Common house problems - how to solve them
by George Pappas
By far the most common home problem is a damp or wet basement. Not unique to older homes, this problem affects about 90-95% of all homes, including those built after 1960. Wetness or dampness can mean any amount of water from occasional or seasonal dampness on the foundation walls to significant flooding. With many homeowners utilizing lower levels for additional living and recreational space, there are genuine comfort and health concerns.
Generally, basement contractors are specialists in remedying a situation, they do not always have the resources or ability to diagnose the true cause of a wet basement. Nine times out of ten, contractors will recommend digging up the soil at the exterior walls to significant flooding. With many homeowners utilizing lower levels for additional living and recreational space, there are genuine comfort and health concerns.
Generally, basement contractors are specialists in remedying a situation, they do not always have the resources or ability to diagnose the true cause of a wet basement. Nine times out of ten, contractors will recommend digging up soil at the exterior walls of the home, then applying "parging" (a cement facing), then applying the "damp proofing" materials on the walls, adding weeping tiles (properly called drainage tiles) and finally backfilling to solve the wetness problem.
PROPER DIAGNOSIS SAVES THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS
A home owner called us because he had a stream of water coming into the basement. He had called several contractors and all four of them had the same response: dig - parging - damp proofing, and weeping tiles. Quotes ranged from $11,000 to $23,000. He called us because he was rather skeptical and rather confused to say the least.
Our inspection and subsequent discussion with the home owner revealed that the water comes in about 15 to 20 minutes after it rains. We concluded that the stream of water had to be coming from rainwater as opposed to a high water table or an underground river or springs. Because it came relatively quickly from the start of the rain it most likely was due to downspout was connected outside to an original clay storm sewer at the north driveway wall adjacent to where the stream of water in the basement was coming from.
We advised the owner that the underground clay storm drain was most likely cracked, split, or had an opening in it and the downspout water was leaking out of this clay pipe into the soil and into the basement. We advised him on how to test our recommendations before commencing repairs.
The next day the client called and said that he had done the test and it confirmed that the cause of the problem was indeed the broken storm drain as we predicted. On our advice, he purchased 20ft. of eavestrough and an elbow and extended the downspout to the front lawn. Problem solved! Total cost was less than $30., plus a consulting fee of $250.00 for a total cost of $280. This was a saving of $10,720 to $22,720 compared to the basement contractor quotes received.
If you have water dampness or wetness in your basement, we would highly recommend our "Wet Basement" booklet. It provides a step-by-step description on how to properly diagnose the cause of the problem and recommends the steps necessary to solve your basement water problems. This book is available by calling our office at (416) 691-9900 or 1-888-PAPPAS1 from anywhere in Canada. Informative and easy to understand, the booklet is only $9.95 + taxes and postage and handling.
If you have any questions or are experiencing any other house problems that you would like solved, please call us at www.home.istar.ca/ ~ pappas/ or e-mail us at pappas@istar.ca
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