something else to chew on

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2006/08/15/contractor_hit_with_larger_fine_for_lying/

is one that was posted earlier who had 20+ BBB complaints inlast 36 months

some say, “well, the complaints are just part of being in business” and so on. i say…bllchtt:mrgreen: You either know what the ___ your doing AND care or, you don`t. No middle ground in basement waterproofing.

see, some have been in this business for 25-30+ years and have never had 1 dang customer complaint. so, some will continue to recommend crap like this, inside drain tile-baseboard systems w/sumps and. i`ll continue to disprove their bogus claims/misleading advertising and so on. Why? Cuz i give a shtt about homeowners who work and scrounge to save and finally have enough to get something fixed and run into bs idiots like this company.

Paul McCartney…someones knocking at the door, somebodys ringing the bell, if its an Inside waterproofing company/salesperson like this guy, do me a favor, and dont let him in

G.C.- since people from Poland are called ‘Poles’…how come people from Holland aren`t called ‘Holes’?

Who inspects engineers like Johnny?

http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=12111

No one but Johny Bubba. He sure knows what he is talking about. Just doesn’t know how to be Politically Correct in statements.

Marcel :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :wink:
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http://www.nj.com/columns/expresstimes/salamone/index.ssf?/base/columns-0/1156133130153230.xml&coll=2

…incredulous about the claim of poor workmanship :-k

appears since business opened locally in 1999, this isn`t the only possible problems with poor service issues etc

http://www.dc.bbb.org/report.html?national=Y&compid=70005666

NOT for… sales or promtional purposes for pete sake, is to inform-- what do i know, they may the best `n most honest company on the planet

in this one, what…the mold just occurred since buyer moved in huh?
Bllllcht! ](*,)

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/cityplus/story.html?id=dbbabbaa-cee1-42c7-b8ad-e0510516a35e&k=75290

and then some so-called experts will explain to you that painting basement walls with Drylok :mrgreen: …a really good coating is going to stop water from entering cracks etc huh, guarantee to be WATERPROOFED “up to 22 feet of water” HAHA! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: ](,) :mrgreen: ](,) :-k :-k

scroll down FER video http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=187654

id like ta ask the the Lowes fella/expert and Drylok to please back up this claim…ANY claim should be fully Substantiated

GC…W Nelson just released new song, a sad one :cry: it`s called “Yer love ran down my leg and now yer gone”

http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=154368

Dept of public health suspends basement waterproofing co license

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/3732691.html click ‘Contractor trouble’

another nimrod knocking on peoples doors, $37,000 later poor lady still has repairs.

when they mention part about ‘waterproofing’ in basement, it certainly appears this fool tried to patch a vertical crack in block wall on inside w/cement. Un-be-lievable, same old crap ](*,)

you CANNOT stop n prevent water from entering block basement walls from the inside of basement by painting & patching the walls, or by installing inside drain tilen baseboard systems w/sumps,not gonna happen.

Cracks in hollow block basement walls are…on the outside :-k Yes they are!

It is where water enters and why mold can grow on walls.
It is where radon gas can enter and no floor pipe is going to stop radon that enters through basement wall cracks.
It is where termites `n other insects can enter.
It is where roots can get into the wall and expand/widen a crack

Yet, most seem to still want to recommend to homeowners to :mrgreen: raise the grade, get longer downspout extensions, mudjack a slab,paint the inside of walls and NONE of these fixes the dang Problem! Most basements leak due to cracks `n other direct openings that are…on the Outside of the house

G C-- some national parks have long waiting lists for camping reservations. When you have to wait a year to sleep next to a tree, something is wrong.

the IQ and the life expectancy of the average American recently passed each other going in the opposite direction

one out of every three Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your 2 best friends. If they are ok, then it must be you

i have 6 locks on my door, all in a row. When i go out i lock every-other one.I figure, no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking 3 of them.

Next time someone on the street comes up to you n asks 'what time is it'...tellem, “Well, its either 6:15 or Mickey has a stiffy”

would a fly without wings be called a walk?

you ask some guy ‘how are ya?’ he says… ‘fine and dandy’. Me, i never say that, know why? Cuz im never both of those things at the same time.Sometimes im fine but not dandy. Other times i might indeed be dandy however, not fine! One time in August of 1978,for about an hour, i was both fine and dandy at the same time but nobody asked me how i was.

J T-- Aqualung my friend, don`t just start away uneasy, you poor old sod, ya see, its only me

“Often…the biggest load on the foundation is Not the weight of the house, but the pressure of the SOIL around the foundation. Called the lateral load, it is the amount of pressure exerted on basement walls and can vary widely. Depends on many factors…”

“Coarse grained, well-drained soils like sand and gravel apply the LEAST lateral load”

–Compaction–
“The problem is that the pressure from the compacting process gets transmitted through the soil to the wall. Basement walls have been known to crack or fall over while earth is being dumped against them or compacted around them…”

“AFTER compaction, soil is under compression like a spring and CONTINUES to PUSH against the foundation…in practice, sands and gravels densify or compact more readily than silts or clays, creating LESS of this springlike force–one more good reason to use them for Backfilling”

–Careful on the Construction Site–

“When there`s a heavy load on the ground next to a foundation, some of the pressure is TRANSFERRED to the wall. During construction, bulldozers and trucks that come near a basement wall can add enough surcharge pressure to DAMAGE the wall. A new building being built next to an existing basement can also INCREASE the underground pressure and damage the existing foundation…”
http://www.bobvila.com/HowTo_Library/Why_Foundations_Fail-Foundation-A2095.html

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: Got Milk?

a highway patrolman pulled alongside a speeding car on the freeway. Glancing at the car, he was astounded to see that the blonde behind the wheel was knitting. Realizing that she was oblivious to his flashing lights and siren, the trooper cranked down his window, turned on his bullhorn and yelled, “PULL OVER!”
“NO!” the blonde yelled back, “IT`S A SCARF!”

What some will do to SELL YOU their house,tell ya, some people on this planet need a good whooping!

Ummm :-k …where was the realtor/inspectors brain when these folks bought this home? ](,) ](,) ](,) ](,) ](*,)

click ABC12 video :mrgreen:

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=local&id=4757900

yeah, right right, everyone`s an expert, sure sure ](,) ](,) ](*,)

G Carlin-- are you getting tired of these parents who, at Christmastime send ya pictures of their children? Pictures you didnt ask for and dont want. But it IS fun throwing em away isnt it? …lets see, it says on back of picture LouAnn is 12 years old this year, shtt, i dont care how OLD she is! Some will actually include a ‘Family-Newsletter’ …just what you were hoping for!

Your really screwing up the rating system…I see a recount coming.

Mr Mc… HaHAAAhahahahaaa

Hmmm, let`s see, what else do i have today :-k

Oh yeah, a lil more about Radon. Yeah…that gas that, apparently-according to the experts, causes lung cancer and, kills about 21,000 people each year…MORE than drunk drivers. And most of us have seen just how much this country yaks about that, hmmm, then why the crap doesn`t the media put as much or more emphasis on radon ](*,)

http://www.insidebayarea.com/bayarealiving/ci_4610174

Now, how can THESE folks ‘get it’ and other-so-called/self-proclaimed experts NOT ‘get it’? ](*,) And what i mean by ‘get it’ is this, grrr, Radon gas can easily ENTER basements etc from the Soil-THROUGH pores/cracks/other openings that are on the OUTSIDE of hollow-block walls.

…looks like 6th para under… -Radon detectors-

“Since many unscrupulous individuals have seen the chance for quick profits in the radon field, be careful to select only a reputable contractor.In MOST cases, the REMEDY is to SEAL the houses`s foundation(where radon can ENTER)…AND…to install ventilators to allow any gas to escape…”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/health/radon.html

-How does radon get into my home? :-k

“Is your house airtight? Very few are, especially older homes-and especially if the foundation or any of the WALLS are built with concrete blocks, which are particularly POROUS to radon…”

Got milk? :-k

In other news…your boy O.J. is back in it, yeah…

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061115/ap_on_en_tv/simpson_interview

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061203/NEWS/612030416

…Consumers need to be careful they don`t get soaked for thousands of dollars.

…New Jersey`s Consumer Affairs Office said it has received…complaints against 3 of the top companies doing work in the state…got milk??

…i`ve heard home imp. radio shows hosts repeatedly state they get they basement waterproofing/foundation info from…the 3-4 top waterproofing companies! yeah, propaganda at its finest!

propaganda = almost any attempt to sway public opinion including commercial advertising can be broadly construed as…yep, propaganda!

to get on many of these home imp. radio shows they need to advertise on the show and then they get their lil ‘special weekend expert guest spot’

one radio show host just contacted me and wanted $1,500 per MONTH to advetise on their new website, here locally. In addition to small advertisement on website i`d get to be on radio and pumped pre-agreed questions etc…$1,500 per month X 12 months…uh…yeah, way too much for my azz.

ya think the top 3-4 companies can afford that? lolol, thats chump change to them so, who gets to continue their 1 sided bs story to the public? dang right!

who is NOT going ask direct-honest questions of these? yeah of course, the hosts, these companies keep their shows on the air! Money! Its NOT about getting the listeners of the shows/the homeowners all the facts-the truth, its all about M O N E Y !

ive also heard repeatedly from many radio show hosts that homeowners should ONLY hire Bsmt Waterproofing Cos who are members of the nawsrc org…lolol, hey…at least 2 companies mentioned in article are members of this supposed great ORG, the same ORG who professes each member is held to such high ethics and standards…BLLLCHTTT!!!

http://www.nawsrc.org/refer.php see for yourself

lastly, redundantly, in article it says most problems can be addressed by extending gutters etc etc etc etc…according to EXPERTS.

i`d like to know, who the heck are these so-called Experts? Where are they? lolol, how many waterproofing jobs have they done and guaranteed over long period of time, huh? If you find them, ask them if a few of us could speak with them, i mean, if they can spare a lil time from their Expert schedule :mrgreen: got milk?

…all right you Chipmunks! Ready to sing your song? :mrgreen:

http://links2love.com/christmas-songs-chipmunk-song.htm

  • I say we are!
  • Yeah!
    -Lets sing it now!
    Okay Simon?
    -Okay!
    Okay Theodore?
    -Okay!
    Okay Alvin? Alvin? ALVIN!
    -Okay!

Christams, Christmas time is near, time for toys and time for cheer
Weve been good but we cant last, hurry Christmas hurry fast!
Want a plane that loops the loop, Me i want a hula hoop
We can hardly stand the wait, Please Christmas don`t be late.

Foundation waterproofing contractors tend to get a bad rep in general. They are not all that bad, but unfortunately many recommend unnecessarily expensive repair solutions where in my experience about 9 times out of 10 just simple corrections to roof and/or surface drainage is needed.

As just one example (of many I have evaluated) my own dad got an estimate of I think around $15,000 or so to do a complete excavation, wall waterproofing, and drain system.

I took a drive out west and looked at the situation. No gutters on half the house, leaders discharging directly adjacent to the foundations, grade sloping towards the foundations on one side, and unsealed cracks in the foundation walls.

He installed gutters where missing with good leader extensions, added fill to get good pitch away from the house, and sealed the cracks on the inside with flexible sealant (not as effective as an exterior crack repair, and it becomes more of a maintenance issue … but much less expensive).

Total cost just a few hundred dollars, and no significant problems since (I think over 10 years now).

Go figure some companies (and the industry in general sometimes) gets a bad reputation … :roll:

Robert,

Yes, at times a few…a handful may get ‘lucky’ and be able to ‘divert’ enough water away.

Heres what i KNOW after 28 years :mrgreen: .....ive also met/talked to a few who were able to divert enough water away but MOST who`ve TRIED all-kinds of water diverting techniques have NOT been lucky, they had crack(s) in bsmt wall and leaked, some leaked a bit less but mold continued to grow on bsmt wall, some leaked more due to crack(s) WIDENING and some had had a wall(s) that had slight bow…lessened the leak by raising the grade but the basement wall bowed in more…soil pressure-roots.

To use your Dad`s situation or a handful of others and apply that to ALL basement walls/cracks is wishful thinking.

When hired to waterproof a wall or part of wall, we`ve repeatedly seen for nearly 3 decades MANY instances where the homeowner did raise the grade & slope, they did extend gutters 3 miles away from house :mrgreen: …they mudjacked 1+ slabs.

Robert, weve waterproofed several homes of builders who dug down about 2-3’ poured concrete in shallow trench, then put some visqueen down over the concrete, placed the dirt back and raised `n sloped it away…still leaked.

And we`ve waterproofed wall(s) where homeowner installed a 2-3’ french drain w/drain tile along wall(s) and out to street or backyard, backfilled trench w/peastone…still leaked.

How about a few that dug down a couple feet, laid and sloped shingles and visqueen down along basement wall and also raised `n sloped grade…still leaked.

Quite a few were told getting a new driveway would be sufficient to divert water away from a crack(s) on drive-side bsmt wall…still leaked.

Now, they are out whatever money and time spent on supposed-fixes and still leak, im not bsing. :mrgreen: How about those who spent 5-10K on new drive? Or about 1K to mudjack several slabs…etc

Over & over, year after year and now…decade after decade…and people are STILL going to explain to me that raising grade etc etc is what should be done or, should be recommended to homeowners and will most often work? Nonsense…sorry, its just not true, believe what ya like

When home is being sold, and an HI is going to recommend these ‘supposed’ remedies instead of fixing the problem(s)…waterproofing the crack(s), tuckpointing, basement window replacement etc etc…then imo they should ‘at least’ give the inspection fee back when the crack leaks after they move in…after they raised the goofy grade etc. Be thankful they don`t get sued…sorry but truth hurts sometimes

IMO, the HI should have recommended to them to get several estimates to fix/waterproof the crack…then they could have taken that cost off the price to buy the home. J/K…there is a crack in the bsmt wall, hello? I`ve been in court to help these new owners who just bought house w/crack in bsmt wall and nothing was mentioned, no disclosure from seller, no mention of it on inspection-report OR…the HI said all they needed was to raise grade and so on…bllcchtt, bllcht blllchttt:mrgreen:

And…maybe your Dad/some others have a poured wall, what about hollow-block walls? You cannot patch an Outside crack in hollow block wall from inside. Water/moisture is still going to ENTER into the…hollow blocks, so too can RADON. Patching a block basement wall from inside does NOT stop radon gas from entering cracks/pores etc from the outside, doesn`t stop termites and other insects from entering the cores/cells through crack(s) on outside.

Did your Dad really need an estiamte on all 4 walls? Most do NOT. Many cos want to try and talk people into much more than necessary, ill give ya that, no doubt. Not my azz…and not a handful of others here in SE Mich.

When a homeowner has a leak/1 crack in 1 wall, say a corner, then thats all they need to fix/waterproof. Chtt…when you go to get a tune-up do you let the mechanic talk ya into a new transmission and new set of tires? hlll no!:mrgreen:

I believe ‘some’(not many) of us are more than qualified to TRY and inform folks what they really need, geez, all these years doing Exterior work-only-where-necessary and NO problems, no BBB customer complaints, thats the Proof.

Anyone want to call a lady in Roseville MI where a city inspector recommended that she get a new driveway to…fix 1 leaky vertical crack in a poured wall? lolol… fix the dang crack, sheesh. Cost to waterproof was $775

Call the guy who spent hundreds on digging/putting shingles along bsmt wall and raising the grade…call him.

How about thousands who bought an existing house and were never told of crack, a leak or HI said the crack is nothing to worry about, just ‘MONITOR’ it…moved in and within a week, month (on first decent rain) got water in. Wanna speak to some of these folks?

That just happened again on estimate i ran over weekend…guy from CBS radio bought house and HI told him 2 vertical cracks and a step crack,NOT finished bsmt-can see cracks soon as ya come down steps which are about 30’ away…same wall…HI said cracks were minor and to ‘raise the grade’ which he assumes will keep the water out and monitor the cracks. Well,within 9 months the vertical cracks have widened, the wall-basement where cracks are leak more, there is mold on 2 areas of bsmt wall and some efflorescence…already has a sump pump. Who PAYS to fix/waterproof cracks/wall? Will the HI? chtt…

Is it still the grade? Maybe the downspout extension should go further out, lolol. Maybe homeowner should paint the bsmt wall w/Drylok…more bs.

Mr OConnor…bet your a smart-good man…i can`t help what i know, have seen in THIS business.

Yes there are a million stories and here is one more .
They had dampness behind the furnace and Raised the dirt extended the down spouts still dampness. Dug down and redamproofed that section of the wall. still dampness.
Next completly opened the back wall did the whole wall two levels of weepers and gravel sloped plastic away from the home new fill and sod.
Yep still dampnes having spent many mnay thousands of dollars with various experts .
They called in a Professional Home inspector .
20 minutes of looking around the outside and the inside , our great home inspectors suggested they replace the condensate tube furnace.
Now there is no dampness.

Cookie

Oh…ok Roy…all of you folks who have leaky, damp basements…call Roy`s Home Inspection.

Since some chicks with large knockers work at Hooters…where do 1 legged women work?

…IHOP

Cracks have to be sealed/repaired (and I am not talking about the pretty much useless paint on coatings that cant bridge cracks). Common mistake not to do that. Filling with a flexible sealant can work (less expensive, but also less desirable/permanent), but my preference is urethane or epoxy injection depending on if I think the cracks are active or not. If you cant ID the type of cracking you will probably get the proposed repair wrong.

Never said “ALL” … but in almost 30 years in construction, evaluations, and design of similar situations definitely MOST (about 9 out of 10 in my experience) dont need overly expensive exterior excavation and repair (and definitely not “french drains” unless there is no other option) … you are just asking for mold buildup.

Agreed that many of the proposed solutions like driveway replacements alone just don’t work. I generally don’t recommend them either. They need to have an independent opinion on the correct course of action in my opinion. JMO as an engineer also, called in to figure out why a repair didn’t work.

Just expressing my own opinions from experience over almost 30 years dealing with similar situations. Even in cases where my gut feeling is that a more expensive exterior repair/waterproofing is required, I still recommend that the simple things be done first (most of them should be done anyway regardless), and that they budget for the more expensive exterior repairs/waterproofing.

JMO & 2-nickels … :wink:

just wondering :-k

do most home inspectors know that block basement walls can show NO visible crack on the inside of basement and yet, have hairline to 2"++ crack(s) on the Outside of wall(s)?

is this on any of the tests you folks take? :-k

did you know that this is the most common means where water FIRST enters a hollow block wall, stays inside the cores-inside the hollow block wall and comes out onto basement floor, most often where the bottom of wall and floor meet? :-k

G Carlin product idea…
maybe the Japanese would be interested in this one…a combination cassette player and colostomy bag…call it… shttman

The Miss America Pageant…how about having the losers keep coming back until they win? :-k :sad: … can ya imagine a 82 year old contestant answering final question, after the Talent portion… “I just wanna work on world peace”. Ok lady, fine, now sit down before ya fall down. And pick up all these g damn batons!

Very possible, particularly with an outward bow of a wall (although that is very unusual).

HI’s generally look for signs of water penetration in general … particularly with block basement foundation walls. The are two types of block foundations walls … those that are leaking, and those that will leak … :wink:
.

:mrgreen:
Yes indeed…block basement walls often have whats called a… ‘corner crack’ on the outside and the Inside of basement wall will show nothing, no crack. Same goes for ‘other cracks’ including horizontal cracks that are at the top-of-the-first row of blocks off the footing, some vertical cracks that are barely visible if at all on inside of basement can certainly be wider on the outside.

And, sometimes these cracks are patched-tuckpointed and maybe even painted over pretty darn good on the inside, some do this to conceal the crack when selling a house.

–South Carolina Residential Construction Standards… seems to me the state has it wrong!

http://www.hbaofsc.com/SC%20ResConstStandards.pdf

pg 49 2.Common Defect or Problem -Performance Standard… “Wet walls are usually a result of sunken areas around the foundation…but even if there are no depressions, this is still NOT a builders responsibility…the subsequent proper grading and landscaping should eliminate damp or wet basements”

Huh???

The state says/assumes…problem has to do with sunken/settling soil etc. Its no wonder these myths continue.

Did they consider the reason the basement wall is wet,leaking,damp could certainly be due to a crack in the wall, or another lousy damproofing job, another crap job-half azzd attempt patching rod holes? Or other pathways-openings, through the basement wall or Above the basement wall? Huh? :mrgreen: I dont see anything mentioned as to these possibilities, not on pg 48,49,50…page 64…will come back to that later

Have they considered there would be much less settling if basement walls were backfilled with most/all gravel,peastone? Settling soil causes COMPACTION and creates a springlike-lateral-force which can certainly cause crack(s) in basement walls,leaks,dampness,mold etc. Sure! Settling soil causes ‘future’ pressure…it compacts,continuing to settle and if backfill is part/most clay it`ll cause even more pressure.

-Compaction
http://www.bobvila.com/HowTo_Library/Why_Foundations_Fail-Foundation-A2095.html

“After compaction, soil is under compression like a spring and…continues to PUSH against the foundation as it tries to expand…”

Are they saying its not possible a crack occurred during compaction? Its not possible a crack occurred from using heavy equipment near-next to basement wall? Are they assuming damproofing of the walls is going to prevent water/moisture from entering a crack that occurs during–after backfilling?

Back to B Vila link… see what OTHERS say…
–The Effect of Water… " The water pressure against a basement wall when the SOIL is Thoroughly soaked is called ‘hydrostatic pressure’. It can force moisture through PORES in the basement wall and even CRACK or buckle the wall itself. Here again, proper drainage is the remedy"

Well, proper DRAINAGE along and against the Entire DEPTH of basement walls equals…gravel,peastone…against the darn walls! ](*,)

NOT backfilling with soil that will expand `n contract, NOT backfilling with soil that impedes drainage along the basement wall, not backfilling with other garbage like bricks, blocks,pieces of concrete,wood,cans and other chtt.

Vila -Compaction… “the problem is that the pressure from the compacting process gets transmitted through-the-soil to the WALL. Basement walls have been known to crack…”

–Careful on the Construction Site… heavy equipment being operated near-next to a basement wall can damage/crack the wall. Hello? :-k

See what these guys say about backfilling, what to use…
http://www.yodergroup.com/concrete.asp 6th,7th para…and oh by the way, they have NO BBB customer complaints either, unlike others. Yeah, quite a few of those ‘others’ have a) quite a few BBB complaints in just the last 36 months b) only want to install inside-drain tile or baseboard system and do not agree at all with exterior waterproofing and, in fact, make many false claims about exterior waterproofing. go figure…

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/publications/marineclay.htm#2

…scroll down to Basement Walls -Cause… “Damage to foundation walls OFTEN occurs when marine clay (chtt any clay) are placed as Backfill against basement walls…which is now expressly PROHIBITED…it was a common procedure in houses built before 1975, and may STILL occure today where the builder is uninformed or careless” got that RIGHT :mrgreen:

“Damage from the pressure of swelling clays in backfill occurs after yearly cycles of shrinking and swelling before the detrimental effects are revealed…surface water can also accumulate against basement walls where the backfill has settled, increasing the soil moisture and swelling pressure of the soil. The result is an accelerated failure of the basement wall”

Maybe this is where some get messed up, apparently like S Car. ](*,)

Even if one can divert some/most ‘surface water’ away from bsmt walls, it does NOT eliminate ‘below ground’ pressure against walls. There will still be water further down in the darn soil against bsmt walls…and just because some soil has settled doesnt mean raising-the-grade etc is all that needs to be done, doesnt mean it will usually eliminate wet/damp basements…chtt.

One cant keep all water/moisture away from entire depth of bsmt walls, bcht, and even if one could that wouldnt be a good idea. Porches,additions, wall can experience problems when the soil around their home dries out,contracts…lack of rain. Porches/additions can begin to drop/settle because the soil-support the footings HAD underneath…has dried out,contracted,settled. Water can travel-percolate through soil SIDEWAYS as well as down.But if you wanna raise the grade 4’ high against your house go right ahead, yer house!:mrgreen:

–State Performance Standard… “While some dampness is normal, walls should not be wet…”

Hmm :-k …if the Standard was Waterproofing the basement walls and backfilling w/peastone and, everything Above grade was built/sealed correctly then there should be NO dampness but, they keep pushing their assumption that most problems with wet,leaky,damp basement walls is due to grading,low spots…nonsense-bs.

Try and look at it this way :-k … lets say some Backfilling was done and some/alot/whatever lol settling occured…one should be able to run a hose at full blast against the basement wall 24/7 and have NO water enter, thats IF the Walls were WATERPROOFED and there are no cracks, other openings in wall…think about it…

Same goes for ABOVE ground, if one recreates a heavy-long rain with a hose…and runs water against the basement windows,bricks etc(NOT those cheap-porous bricks) …if there are NO openings around the bsmt windows,bricks,doors etc then…no water will enter. Water/rain will enter when there ARE openings on the outside or, if ya have those cheap-porous bricks.

Yep, if a sprinkler is allowed to soak the chtt outta them bricks/mortar joints or, you have a house with NO gutters and water is allowed to come off that roof and soak ‘unprotected’ bricks n joints then youll most likely have a problem.

Another thing about bricks and mortar joints… some mortar joints will appear,look like they are sealed-full but truth is, some of those jojnts are very thin…doesnt take much rain to penetrateem.

And still other times, youll see a few bricks real close...tight to each other, very little room to get much mortar between them when house was built and you still wont be able to get much in there. May have to use-force caulk or something else between them to keep water/moisture/insects OUT.

–State Masonry and Concrete Standards…pg 64 Common Defect or Problem… Cracked Basement Walls…Builder responsibility

“builder to repair any cracks in mortar joints or poured walls exceeding 1/8” AVERAGE width…broken blocks should be removed from INSIDE…exterior repairs will not be made except in case of major structural damage"

…well, what the???

Is this whats best for the homeowner? is it whats best for the basement wall, leak, potential mold etc? OR…is it whats best for the, ahem…builder, huh?

Let`s see,

  1. builder to repair cracks EXCEEDING 1/8" average? im not talking about those itty bitty shrinkage cracks that barely penetrate the wall, they dont go THROUGH the wall, of course they wont leak,allow insects or radon in. But...an average of 1/8" ? Hm, what about a crack that starts out as a hairline crack at top of bsmt wall and widens to about 1/4" near bottom of wall...builder is not responsible? They saying it wont leak? Unreal chtt…

  2. repair on INSIDE? Remove broken block(s) on Inside? Umm, ya cant pull the block(s) out from Inside and not have cracks/openings on the outside of the hollow-block...its going to leak, the outside of this supposed repaied block isnt sealed/waterproofed! grrr

  3. are they saying that when there is a crack on the Outside of a hollow-block basement wall that the builder/anyone can fix/waterproof that crack on the Inside? lolol impossible!

  4. do they understand that a block basement wall can have NO visble crack on Inside of basement or…have a lil hairline crack on Inside of block basement wall and on the OUTSIDE…a crack can be 1-3" ?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/newconstruction/chi-0408280289aug28,0,1372834.story?coll=chi-classifiednewconstruct-hed

“To permanently stop and water vapor from entering your foundation walls, you need to waterproof them…don`t confuse waterproofing with damp-proofing”

“It is also better to waterproof from the Outside rather than try to stop water once it has entered your basement space…” …can someone please explain this to S Car `n others

Thats because, ya cant stop/prevent water that is entering through basement walls with a drain tile or baseboard inside system & sump, bs, no you cant. And anyone who says differently is several sandwiches short of a picnic, the cheese fell off their cracker a long time ago.