;-);-)
as usual, Mr. Macy is on his game ;-);-)
I sure hope the people in Ohio are calling you man, for their sake.
Same for Mr Jim etc.
Thanks for saying that, I need to meet up with Mr Jim.
See Mr. Rocky squirrel?
http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/squirrelgable.htm
Eh, don’t kill my lil squirrel buddies, no, send them, drop them off on-near our property!! We take all here.
I’m at work right now and you have given me a lot of information to process so forgive me if I miss something.
I sent a few texts over to my husband and he is game to do this DIY. I will talk to him about having you come out if you are willing and available. Most of the snow is gone, and we are getting pretty used to shop vac-ing up rain water, so it’s not the most urgent thing in the world, but we definitely want it done when the ground thaws. We are also going out of town for a week tomorrow so I wont be able to respond as much.
I can get measurements for you, take pics, send a video, whatever helps you to judge things. If you do come out, we could rent the equipment or hire some guys to help dig and have it all ready for you. We are not afraid to put in some sweat equity and help out!
We have not had a plumber inspect anything, but does sound like a good idea to add to the list…we have a willow tree about 40 ft from the house that makes me wonder…
The HI made remarks about a lot of things, but nothing about water issues.
So the floor of the crawlspace to the top of the dirt outside (grade?) I’m guessing is about 4 ft on the shorter end and about 6 feet on the taller end (under the front door). The floor of the lower level basement to the grade outside is about 7 ft.
Jaclyn,
No problem. 
(first 2 paragraphs)
Not trying to spend your guys cash for you but yes, wouldn’t hurt to have an experienced-honest plumber check a couple things out.
Yes, top of dirt, where flowers/grass/concrete = grade.
A video would be nice :mrgreen: , with many close-ups of around the front porch/door, the basement window(s), mortar joints along the grade and any mortar joints you can get going UP from the grade, and maybe a little more on the inside of those 3 areas, but only if you guys have the time, obviously doesn’t need to be done right away.
Renting some kind of equipment/trencher or hand digging it, some +'s and -'s both ways. It may be better to go over the numbers/costs, see which way will cost you guys less.
There have been times i have talked people/homeowners through their own jobs but, while all were well meaning/intentioned, sometimes when they asked friends to help or, paid 1-2 other people to hand dig, it doesn’t always work out well, not always on-schedule etc. NOT knocking anyone, any friends etc, just clearing the air.
Sometimes a friend stayed out late, drinking/whatever the night before they were supposed to help dig and, well, lool, they went home pretty soon after starting to dig, so the diy-homeowner was left short handed.
And there was one time, a couple friends who said they would help another homeowner, did not even show up and so the homeowner could not do the entire wall that day, leaving part of the job to be done the next day and, part of the trench was left opened, partially dug out… it rained that night which weakened the bank-side of the open trench and the bank caved-in, leaving even more to dig the next day. :mrgreen::roll:
Maybe if you guys opt for a small trencher, something like this might work
You can see Mr. Schmitz operating this thing and having some fun, right?
Make sure you know were you utility lines are. We have a program titled “call before you dig”.
I would take out the siding & window digging the trench:D
We are still interested in getting this fixed DIY-style! The snow has melted away and it’s been raining off and on here with no leaking so far.
Hi Mrs. Schmitz,
Been raining here all week and apparently more on the way :roll:
Had to put off a 3 day job until next week (weather permitting :roll:) lol
Anyways, i think it would be best (humor me) to run a ‘water test’ with a hose, just to be sure ALL areas need exterior waterproofing(digging all the way down) as it’s possible one + of your leaky areas in basement may be, could be, due to… lol, one ++ openings ABOVE GRADE.
Say again, i would feel better FOR YOU guys, before you spend 1 cent, if you would do a water test, can explain more about that if your ok with it.
Every year there are 1+ homeowners who mostly/only get water that FIRST enters above ground level… just had 2 HO’s in the last week. Both had openings above grade where the water was FIRST entering. Water can be a lil tricky sometimes.
Are you guys still around?
Yes we’re still here! Sorry this is my busy season (wedding photographer).
We contacted a contractor to try and get one more perspective and quote and while we really like him, we do not like his price ($11k, so pretty much the same price as what the basement companies were quoting! We were hoping he’d be a bit cheaper since he wasnt installing interior drainage and all that). He also came the closest to your recommendations when it came to talking about how he’d fix things.
However, he did not recommend doing gravel with 2 inches of top soil to fill the hole because of the frost line. He said since rocks cant freeze, the frost line will be much lower than usual in that area and the water will freeze and push on our foundation.
He didnt think the tar/mastic stuff was necessary (but would do it for extra) and wanted to put some kind of aluminum sheating starting 2 feet above ground to the bottom of the foundation (~5-6 ft below ground).
He also wanted to rip out all our front entry way concrete because he’s pretty sure water is getting in through there and then running down the wall to where the leaks are.
Soo…we’ve felt we’ve done our due diligence and exhausted our options and we want to do it ourselves. But we need help, a LOT of it. We are up for the labor (we’re both in our late twenties) but we need someone to tell us what to do/what to buy/how to do it.
We will gladly pay a consulting fee or whatever you feel is fair. We just want this done right.
Should we email? Skype? Phone? We need your help, Mark! 
Hi Jaclyn,
Just my experienced opinion on some of what the last guy apparently told you.
He may indeed be a nice guy but that hardly means he knows what he’s talking about on this-subject.
Let me say this again, it’s YOUR house and money so in the end do what YOU want, believe who you like. Some homeowners make the right choices and some do not.
Back to the last contractor, who loool incompetently claims NOT to backfill with gravel because… the water would FREEZE and PUSH against the foundation wall!!! ](,)](,)](,)](,)](*,)#-o#-o#-o#-o#-o
That is just more incompetent bullshttt.
When one backfills with most-all gravel then umm duh, WATER won’t be IN the gravel (gravel doesn’t HOLD the water) as it would be in there was soil against the foundation wall, its the SOIL, clay, silt etc that HOLDS water and expands and contracts against-basement-walls!!! Oh my!@!@!@!! looool
Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepers!!!
So according to HIM, I’m wrong, Fairfax County (link) is wrong, Yoder is wrong, the U S Army Corps of Engineers…wrong huh. loool
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/publications/marineclay.htm
Scroll down to —Basement Wall Damage
Please read, ‘Cause’…and below that, ‘Resolution’.
In part under RESOLUTION, they tell homeowners etc to… BACKFILL with sand OR gravel.
One of a FEW builders who ‘get’ the backfill process, 6th paragraph
say again, read the 6th paragraph… in part they say, ’ We firmly believe a foundation should be backfilled with washed GRAVEL (not dirt) from the basement floor level ALL the way UP to within 2-3" of the finished grade outside’
U S Army Corps of Engineers
Amongst other valuable and unbiased information here, Page 21…
‘modeling results demonstrate that GRANULAR backfills can REDUCE lateral pressures’
The last contractor is waaay off base on this.
And, he told you guys NOT to apply tar/mastic, that it is unnecessary huh!
loooooooooooollllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllooooooooooooool
One of the most IMPORTANT things is how and what one uses to…
SEAL the dang cracks and other openings in any basement wall!@!@!@!!
Morons galore on this subject, jesus krrrrrristmas.
You need to seal the cracks and the wall with ummmm, something that…
S T I C K S to the wall!@!@!@!!! lllllllllllllOOLOLOlllllllllllllool
Hydraulic cement, then THICK mastic and then 6 mil visuqueen, then all gravel.
GEE, it has worked fine for us over 36 years!
If you guys/others use equipment to backfill with THEN, after what I just said above, then IF you want, you can use a dimpled membrane…sheesssssssssssh.
NOT just place a STUPID incompetent dimpled membrane against the wall OR aluminum sheeting!!!
$11k and you’d get incompetence for that price. Sorry, just the truth.
Hey, how much are FRUIT LOOPS these days?
I’ll be/post back a little more shortly
Jaclyn,
Mentioned doing this before… it wouldn’t hurt.
Run a WATER TEST with a hose, on a dry day, against the basement wall(s) where you leak inside.
Run the water full blast from ground level DOWN, again, against the basement walls, EXCEPT where you DO see/have a crack on the inside.
The COST is going to be determined by how much linear FOOTAGE ‘needs’ to be done.
Some of the water you guys are getting in ‘MIGHT’ be due to one or more openings above grade/ground level so, just want to be sure of any-all possible problems areas BEFORE you spend a dime so, running a water test wouldn’t hurt. I can describe this better on the phone, as well as everything else pertaining to any waterproofing job.
Like your porch/entry way… its possible the water is entering ABOVE ground level so, if it is and if you do NOT have a crack etc IN the basement wall in THIS AREA, you might not need that area done/waterproofed, see what I mean?
Mark Anderson 810 346 2955 just got off duh phone so am available now but Momma is coming home with dinner soon,and I’m friggin hungry lool so go head you 2 and give old man Bubba a call now, if you can
One more link from someone in Canada (eh) who ‘gets it’, but not according to the last contractor huh
http://www.johnmcewen.ca/waterproof.php
Lots here, good stuff… but for now, scroll a little more than 1/2 way down to… (under a photo)
- 100% adhesion to the substrate, must be completely STUCK to the wall.
Not merely sitting in front of the wall, but GLUED, permanently stuck…
Ok, then under that… ‘waterproofing an existing home’…
Backfill with clean STONE ONLY, not a piddly 6 inches/the WHOLE thing
Under that, ‘Backfill material’…
Quick drainage is the object…instead of putting clay or sand in the trench, fill with clean washed stone
Further down to, What ISN’T a WATERPROOF MEMBRANE
-damproofing is not waterproofing
-drain clad is not waterproofing
-system platon, heavy black plastic mats with bumps on one side is not waterproofing
…and, ummm, lool, aluminum sheeting is NOT waterproofing
Good talking to you David and Jaclyn
When you get time, post those photos or video here.
And i do think you guys can save a chunk of cash DIY, and that you’ll be fine doing the needed work.
Great talking with you as well!
Here is the video:
<iframe width=“640” height=“360” src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ZECRg-w58ek?rel=0" frameborder=“0” allowfullscreen></iframe>
If the embedded link doesnt work:
Exxxcellent job with that video you two! lolol, (maybe read my LAST post, first… recommend you guys do a water-test with a hose along the front wall/where bushes are/kitchen)
Hi doggy! :mrgreen:
Ok, have a question… is there another pipe (lines), underneath the one that leaks, that comes through the basement wall?
If so and even if it does NOT leak, i would dig this-area ALL the way down in order to seal/waterproof everything. Same goes for that crack, dig/waterproof all the down.
Hard to be precise from here but looks like this would be around 6’ or so deep, to bottom of wall/footing. Again, I’d recommend THIS AREA, from the pipe/door TO crack in/near the corner, all the way down. Not that bad really, in terms of linear footage.
And the 2 walls, from the crack TO the side wall/kitchen/crawl, looks like you’ll need to dig approx. 3 1/2’ – 4’ deep, in order to seal/waterproof any-all problems.
ONE of the problems, where water first–enters, as David mentioned, looks like it may be that brick ledge/horizontal seam.
The other possible problems, where water first–enters, may be those open mortar joints between bricks, above grade/ground. (some previously caulked etc)
Just for the heck of it, i would run a WATER TEST with a hose along THIS wall, the wall that has the bushes etc. Run the water from ground level DOWN, do NOT wet/soak that seam or any bricks or mortar joints above ground, ok? :mrgreen: I’d run the water full blast UP TO, 45 minutes and see if you guys get water in. One of you guys could stay inside the crawl and watch (yes, a little boring but important ;-)), for any water while the other runs the water, moving the hose from time to time…if it begins to come in, turn hose off.
I still don’t entirely rule out those windows as possibly being part of problem but for now, maybe when ya’s get a chance, do the water test on this wall. Run the water against the crawl-wall, but again try hard NOT to wet that seam or any bricks/joints above the wall.
Appears around 4’ deep or so for these 2 walls/areas. (you get/SEE water in crawl UP HIGH, underneath kitchen floor etc and have some efflorescence etc.
“sad sump pump”… lol yes. :mrgreen:
i’ll post some photos of SIMILAR openings, brick ledge, mortar joints and crevices-gaps where a LINE came through wall, on other peoples homes/basements, where THEY got water in up high on their poured walls, like you guys.
This homeowner put up with water getting in their basement for years, nobody could correctly find/identify all of the actual-openings that allowed the water to get in…poured wall, like you guys.
Inside basement, water came in UP HIGH…
http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing33#5444004310004223714
Outside, some of the exterior openings that allowed water in, some JUST BELOW ground level and some ABOVE ground level…
http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing33#5444004373750121826
http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing33#5444004426309246018
Yep, little openings/crevices like this allow water in, sure do.
http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing33#5444004440209778354
http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing33#5444004506360652338
http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing33#5444004984711239682
Open mortar joints above ground, they too allowed water in basement, up high. Everything open, all exterior openings etc need to be FOUND, then fixed/sealed.
Around PIPE, different KIND of pipe but same problem/openings…
http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing71#5884156722085937282
And like this gas line, exterior gaps/openings where it goes through the wall
http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing23#5442874411261129026
Luckily you guys don’t have a mold problem like this lady, poured wall crack/mold… inside basement
http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing25#5443042283427892578
See the crack?
Same little hairline crack on the outside, can barely see it, doesn’t take much of an opening to allow water in
http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing35#5447083562303785522
And guys, i think you know now, NO interior basement drainage system with 50 sump pumps would STOP the water from where it’s actually entering hence, you’d have a bigger mold/efflorescence problem and more wood, would :mrgreen: be crap/rot on the inside, under/around bottom of kitchen floor.
Inside systems cannot seal/waterproof the exterior problems you/most others, have.
If you would have hired an interior dork, they would have likely placed some vinyl etc against the poured walls so that the water that continues to enter, would run down behind the vinyl/plastic junk into their pathetic interior system and then pump it out so that it/the water, keeps coming in and the sump keeps pumping it out, over and over, year after year., looool.
You would not see most of the mold or efflorescence because again, they usually place vinyl etc over most-all of the basement walls but, at some point you’d smell it, as it got worse because… they would NOT have stopped the water from where its actually first, getting in.
At this moment, subject to change of course, depending on exact footage etc… approx. cost, gravel etc NOT including what we discussed in the way of possibly renting an excavator…
From door to corner, approx. 8’ by 6’ deep…
2 yards of gravel 1 can of mastic/roofing cement, hydraulic cement, visqueen
Then worst case on those other 2 walls, where you get water up high/crawlspace…
about 32’ linear feet by 4’ deep…but, it may indeed be LESS, not as deep.
May just need to dig 2’ or so deep.
Back to worse case on these 2 walls/areas, lets just say 4’ by 32’…
and you could hand dig this, if you wanted, you could hand dig it all, maybe get 1 or 2 friends etc to help
…4’ by 32’… prolly 6 yards of gravel here, 2 to 3 cans of mastic plus the other goodies mentioned. (this 32’ by 4’ deep, maybe LESS would NOT likely be a cave in problem area but its best to NOT leave any trench open overnight. The other 8’ by 6’ deep or so i would approach like any other hole, respect that it could cave in, likely won’t if you dig it a certain way and backfill it the same day… get it dug, get it sealed/waterproofed, get out and get it backfilled right away))
So a total of approx. 8 yards of gravel, one 50 lb bucket of hydraulic cement, visqueen (8’ x 50’ 6 mil), 3 – 4 cans of mastic…
so the cost guess right now for the above is 625 ish materials PLUS.....
excavator cost and delivery/pick up fee OR pay for a couple laborers....and
to have the soil hauled away, should be around 400, maybe a tad more.
The excavator i saw was about $300 per day plus the delivery and pick up fee (near Montpelier)
Ok, sorry to jump around and ‘change’ my tune but, just watched your video in full again, this time without our phone ringing
IF…if…IF, that brick ledge/horizontal seam and, maybe some of those mortar joints above ground level and maybe, the ledge above the bricks (some openings along here too) ARE your entire problem then, you may NOT need to do much, if any digging, on that front/kitchen wall.
That seam appears to be ‘all’ above grade/ground level AND, did not see ANY cracks etc IN the wall, in the crawlspace so, it may turn out you guys need little if any digging/waterproofing on that one wall (at least), below grade.
Say one more time, I would run a water test along that wall/where bushes are and see if it leaks!! If it does not then all of your problems/openings that are allowing water in, are above ground level (fingers crossed eh)
At the 3:10 mark in video, when your in kitchen by the window, the leak BELOW in crawlspace is, just below your feet… somewhere between there, the kitchen floor and ABOVE, can be where water is first entering… again no cracks in crawl-walls, water is SEEN in crawlspace UP HIGH, right under the kitchen floor. ‘SEEN’ is key word, doesn’t mean the water is entering AT THAT POINT, often it first enters ABOVE this point and then drops down, is seen, a little lower.
From the outside, same area… 1:50 mark…
we can see the TOP of the basement wall and again, apparently no cracks so, its possible, somewhere between that SEAM going UP is where the water is FIRST ENTERING, and it is possible you won’t see any water in the KITCHEN because, the water would enter and fall/drop down behind bricks, down into crawlspace where you see it up high
For others who may be reading this and watched the video, if you have a block or brick etc basement wall then, THAT is different