeowner they should mudjack 1+ slabs INSTEAD of finding/fixing the actual existing problems where the water enters.
There WAS concrete right up against the house/wall, right where we dug.
So please exxxxxxxxxxxxxxplain in full, exactly how mudjacking any slabs repair/waterproofs any exterior crack in basement wall or, other exterior opening and… please explain how mudjacking any slabs keeps SUBSURFACE water from going, getting underneath driveways, underneath RAISED grades etc and then going through a crack in a basement wall as in the stoooopid video???
A few times a homeowner may be getting a little water in basement and they think 1 or more concrete slabs that have settled a bit is why they leak and so, they mudjack that 1+ slab, and maybe won’t leak for awhile… as in this photo http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/April28201302#5871915912991147138
Looking at this photo, IF something like this was the only opening that was right where the concrete was, and then the slab was mudjacked then, sure, if that concrete slab is NOW (after mudjacking it) right against the wall, right where this opening is, then the homeowner may stay dry, for awhile…until the likelihood of the slab settles again.
Other times, a homeowner might only have something like this/photo, where the scraper is under the sill… http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing96#6135483331954035154
So Mr Deakins or a few other homeowners might just have 1 or 2 of these and so, if they mudjack an existing slab OR, pour a new driveway against the house/wall RIGHT where one of these openings are then, it may be enough to keep water out, for awhile
Mr Deakins, back to your supposed problem/minor leak, mudjacking, drain across the back etc.
You said you own a house that supposedly has… ‘perfect basement walls, crack free, and the wall were perfectly parged on the outside’… right?
So we’ll assume your foundation walls then, IF parged, are block or brick foundation walls.
Block and brick walls OFTEN have 1 or more EXTERIOR cracks in them with NO VISIBLE cracks seen inside. These cracks can be just cracks in the exterior parging or actual cracks in the block, outside.
So just because you and others may not see any crack on the inside walls does not ever mean there aren’t 1 or more exterior cracks… or OTHER exterior openings in the wall below grade, or ABOVE grade.
Wish you’d explain how you know without question that the parging on the outside of all your walls is, ‘perfect’. The ONLY means of doing that, of knowing that, would be to be able to SEE the outside of the wall, see the parging and, nobody can do that without digging. So in my honest opinion, you do not know the true condition of the parging, of the exterior of the walls.
And sir, what I would have recommended to you, as I have many other homeowners (in order to truly find/identify the small leak), would have been, run a water-test.
Because, sometimes a homeowners ONLY problem (where the stupid water FIRST-enters), is… ABOVE ground, above grade, above a patio,concrete slabs.
I don’t know exactly WHAT, where your problem(s) is.
I DO know that, from what you said in your posts, you did NOT find/identify your problem.
You spent money on mudjacking etc, fine. It’s your house, do what you like.
And the fact you have not had 1 drop of water in the basement since you did what you did is nice to hear, I do hope you never get a drop in again.
However, you might, it’s possible because sir, IF your problem (where the water first entered) is some sort of exterior openings ABOVE grade, umm, it’s still open and so, IF… this is part or all of your problem then, on 1 of the next wind blown—rains you, like many others will get a few more drops of water in. A wind blown rain would need to be one that soaks/wets the SIDE of the house where the opening(s) above grade is.
Another possibility is, IF… you have a small, hairline crack in the exterior parging below grade and NO openings above grade then, so far, you have spent $$ on things that can/have diverted enough water away… from a possible hairline crack BUTT, if that hairline crack WIDENS, even just a little bit then, you may begin to leak again.
And IF, the soil used as backfill against your walls is… sandy then, that too helps. For those who have clay etc, they are never as lucky.
It would be nice to know how much MONEY you spent on mudjacking and that exterior drain.
Because, IF… you do have a small hairline crack on the outside of the wall below grade, it may have cost LESS to actually FIX the problem/crack versus what you did. I’m not shtting on ya, as I already said, it’s your house, do what you want.
IF… you do have 1 or 2 exterior hairline cracks in, say, a small area of around 5–7’ in length then, waterproofing that small exterior area would have likely cost around $1,300-- 1,500… includes saw-cutting about 18" by 5—7’ concrete apron in order to hand dig and waterproof. So again, wondering how much $$$ you spent on mudjacking and the exterior drain, if you don’t mind.
Maybe that (1,300-1,500) would have been around the same, maybe a little more than you spent buttttt, at least you’d have known (if you had a water test done first), that exterior waterproofing of that area would have fixed the actual problem.
Say again, some homeowners only have 1+ exterior openings ABOVE ground level and THAT is where the water first enters so, running a water test before any money is spent, is often the best way to do things/determine the problem. And for those homeowners who have openings above grade, they obviously do not need any kind of waterproofing or mudjacking or exterior drain etc. They simply need to seal/tuckoint etc whatever that above grade opening is.
Sometimes there are several like this (photo, link below), sometimes they are smaller/thinner, only 1 http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing33#5444004984711239682
Mr Deakins, please see these photos i took of one of our jobs. The buyer sued the seller, won.
The seller, either on their own or, told and lied to by a concrete contractor that, pouring a NEW driveway with a better slope, properly pitched new concrete slabs would SOLVE their leaky basement http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing14
See the new driveway?
The supposed properly pitched slabs that were supposed to, solve the leaky basement?
That cost over $6,000.
Did spending over $6,000 find/determine and then fix the actual existing problems/defects prior to the sale of the house? Nope, sure didn’t.
So the seller or the concrete contrctor etc, apparently like you sir, did NOT know to, or want to… first, find, determine how and where the water was actually coming in.
Your not selling your house now so, do what you want, again, its your house, your money.
BUTT for those like the seller of house in photos above, on one hand I feel bad for them because I know some homeowners DO want to correctly find and fix whatever their existing problems are. Some is key word.
On the other hand, sellers who know they have a problem, a leak etc and don’t get it fixed correctly, whatever it is (waterproofing, tuckpointing, caulking need around service lines etc etc), or they hide it or raise and slope the grade etc, screw em, they derserve an azz fkg.
Who knows other than the sellers (photos above), maybe they got pizzed after they spent $6,000+ on the totally unnecessary new driveway, and said, shtt, we still leak but we spent $6,000 and that’s all we’re going to spend, let someone else/the next homeowner deal with it.
This homeowner rarely leaked, driveway side wall. Some nitwit poured concrete on top of concrete, on top of concrete http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing63
Did pouring more concrete on top of existing concrete find/determine why and where the water was entering the basement in this area? Nope.
This is pretty much the same thought-process as, mudjacking slabs or, pouring a new driveway so that the slabs pitch away better from duh house. Somehow, magically I guess, they think ALL the water will be, will get diverted away from the basement wall. Guess again! looolll
So, I’m cramming it up everyone’s azz? And some don’t like that kind of approach? Really? Can anyone SEE why?!?!
For over 20 years, I… and a few others, tried the DELICATE approach instead of cramming it up duh azz. That didn’t do shttt either.
That’s what we call, the puzzie approach, yep. I do the puzzie approach on ‘nearly’ all estimates, yep, lool. Not on message boards anymore, no.
There have been a few homeowners who, duuuuhhhhhhhhhhhh, were already ripped off by an interior system company, still leaked, who needed someone to BARKKKKKKK at them, wake em up a tad, sowy to be duh one.
Back to the last set of photos… IF there was NO exterior crack and no OTHER exterior openings and IF the wall was parged THICK enough then, they would NOT have leaked.
It wasn’t about the grade, it wasn’t about some dorky azz supposed problem with the drain tiles, jesus kristmas.
There were, existing exterior cracks/openings that allowed water to enter!! I ran a water to test, as I do on many estimates, and… water entered, right along the cove, the I-joint, the cold joint aka… loool, where the bottom of the basement wall and floor meet!
If someone/homeowners asks my old ugly azz about shtttt like raising and sloping the grade or say, caulking/tarring along the house-driveway etc then I say to them something like this, Hey, it’s your house, try whatever you like and keep your fingers crossed and pray nightly. You may be able to divert enough water away, for awhile. BUTT, by doing these half azz’d things which by the way, some of things water diverting attempts cost more money that could have been used to friggin waterproof the dang problem, they will leak/seep again and its always best, especially if your selling your dang house to, FIND the problem and then fix the stooped problem correctly.
George Carlin on God and religion… rut ro. RELIGION has convinced people that there’s an invisible man living in the sky…and he has a special list of 10 things he does not want you TA do…
Kind of like interior basement system companies, and some other moronic sobs who convince homeowners all they need is an interior basement system.
Bubba’s with George on dis one, overnight Bubba because a sun worshipper. Well, not overnight, ya can’t see duh sun at night, butt first thing the next morning.
Several reasons, first of all i can see the sun, unlike some other gods I could mention. If you can see something it kind of helps the credibility along.
There are no crucifixions and we don’t set people on fire because they don’t agree with us.
Sun worship is fairly simple (like diagnosing most leaky basements that most companies don’t bother ta do),
there are no mysteries, no miracles, no one asks for money, there are no songs to learn and we don’t have a special building where we all gather once a week to compare clothing.
And the best thing about the sun is that it never tells Bubba he is unworthy, it doesn’t tell me I’m a bad person who needs to be saved…
yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaw
So, some homeowners do NOT see any crack on the inside of their block or brick basement wall. Well shtt, that means… nothing!!! It does not at all mean they don’t have an exterior crack or cracked exterior parging on the OUTSIDE of the wall. Hello?
Inside a basement, homeowner leaks in this area, at bottom of wall/where bottom of basement wall and the floor meet.
In this basement (and go FULL screen on this/any video), other than a step crack you don’t SEE any cracks when you look at the block wall
BUTT, on the outside (this video), you’ll see multiple cracks. One more time, most of these exterior cracks are NOT visible on the inside
Just because a home inspector or homeowner or realtor etc etc does not see any crack in a block or brick basement wall when they look at the inside of the wall, does not ever mean they’re aren’t 1++ exterior cracks and anyone who says differently is completely full of shttt, incompetent and they are quite a few, truth hurts sometimes.
And parging? Nobody has Superman vision so nobody knows whether there is 1 or more exterior cracks in the parging. Even on NEW homes, say a week old. One may think and hope the parging hasn’t cracked, but it sure as shtt could already be cracked.
Like I said I agreed with your statements on fixing the root problems, and simply added that grading can and does also matter, and with all of your experience I really can’t see how that can be denied. Obvious there have been some HI’s that you have encountered that have gotten you really pissed off, but I’m not one of them. I work my *** off for my customers trying to help them as much as I possibly can in every way, so I would appreciate it if you didn’t generalize so much and try to make the entire industry look so bad.
To answer your question about my mudjacking,
Like I said there are two tiny pencil lead size seeps of water coming in from between the foundation block and floor slab, presumably either between the block and footer, or coming from all the way under the footer, of which cannot be determined unless it was dug up just like you say. Sure, there may be a hairline crack on the outside of the block wall not visible on the inside, the water may be running down the inside of the block to reach its final destination, absolutely.
It cost me $600 total to have it mudjacked along with the front sidewalk re-leveled at the same time, and I hand dug my French drain and spent maybe $100 on drainage supplies and since I had just also expanded my driveway I had 20 ton of gravel to scab a few scoops from for the French drain.
I am perfectly capable of operating an excavator and a concrete saw, plenty of experience on that here, and it would have cost me $500 to rent them both. I could have spent this money and dug down and found the cause of these two pencil lead size leaks, and if worse to comes to worse maybe one day I end up having to do that, but if I went through all that time and trouble, would I really want to continue to let 1,436 gallons of rain sheet to my newly repaired foundation every spring?? The answer is HELL NOOOOOO! I would still have done the mudjacking and drain work.
Damn dude why so bitter and angry, with all your cussing you should be able to take a little bit of what you dish out too, its perfectly fine for me to say that you present your argument in a dick nature, just as its perfectly fine for you to behave that way, its a free country but don’t get upset if somebody actually tries to have an intelligent conversation with you. Don’t be so one sided, just because some people don’t know what they are talking about doesn’t mean that nobody does. All I’m saying is that cracks or no cracks, water should be graded/carried/drained away from the foundation, its common sense.
Admittedly though, I have not been able to watch your videos, I only have the time to mess around on these forums when I am clocked in at my other job, and their internet security blocks all social media including youtube, unfortunately. But I will make a point to watch them at home when I have time, just very busy with two jobs.
Lool ok, well I am going to put it this way, if I am a dkkkhead then, you and quite a few other here are also dkkkheads.
Yeah yeah, no time to watch vid’s or look at photos but you and some other nachi members have the time to criticize my azz, sure.
Have taken a boatload of time to help anybody, for years here, elsewhere such as homeowners from other fricking states and in Canada and have never asked for a dang cent and I don’t need the added bulllshtt from HI’s who have fkd over quite a few homeowners, they’re clients who pay them.
Amazing really, quite a few home inspectors, home inspector organizations profess to want to help their clients and claim they ‘inspect’ the foundation walls and claim they continue their learning skills, nonsense!
You/others won’t read what my azz knows in ANY home inspector course or any frickin book, sobs take my azz for granted, fine, fk ya’s. I try and tell and inform and show all homeowners to believe VERY FEW home inspectors on this subject. Why? It’s so fkg obvious if one understands this subject, which most HI’s do not. Add that quite a few home inspectors, some Nachi members, only recommend interior system companies to unknowing homeowners.
Scamming sobs getting $$ for the bllshttt referrals. Truth, honestly, ethics for HI’s? pffttttttt
Lastly, for the 10 or so years I have been posting here, I’ve said time after time, go ahead and try and divert some surface water away… fine!!! But don’t sit there and post bulshhhtttt and try and tell my azz that most leaky basements can be solved by raising and sloping the grade, that… is fkg nonsense, incompetence. That’s what I have often said.
Go back to Nachi archives and read it. Since around 2005, that’s what I’ve been saying and know without any fricking help from any HI, anywhere.
Oh and, go back in the Nachi archives and read carefully, all the SHTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT I had to put up with for the first 1-2 years. Real PROFESSIONALISM from some Nachi members, real nice folks!
So what you are saying is that the repairs that you and other qualified individuals such as yourself make, are quite possibly subject to becoming cracked in say, a week or so? Better keep that rain water graded/drained/carried away. I don’t know man, you tell me, does the truth hurt?
J/K, lol, lighten up man, you got good info to share, and so do I.
I never criticized you at all, I agreed with what you said except your denial of proper grading mattering, and I never called you a dkkkhead, I said you are acting like a dick to people you have never met. Maybe you need to see a councilor.
I said…
even with a new house, it’s possible the exterior parging can crack in a day, week etc, that’s what I said and that’s what you missed. Many new houses, the exterior walls, get parged. NOT waterproofed and not backfilled correctly. We waterproof, we don’t parge and toss the same shtt back in the holes. jesus looolllll
By the way, you sir just claimed you know your basement walls are ‘perfect’ and were ‘perfectly parged and crack free’.
I said, no you don’t…you do not know if the exterior parging has 1++ cracks.
With all due respect to you and other HI’s, come on people, there’s no way in hlll and no way on this-planet you have anywhere near the expertise on this subject as my azz or J McEwen or a FEW others. You would have had to be in these work boots for 30++ to maybe understand nearly the same, got dat? Do most home inspectors here/anywhere bother to take a little time and read it, understand it? Nope.
Here it is again http://www.johnmcewen.ca/waterproof.php
There is no frickin book and few other means that I am aware of, where you’ll see/find most of the facts/truths on this subject, period. Stick that in your weed or crack pipes and light yourselves on fire. J McEwen is one that has some good shtt and I have posted many times.
Same goes for my azz or other waterproofing contractors, we don’t have anywhere near the expertise on electrical or heating and cooling or roofing etc etc. Persoanlly my plate if full enough of this shttty azz job/subject so I don’t venture out into other shttt claiming I know electrical etc, have never.
Funny though that some home inspectors ignorantly think they know all about this subject, pftttt, like hllll
See, over and over, some Nachi members come on here and talk shtttt, they criticize my azz because they either, do not like what I say, wtf I know because it goes against a lot of what they have on their websites or goes against what they have told many homeowners/clients. It goes against what they THOUGHT was true. Oh well, as my old azz has said, sometimes the truth fkg hurts. Other times some HI’s don’t like wt f I say because they get PAID $$$$ recommending/referring 1 or more interior system companies or prodcuts and, what I know and post here goes against that shtt as well. Fk um.
Go ahead, read what Johnny Mac says, knows… from HANDS ON experience, experience you good folks do not have, sorry. See what he says about interior basement systems and all the other crap.
Shtt lool, i’ll even give ya’s an out NOT to bother reading it or watching my videos etc… because, even if you read it or watched the videos you may not understand it… OR, you might read his article or watch some of my videos and actually understand some or a lot of it BUTT, butt-crack, you still haven’t been in John’s boots or mine for 30+ years, seeing all of the dumb incompetent BULLLLSHTTT that I try and bring to light, right cheer g dammmittt looooll
So, instead of truly learning something on this stinky azz subject, you continue to blindly believe other crap.
Other crap may consist of home inspector learning courses that I have yet to see anything on wtf I post about.
Or the same nonsense gets talked about back n forth on home inspector blogs, see quite a few of those, barf.
Or they blindly believe these inside system azz wipes, some that have spoke at Nachi and other HI organizations chapter meetings!
There are a few, here, who understand this crap azz business enough and understand why I often post about it.
Some don’t like it, me… tough titties
I likely won’t live too long (don’t weep for Bubba) and certainly won’t prosper much in this shtt-whore scamming business…hope you/others do, good day sir, best to ya.
Having grown up in a foundation and heavy equipment company let me explain one thing. YES a huge amount of basement leakage issues are caused by things like:
Improper / Negative slope or grading;
Improper or missing swales in the yard;
Drives, patios, walks, etc that have settled to the building;
No gutters or downspouts;
Gutters and downspouts clogged;
Blocked foundation drain tiles;
Downspouts stopping too close to the foundation;
Small cracks in a foundation that need permanently sealed;
My job is to always ‘FIND’ the homeowners actual-problem and then let them know how to fix it for good, not guess at 1 or more things.
All estimates i go on, (ummm where homeowners call because they have 1+ leaks in basements), my thought process is always…find/determine/locate the homeowners problem(s). Fairly often i know i will need to run a ‘water-test’ on the outside of where the homeowner gets water in basement inside in order to… lolol, find, determine their problem. Water doesn’t LIE, humans LIE and in this–business, they lie all the time and about many things, yep.
If one really wants to fix their leaky basement for good they will first find/determine what their problem(s) is, and again… fix it correctly.
These photos/link below goes to your/others approach…
—homeowner leaked in several areas on side of house
—the grade was recently raised
—nobody bothered or knew to, first, find/determine where/why the water was getting in!
Need to know what the problem is…in order to fix it! Goodness!
Just another homeowner who took your approach and continued to leak and is out the time and cash they paid a landscaper to grade.
It would have COST the homeowner LESS, had they found a dumb azz like me who would have found their problem and fixed 'em.
Say that again, it would have cost the homeowner LESS money to do what I did and not pay a landscaper for grading.
What about this single mother that bought this house?
All concrete slabs slope, are pitched, AWAY…and, the seller tarred along the edge of house/driveway and then they patched and painted the basement walls inside… did all that rookie crap SOLVE the actual leaks? Nope. http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing27
And what about other homeowners who leak in basement because they have 1 or more openings ABOVE grade, above ground level, such as open-cracked deteriorated mortar joints and bricks or openings where service lines enter or openings/crevices around basement windows or doors etc, what about them?
HOW does grading or mudjacking, or adding 9 MILE LONG downspout extensions etc fix/tuckpoint,caulk etc all these?
How does your/others approach, fix these?
It doesn’t, it’s impossible… that why I know, it’s always best to… first find/determine how–where the water is allowed to get in, in order to get the one and only solution.
Have posted thousands of photos, hundreds of videos of exactly the same thing YET, some of you folks continue to believe, what you believe loooollll, amazing.
Blocked foundation drain tiles? We have never, throughout all 38 years, ever, found that any or all exterior drain tiles that were clogged etc be any—reason as to why those homeowners leaked in their basements.
Please answer my simple questions.
If a homeowner was to call YOU, and they tell you they are getting water in basement in… say, 1 or 2 areas, you’ll go over there but you won’t find/determine their actual problem(s)… right?
INSTEAD, you’ll go over there and if their grade is low or, there is some dorky low spot, you’ll tell them to add soil, slope the grade…right? And if their downspout extension is say, 5’ long, you’ll tell them to add another 10’ or so, right?
Or, if they have 1 or more concrete slabs that are right on the outside of a leaky area in basement, you’ll tell them to have the slabs mudjacked, right? Does Bubba have this correct sir?
You’ll recommend those, and maybe other things, and NOT first find/determine how-where the water is actually getting in.
A 2 minute video is you care to see for yourselves. Homeowner HAD concrete right there, right where their leak was and there was nothing wrong with the PITCH of the slab and, they TRIED tarring (a lot of tar) along the edge of house and driveway, the entire length of house and driveway. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIQ004ae9AM enlarge these videos if you like, go full screen, sheesh lol
See the exterior drain tiles in this area, nothing wrong with them but, even IF there had been, that would NOT have been ANY reason as to why//where they leaked!
Here, loool, simply put… they leaked because there was a crack in the block wall, PERIOD.
Had there NOT been a crack in the wall or any other opening/crevice etc below grade or above then they would not have leaked.
There are many homeowners with leaky basements, some with mold and-or efflorescence etc who DO want their problem(s) fixed once and for all. They don’t want to guess and play games and keep cleaning shtt up or hope they don’t leak on the next decent rain or thaw. They don’t want to sell their house and worry about getting sued. They want their problem(s) found, and then fixed correctly. Is that much to ask? Nope.
I say all the shtt i do, with all due respect to… ‘most’ of ya’s, not all.
But most of ya’s are WRONG on this subject, period, yes you are. And while I do appreciate most of your peeps backgrounds, prior experience, your wrong, lolol. Somebody could come on here on tell us all they’re the best structural engineer etc etc on the planet but if they disagree with what the videos and photos show and prove and commentary here, they are indeed wrong, on this subject… yep.
Photo album/link… http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/Crawlspace click any photo to enlarge photo, got dat?
The homeowner and the neighbor got together and incorrectly thought that by pouring NEW CONCRETE along the entire side of the house (between the 2 houses) would fix/solve the homeowners leaky basement. Nope, plus their out $$ thousands on incompetent assumptions.
For the nth time (and some actually wonder why I get biiiatchy looool!!!)… look at those photos.
Say again, they are out, they paid thousands of dollars in HOPES that all the new concrete with a better pitch/slope, would solve their leaky basement.
Instead of the bulshtt concrete assumption, they COULD have found someone like my azz who would have come over for FREE (every dang estimate is free, 38 yrs) and looked and listened and then would have ran a water-test…in order to determine/find their actual problems! They would have SAVED those thousands of dollars on concrete which then could have been used/spent of fixing/waterproofing the problems you see in photos.
Oh, I believe that one day job cost $3,200… a couple thousand LESS than the concrete… hmmmmmmmm
Say again… all DUE resssssspect to most but, if some here do not have the time to view some of the photo albums and watch some of the videos, you won’t learn what you should know, in order to help your clients better.
The PHOTOS clearly show the wall is bowed in, and there are multiple exterior cracks, no parging and… some DISINTEGRATED blocks.
Hmmm, please explain how ANY 2 dollar prayer-book and assumptions would fix/repair all the exterior openings and, STOP FURTHER blocks from deteriorating/disintegrating?
Your posts are often interesting. Your post here said something very clearly, so lets go over it again. To reiterate your words exactly
That is a repair guru OR expert witness job NOT the average home inspector doing a limited visual inspection during the limited time period of a GENERAL home inspection while he / she is looking at 400 to 600 +/- items…
So if you’re addressing this forum as a repair guru OR expert witness, your probably right. If addressing it as a Home Inspector doing a GENERAL home inspection you’re wrong.
Often quite a few home inspectors tell, recommend to homeowners that have a leaky basement to raise and slope the grade or extend the downspout extensions 29 1/2’ away or mudjack 1+ concrete slabs etc etc… right?
Why?
Quite a few HI’s say/have on their websites they… ‘inspect’ the home, the basement, for water intrusion and inspect the foundation thoroughly.
Well, that isn’t quite true is it.
So why claim it? Why tell homeowners they do, when they don’t.
Then we have some HI’s or former HI’s turned guru-radio-host of home improvement shows who incompetently claim, tell anyone listening who has a leaky basement they only need to raise and slope the grade or extend downspout ext’s 42.3’ away etc… and that by doing this, it will solve MOST leaky basements. NOT true, hardly.
Like this guy, former home inspector of 20 years, apparently…
He wrote, near the end of article… that if homeowners follow his tips, his guidelines, will solve 99% of wet basements.
That is total nonsense, incompetent claim.
The former home inspector in article and some other HI’s who write blogs or have on their websites etc, sure seem to have a lot to say on this subject. Yet when called out on their supposed magical 90% solutions, they have no answer.
Dan, geez man lolol , i see the same stuff written RIGHT HERE, such as in Nachi’s ‘Education and Training, How to Inspect for moisture intrusion course’.
I read, see the same stuff, fairly often too. Students taking the course post some photos and captions of moisture intrusion…i’m talking about the posts there about wet, damp, leaky basements and the supposed claims by students (who apparently are following Nachi protocol, err ummm just want to pass the course)
Dan, I look at some of those photos and comments and say, what the hlll are they talking about? What are they really learning? So another group of HI’s will come onto the scene and, on this subject, carry on the same old crap/nonsense about leaky basements. I am not knocking the students! They’re doing what they’re told to, pass duh course.
Same type of things in Nachi Structural inspection course, example post #174… photo of corner foundation wall, there’s a hairline crack in the wall yet nothing is said about waterproofing the dumb crack. They said WATER MANAGEMENT is the key.
Really?
Generalists, general home inspection? Well then why do so many HI’s make comments/reports on cracked basement walls, leaky basements such as in the same thread, Nachi structural inspection course, post # 307… photo of horizontal crack in block wall…the HI wrote, “Photo from an inspection I completed recently…after reviewing all the factors I had determined the most likely cause was from poor site drainage…”
Hmm, a generalist, a general home inspection/inspector says poor drainage was the cause so, is he saying and recommending to homeowners to… raise and slope the grade or extend downspout ext’s 89 miles away?
See what i mean? WHY state this stuff?
Well then maybe, just maybe most home inspectors doing a GENERAL home inspection shouldn’t make comments, recommendations like this HI in videos’ below (not saying he isn’t a good HI on other things)…
INSIDE a basement, inspection http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYCmU9CrFlw
…Dan, an interior basement terdball system already installed by one of the many scamming butt brains. How much did that crap cost?? Yeah.
The HI says nothing about the interior system.
Same house, outside… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VNNmYul6OU
He says, his recommendations are hopefully adhered to… his recommendations are for longer downspouts etc and says any further deterioration of walls should be halted if homeowner follows his recommendations.
Really? Hmm, a general home inspection?
So apparently what the HI doesn’t understand, doesn’t care to say and it’s just a tad of importance lolol, is that the house, the walls have EXTERIOR CRACKS, multiple exterior cracks that allow water in, that often cause some mold or efflorescence, staining on interior walls
Had he been trained better or cared to seek and learn more BEFORE he speaks about this shtt, he could have explained quite a few things/facts to the homeowner, this homeowner and others.
He could have told them that the interior system was a WASTE of money, the interior system did not remove, reduce, lessen ANY exterior lateral pressure against the wall and that the interior system did not repair/waterproof the multiple exterior cracks in walls.
Ya feel me?
He says nothing about that BUTT, does make recommendations to play with the grade/downspout ext’s…
why???
I thought most of you good peeps/HI’s were generalists, thought you only do general home inspections?
Many home inspectors say duh darnest TINGS, lool, like for other openings in homes ABOVE ground level, many WILL tell homeowners to tuckpoint this, or caulk THAT…but, most never tell homeowners to fix/waterproof the existing cracks, the existing DEFECTS in foundation walls as in the videos above!!! looolllll
Bottom line in those 2 home inspector videos above… had this HI known or cared, he could have helped his client better, could have explained why the interior basement system didn’t do squat and why there ARE existing exterior cracks in basement walls that need to be waterproofed outside and backfill with all gravel which would lessen the weight-pressure against the walls. THEN, after waterproofing and backfilling correctly, THEN ya go right ahead and add 500’ longer extensions, sure
Should not have recommended what he did, sowy. That will not do squat either, it will not keep water from entering the exterior cracks, will not stop-prevent further mold or efflorescence and should not have claimed his recommendation of longer downspout ext’s etc should halt further deterioration of walls because further water will continue to pass through/into the cracks and blocks…that alone will WEAKEN more joints, blocks and…there will still be lateral soil pressure against those walls, 100’ long ext’s or not.
Does he sound like a generalist who simply just did a general home inspection? Hmmm no… I do think he unfortunately opened himself up to, at least losing his inspection fee and possibly getting sued, dat’s what Uncle Bub’s TINKS. He didn’t have-to, but he did.
Even if it was possible to divert ALL water away from 1+ existing cracks in basement walls, which it isn’t, I don’t think you want the SOIL outside, along your foundation walls to… SHRINK, dry out because that also can CAUSE cproblems, cracks etc, yep.
Donan Engineering, basement wall failures… Dan…just like in the video above http://www.donan.com/knowledge-base/article/basement-wall-failures/
In part they wrote, “We have found that some walls fail after a hard rainstorm, but particularly after a sustained drought. Typically the failure is NOT from hydrostatic pressure, but from the SOIL re–expanding or sloughing into an annular space CREATED by the drought-shrunken soils”
So sometimes, some homeowners may need to run water, a hose along their wall/house so that the soil, if its clay or silty, doesn’t…shrink. One can try. However, on long, heavier rains and some thaws they won’t be able to keep that soil from EXXXXpanding aka, lateral soil pressure against wall. Sure go ahead and slope the grade away, it may lessen the amount of lateral pressure against a wall, sometimes…but if a homeowner has a leaky basement, has a crack(s) or wall bowing in, they really need to fix it and backfill correctly.
And the wall is video is bowed in, steps crack etc… Fairfax county Gov link below says what? Do they tell homeowners to raise and slope the grade or extend downspout ext’s on problems like this? http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/publications/marineclay.htm … scroll down to Basement Wall DAMAGE, ummmm like the wall in video
Read likely cause… and their RESOLUTION.
Their resolution doesn’t tell homeowners to raise and slope the grade or extend downspout exts.
In part it says, “Depending on the extent of damage, foundation walls MAY need to be replaced while others can be repaired. To prevent future damage, the clay MUST be removed and replaced with sandy or gravelly soils…and waterproofed outside”
Not inside, not an interior system with carbon shttball fiber straps, not re-grading, not adding 8 mile long downspout ext’s, not mudjacking existing slabs, not painting the walls wiff Drylok, not adding a splashblock etc
The pics I saw you posted several posts back had the soil dug down about a foot and back at least a foot from the foundation. You and I both know that is NOT gonna happen in a visual GENERAL home inspection. ONLY when a foundation contractor or water proofing contractor gets involved and does intrusive testing / inspection.
In my area with predominantly poured concrete basements since the 50’s, a very large majority of wet basements can be cured by the more inexpensive mundane things like:
Improper / Negative slope or grading;
Improper or missing swales in the yard;
Drives, patios, walks, etc that have settled to the building;
No gutters or downspouts;
Gutters and downspouts clogged;
Blocked foundation drain tiles;
Downspouts stopping too close to the foundation;
Small cracks in a foundation that need permanently sealed;
So lets try the inexpensive fixes to start with. If that don’t work bring in the heavy guns. BUT since NOBODY can see whats below grade OR behind the siding or interior finishes to start with … Inspector, buyer, seller, etc has to roll the dice and make their OWN choice on what fits their comfort level.
Here again is the photo album… see the last 3 photos as well as the others. http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing96
The LAST 3 photos was a HUGE indicator of the homeowners actual problems so, NOBODY needed to be…intrusive. lolllll This is, in part what I’m talking about.
It’s a poured foundation… as I said, homeowners already tried your supposed-inexpensive things such as re-grading.
Regrading/landscaper cost them MORE than i charged!!! loooollllllllll
This is also, in part, what I’ve been saying.
These supposedly inexpensive fixes cost those homeowners more and did NOT fix their problems/leak!! wow.
Dan, say again… i/no one dug the trench to identify their problem.
Their problems were determined by… looking at the water, water stains INSIDE… the last 3 photos.
I could have done a water-test as well but these homeowners understood most of their problem//understood most of the water was getting in where one sees the multiple exterior crevices/gaps and understood, after the fact $$$, that regarding couldn’t, wouldn’t solve their leaks.
Nobody can see whats below ground… but a few of us who have dug/worked below ground have repeatedly seen all the types of enrty points that… most home inspectors rarely if ever have seen, that realtors don’t see, that landscapers etc etc never see, will never know about hence, cannot diagnose the homeowners problems and always want to reach for that 2 dolla prayer-book.
Dan, lets say YOU were the one who recommended to this homeowner (above photos) to regrade, just an example.
Well, how do you look after the homeowners spent $$$ on your supposed inexpensive fix and they still leak?
So no, never will i recommend these supposed inexpensive fixes (they are not fixes, see the photos and videos lolol), if some homeowners want to try them they do but most often, when they call Uncle Bub’s they have already tried 1 or more of these supposed inexpensive fixes… got milk?
Some following these posts, photos, videos should be able to deduce why there are so many screw ups on this subject, so many bad choices, weak incompetent supposed solutions and that many don’t have the ability, or care to CORRECTLY diagnose most homeowners leaky basements, this includes all the incompetent, fraudulent inside system company chump-heads
