some of the never ending myths, misinformation etc in this business, from quite a few

Specific Inspection Topics Structural Inspections
1

This is just another way some homeowners get lied to, bs’d, misled on their leaky basements or what to REALLY look for
NOTICE, this guy apparently does roofing, siding and… gutters. Ok fine.
We’ll assume for now that roofing, siding, gutters is where his experience is,eh?
NOT basement waterproofing, not leaky basements.


Not saying he’s a crook, just saying in my experienced and honest opinion of what I have repeatedly seem over and over for nearly 4 decades is, this is not who homeowners should be calling to IDENTIFY their stupid leaky basement!
:30 mark he says/thinks the GUTTERS are why this area of the homeowners basement leaked.
He doesn’t say he/they saw water waaaay UP HIGH in the basement (above the basement wall), no.
So what he should be telling us and should have told the homeowner and should have done in order to correctly IDENTIFY why/where the water entered the basement is, run a water-test with a hose on the outside right up against/along the basement wall… if water begins to enter you found aka ahhhhemmm IDENTIFIED the actual problem. Got it? lool

He didn’t take 10 seconds or so to tell us anything like that now did he and imo because I’ve repeatedly seen this over and over he ASSUMED or, he hopes and incorrectly thinks they need new gutters, oversized gutters.

Well gutters the size/width of garbage cans doesn’t repair/waterproof any foundation cracks or open leaky rod holes etc and new gutters will NOT keep all subsurface water OFF the entire depth of a basement wall but you go ahead and try all ya like.

And his window well thoughts are wrong imo as well, dang skippy.

Another guy with his video, 'Rain gutter and how to avoid flooding in your basement"


:50 mark he brings up… soil compacting…and says, ‘If you see any area where the soil settled know that it could be a potential BASEMENT LEAK’ !!!

Really? looollll So many say the same incompetent bs and notice he didn’t have the time to inform anyone that the exterior basement walls weren’t waterproofed and highly likely backfilled with clay-crap soil. Doesn’t say anything about the highly likely possibility that 1+ cracks in walls or rod holes or openings above grade are what causes most basements to leak (I’m not talking about basement back ups through floor drains and crap like that). If he or anyone was really experienced on THIS subject and really gave a crap about people with leaky basements then he would have and should have added that.

Basements don’t leak because soil settled in 1 or more areas!@!@#@!@!@!!!@!!! loool cmon and wake UP. sheeesh
Whether the soil settled or NOT, it takes an exterior crack or deteriorated rod holes or the parging that was applied to the exterior wall when built has cracked,deteriorated or openings around a gas line etc that goes through a foundation wall or openings into the home along or above ground level to allow water IN! Again not yapping about basement back ups or humidity, condensation problem or some sort of leaky dripping plumbing fixture which also has ZIP to do with some stupid soil that settled! Get me another shot of whiskey bartender plz!!!

And for the nth time Bubba-head is not saying to slope the grade TOWARDS your house lool, no.
Am simply saying take some time and have some g dang PATIENCE and find, identify the actual problem(s) BEFORE you give one dime to a contractor or anyone else, got milk?

Sometimes some homeowners NEED to remove SOME drywall/paneling… why??? lool In order to help YOU. In order to honestly and correctly find/identify why your stupid basement leaks. Plus some have mold on the basement wall and-or on the back side of their drywall… don’t you wanna know dat, huh?

The grade, the grade the grade the stupid azz grade… SLOPE slope SLOPE slope slope and dope it away huh? lool
Let’s see, most ROOFS are SLOPED away, sloped down right? HUH?
Ok so why do ROOFS LEAK???
You think roofs leak because of the grade errrrrrrrrrrrrrr SLOPE/PITCH of the stupid roof???
I have yet to hear any roofer tell any homeowner that they need to RAISE the ROOF in order to give it a better pitch which would then, suppppppppppppppppposedly, fix their leaky roof. Stay tuned, **** in this world it’ll happen at some point.

CHANGE your THOUGHT PROCESS on leaky basements would ya please.

2

While I don’t disagree with your assessment of the situation it’s only half the story. Your asking how is the water getting into the basement and house, he’s asking why. Both correct and the right questions to answer. I can’t name how many times i’ve walked into an unfinished basement that has shown signs of leaking because of foundation cracking or other issues. But one thing they all have in common is why is water getting into the house in this area. Most times because of improper slope and pitch of the landscaping outside or downspouts and leadoffs not draining the water far enough away from the foundation.

I’ve even seen it where the water comes in right at the sill plate because they have backfilled one side with some much landscaping materials. Most times a little common sense and some minor work can prevent that water from sinking in around those areas and keep the basement dry. Did it totally fix the problem, no, they should still seek to fixing fixing the issue with the foundation in the first place. But the goal should always be to have water run away from the house, not up next to it.

As to your roof comments, i’ve seen water run up roofs plenty of times, called an ice dam and it is fairly common here in Illinois. Most people don’t realize that ice dams are primarily the cause of not enough insulation in the attic and not properly venting the attic itself. Other than that good insight.

3

Well, like anyone else on this planet your certainly entitled to your opinion, I don’t agree with you or anyone else who says/thinks improper slope is why basements leak.

I speak from 39 yrs of doing this job, no complaints. Not saying we’re perfect, just saying i don’t screw anyone and certainly don’t give them false hope… find the problem and fix it correctly.

Say again lol, most basements leak because they are cracks or deteriorated rod holes or cracked parging or NO parging on the exterior of block, brick walls and OTHER exterior openings into a home that allows water to get in… if there were no openings then there’d be no leaks.

Not talking about basement back-ups or humidity or condensation problems.

Let’s say the entire side of a foundation wall is dug out, all the way down to footing… one should be able to fix the entire trench with water and and ‘IF’ there are no exterior cracks/openings IN the wall, no water will enter.

You can try all you like to spin leaky basements or roofs all ya like, I’m not buying and never will Why? loolll Already answered that.

I can post thousands of photos and videos of exactly what I’ve said which goes against what you believe… homeowners raised and sloped the grade OR they extended downspout ext’s 1 mile away OR they mudjacked slabs thinking the pitch of slabs was causing their basement to leak, its all nonsense.

They spent hundreds or thousands on crap and still leaked.

Here, i’ll say this. a few people tried one o more of these things (grading, mudjacking etc) and then, did NOT leak or leaked a lot less…wonderful, nice, they got lucky for awhile. Don’t know why some can’t grasp what I’m saying. Their leaky basement is NOT because of poor grade or pitch of concrete slabs, its because there are 1 or more exterior openings allowing the stupid water in… find it and fix it. Just because a few get lucky…for awhile, doesn’t add up to the OTHER 99% that try that stuff and still leak

The few who DO re-grade or extend downspout ext’s SHOULD have taken the time to find the opening(s) and then fix it. See some who say they supposedly fixed their leaky basement by grading etc, then sell the house, then the BUYER begins to get water in basement, they don’y bother to go back on the seller so…the seller and his people continue to think they fixed their former leaky basement when they did not.

Believe what you like Brandon, Illinois homes/basements are no different than here in Michigan or Ohio or Pennsylvania etc, have helped many for free and i never set foot on their property, hmmm. Good day sir.

4

Brandon, here’s a sliver of what I know… 4 short videos of one of our jobs,
the homeowner unfortunately got talked into mudjacking his drive-slabs, was told it would keep water out of his basement, just like what you mentioned (the grade, the pitch)…and the homeowner caulked along the edge of house and slabs and every joint nearby…still leaked


The money spent on the junk mudjacking SHOULD have gone towards the cost of fixing his actual problems, exterior cracks in foundation walls.

Here, exterior cracks in block wall UNDERNEATH the raised-mudjacked slabs

Here’s the rest of his drive side in that area he leaked, were openings/crevices under the basement window and side door…most of these openings were just under the mudjacked concrete or right where the concrete kisses the house… why didn’t the raised concrete slabs and better pitch fix the leaky basement?

Ok and one last short video of same house where he leaked at another corner where the GRADE was RAIDED and sloped away… why didn’t the raised grade keep the basement dry?


Why? Because on longer heavier rains, water gets underneath a raised and sloped grade and when there are cracks etc you see in these videos, the basement leaks, its NOT the grade, its because there are exterior openings

One more of our jobs lol, they raised the grade 7 bricks HIGH… and they were high.
Did the high and sloped grade solve the leaky basement? Nope.
https://www.facebook.com/mark.anderson.9828/videos/967028030090787/?l=7668686912435517493

5

so when I am called to go 'n look at (identify) why a homeowner is getting water in their basement… i first ask them several Q’s over the phone, just in case they are ONLY getting water up through a floor drain or have some sort of leaky plumbing fixture… i don’t want to go over there and 1) waste their then when they only need a plumber 2) waste my dang time

i already know when my old *** gets there, they are going to have 1 or more of things/problems i describe over and over. They are going to need exterior waterproofing in 1 or more areas and-or, tuckpointing, caulking or every now and then a plumber to snake their lateral line.

i already know without any doubt in MY mind their leaky basement has ZERO to do with GRADING or a supposed need for mudjacking etc, nope.

In fact i laugh when i hear that crap, from whoever.

Like this basement, it leaked in several areas along the front wall and just around both corner/onto side walls…inside her basement you can see mold, efflorescence etc.


She had multiple exterior cracks and cracked-deteriorated parging that ONLY exterior waterproofing would solve aka stop the water from entering.

i have never gone to anyones house and recommended grading or mudjacking or 8 mile long downspout ext’s

same house as in above video, one of the videos taken on the outside showing some of her actual problems and NEED for exterior waterproofing, she already tried raising and sloping the grade https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ne4c_2KrLo
see the CORNER? just let these kinds of problems get WORSE?

Oh and all estimates are free, and so are any water tests i do and some take 1 hour. I’m not out here like many others in this business fkg over people, lying, scamming them, nope, not Mark Anderson. But i do agree with those who know that MOST in this business are either incompetent and-or indeed trying to scam homeowners out of a chunk of cash, oh yes.