wet crawlspace

[John Dirks Jr]

What type of professional do you recommend for a situation like this? You can see the pooling water next to the wall. The surrounding area is very wet and mushy.

There was a perforated extension tube for a downspout just above this area outside. I'm sure that doesnt help matters. Neither does the lack of condensate drain lines from the rusting air handler.

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[kurt]

I would recommend a really good home inspector. There isn't any particular trade that is going to come in and see all the interconnected variables.

The bsmt. waterproofing guy is going to sell drain tile, the heating guy is going to sell heating equipment, the landscaper is going to sell them bushes, etc., etc......

I would like to see the profession progress to the point where folks were competent to craft descriptions and solutions for this sort of mess.

[Mike Lamb]

To stop the moisture, I'd recommend a good water proofer. They are not all crooks. Stop the water if that's possible although CMU can be a tough nut, and then fix the other stuff.

[hausdok]

Originally posted by kurt

I would recommend a really good home inspector. There isn't any particular trade that is going to come in and see all the interconnected variables.

The bsmt. waterproofing guy is going to sell drain tile, the heating guy is going to sell heating equipment, the landscaper is going to sell them bushes, etc., etc......

I would like to see the profession progress to the point where folks were competent to craft descriptions and solutions for this sort of mess.

Hi,

I recommend specific solutions for this kind of stuff all the time. However, in this instance, without being able to see all fo the factors that are impacting this crawl, I couldn't really settle on any one solution. He's only given us a small part of the puzzle with this picture.

What's the exterior topography around the home?

How does the lot drain; which direction-away from the home on all sides, toward the home at one side, two sides, three, etc.

Does the perforated receiver interconnect to an in-ground drain?

If so, is the in-ground drain also perforated?

What type of in-ground receivers are there - crocks or plastic?

Is that in-ground drain separate from any other drains?

If there aren't any in-ground receivers, how far is water from the roof being conveyed away from the house/

Has the overdig settled near the foundation?

Lot's more that one needs to know; one picture doesn't do it.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[kurt]

He didn't ask how to fix it. He asked what sort of professional he should recommend for a situation like this.

From what I can see, there's multiple considerations in multiple systems.

Ergo, someone's gotta figure out what to do first. Why wouldn't a good HI be the professional to call?

[hausdok]

Hi Kurt,

I'm not disagreeing with you; I'm agreeing with you - a good home inspector should be able to look at that and figure it out. However, he's the home inspector and he's asking us who to call, and, without knowing all of the other factors present, there's no way to know which other trade is going to be appropriate to remedy it, whether a landscaper, a gutter guy or a drainage guy, etc.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[John Dirks Jr]

I'll be making recommendations to various professions to fix things that could lead to this. I was not specific enough. I meant to ask about who to recommend to deal with the fact that the water is already there.

Basement water proofer sounds good enough to me.

I'll tell ya, sometimes the responses that one gets here will make a person a bit apprehensive to engage in the first place.

[jmason]

It would be wise to call a professional in this kind of situation.

Any water or moisture in your crawlspace is obviously a bad thing. It can lead to mold or even beam rot.

Most companies do free inspections - they will actually look in your crawlspace and be able to tell you what caused the leak and what kind of options you have to repair it.

A good site to check out is Wet-Basement-Waterproofing.com

Good luck!

[Chris Bernhardt]

John are you saying that you want to include the type of contractor in all your recommendations or were you only asking for this specific case?

I use to believe that I was doing a big favor for my clients by steering them toward the right type of contractor. I don't believe that anymore.

Like Kurt pointed out some problems have multiple considerations and don't lend themselves to any one contractor referral.

Les has schooled me several times on that point and if you look at one of Jim Katen's reports you'll be hard pressed to find contractor type recommendations. Thinking about the recommendation in terms of which contractor would do the repair is problematic.

That being said for certain types of problems it's perfectly fine to make a recommendation to a specific type of contractor.

Chris, Oregon

[Jeremy]

#1 A crawl space should have a positive drain. This is giong to require a little excavation. A penetration at the low point of the crawl with some gravel and 4"pipe running down to daylight. If the lot grade will not permit this then a sump will be required, but you still need to get water on grade going away from the foundation. Any plumber should be able to handle the sump pump and many plumbing companies have backoes, too.

#2 Proper grade slope keeps water running away from the building. This can be done by the same little excavator/contractor.

#3 Be sure crawl is vented properly and has a vapor barrier on ground. If it is not then you would need a remodel/building contractor/or a mason to install foundation vents.

#4 If gutters are wasted then a gutter man also, which some remodel/building contractors also handle.

#5 Then a HVAC company can handle the air handler.

All together it is going to be expensive, but it is not that complicated. If the sill plate and joist are rotten and soggy then it gets more complicated.

Realistically only 2 or 3 contractors need be involved. Sometimes one good one can handle it all.

[Home Pride]

Originally posted by John Dirks Jr

I'll tell ya, sometimes the responses that one gets here will make a person a bit apprehensive to engage in the first place.

That is a by-product of the internet.

This board, unfortunately, has a large collection of over-inflated egos.

Many of these posters will offer very good advice. Many others will insult the original poster while pretending to answer the question.

One of your strengths as an inspector needs to be the ability to separate the wheat from the chaff. And to read between the lines, so to speak...[]

Dom.

[kurt]

There's not a large collection of over inflated egos. There's always a small collection of folks on any board that are intimidated by folks talking.

I suppose we could load up on emoticons and smiley faces.

[John Dirks Jr]

Did you ever notice how many people look? Comparatively speaking, very few engage.

There's lessons to be learned in the middle of it all. I don't mind rollin with the punches. That doesn't mean I won't state my mind now and then.

[kurt]

Which is fine. That's how it works. You post all the time. I respect that. Some folks are afraid to post, and hide it in name calling and ego jousting. Or, they insist they are the more rigorous inspector, as on the water heater thread. sheeesh......... Let's just break it down to seeing who's swings the biggest.......

I moderate a number of boards. There's some that have tens of thousands of lurkers that never post.

If there's a bunch of folks out there that are afraid to post because they're afraid that someone might bruise them, well, that means there's a bunch of people out there that are afraid to post because they're afraid someone might bruise them. That's all it means.

[gtblum]

In my opinion, you couldn't find a better HI school than here. The state should give CE credit for proof of logging on. If I'm afraid to post a question, then I'm afraid to learn.

[randynavarro]

And then there's the bare-naked reality that asking questions exposes us and how much we don't know.

Did I say that?

[Bain]

Originally posted by Home Pride

Originally posted by John Dirks Jr

I'll tell ya, sometimes the responses that one gets here will make a person a bit apprehensive to engage in the first place.

That is a by-product of the internet.

This board, unfortunately, has a large collection of over-inflated egos.

Many of these posters will offer very good advice. Many others will insult the original poster while pretending to answer the question.

One of your strengths as an inspector needs to be the ability to separate the wheat from the chaff. And to read between the lines, so to speak...[]

Dom.

What Kurt said. I think we play together in the sandbox just fine together.

I had a busy day, so I'm coming in late here. I make recommendations all the time, but wouldn't want to be on the hook for any failed--real or imagined--advice given about correcting a wet crawlspace.

I routinely tell folks to call a waterproofing contractor when I find big pools of standing water in crawlspaces. That way, I'm not rendering an opinion that can return at a later date and cause me problems. B-Dry does a great job, and offers a transferable lifetime warranty. Me? I don't offer lifetime warranties.

So there, I've disagreed with Kurt, Chris and Jeremy, but who cares? We just have different ways of handling things.

Now, damn. How do I make these emoticons work . . . ?

[Jeremy]

Originally posted by SonOfSwamp

Originally posted by Jeremy

#1 A crawl space should have a positive drain.

I respectfully disagree. If anybody's interested, I opined about "positive drains" ten years ago, and the column is here:

http://www.nashvillescene.com/1998-06-1 ... s/swamped/

Note: The old links at the bottom of the story don't work anymore.

WJ

I agree for the most part with your article from the Nashville Scene.

The 2006 IRC (R401.3) does not call for a positive drain from inside the crawl space. However you see what happens when water does get into the crawl space, for whatever reason. When done right they will drain. Gravity works good. It's just good practice and is required in some juridictions, even though it isn't fancy or high tech. Portland, TN is one of them. The inspector actually looks for them.

Thanks for disagreeing, no offense taken.

[Brian G]

Originally posted by John Dirks Jr

Did you ever notice how many people look? Comparatively speaking, very few engage.

There's lessons to be learned in the middle of it all.

I agree; the truth is somewhere out in the middle.

Sometimes "askers" are much too sensitive. They run away and pout at the first suggestion that they aren't every bit as good as a solid 20 or 30 year veteran; they aren't.

Other times "responders" are way too harsh, or even insulting, if a newer guy doesn't already swing it like a solid 20 or 30 year veteran; they can't.

But if one wants the free education a site like this has to offer, and it is considerable if you take it for all it's worth, then you gotta develop a tough hide and learn to roll with the punches (and give some back as well). That's just the way it is.

Brian G.

Post Often, Grow a Pair, Learn a Lot [:-graduat

[kurt]

Really, for gawd's sake.......

Crawling around in ratshit for a living tends to preclude having whole big bunches of ego in the first place.

[Bain]

Originally posted by kurt

Really, for gawd's sake.......

Crawling around in ratshit for a living tends to preclude having whole big bunches of ego in the first place.

'Zactly. Earlier this week, I was in a hole much worse than the one in John's photo and found myself wondering, "What kind of f**king idiot would sign up to do this for a living?"

[John Dirks Jr]

Originally posted by Bain

Originally posted by kurt

Really, for gawd's sake.......

Crawling around in ratshit for a living tends to preclude having whole big bunches of ego in the first place.

'Zactly. Earlier this week, I was in a hole much worse than the one in John's photo and found myself wondering, "What kind of f**king idiot would sign up to do this for a living?"

How long does it take for a newer HI to convince themself that this is something they want to continue for years and years.

I'm still searching. [?]

[kurt]

Surprisingly, I still like it after all these years. I get down on occasion, but it ain't a bad gig. All we have to do is tell the truth.

Which isn't a bad way to earn a living.

[SelvaLee]

like this?

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[hausdok]

Hi,

I've been out all day and just got home. John, you say you'll recommend a basement waterproofing guy. That might work. On the other hand, you might end up causing someone to spend a whole lot of money for stuff that's not even necessary if all that needs to be done is to get the downspout discharge away from the foundation.

A few years ago, I was doing a rooftop deck for a guy when he came to me on a rainy January day and asked if I could look at his basement. We went down to look at it; there was a stream of water flowing across the floor and then draining into a floor drain. From there it went out and emptied into the sanitary sewer. He explained that he'd lived there for more than a dozen years and had always had water in his basement. He said that he'd just had an estimate from a basement waterproofing guy for $4600 and he was seeking a separate opinion.

We walked outside and I looked at the sides of the house; the drainage was good on all sides but the downspouts were all draining into 60-year old concrete crocks and it was apparent, at least to me, that those were probably broken below grade. I told him I'd take care of it and he left for work. I went down to the big orange box and bought five 4" bubbler pots and about 50' of non-perforated 4" drainpipe and a bag of Sakrete.

When I got back to his house it was pouring rain and the water was flowing pretty good in the basement. One-by-one, I disconnected the downspouts from their receivers, plugged the receivers with a really thick mix of mud, dug 8' long trenches about a foot deep away from the downspouts, installed the bubbler pots, connected them to the downspouts with sections of pipe, buried the pipe and replace the sod. It took couple of hours and I got soaking wet.

When I was done, I walked into the house and went down into the basement. Despite the pouring rain, the water was dried up and all that was left was a wet stain on the basement floor. I went back to work on the deck and by the time the client came home the basement floor was perfectly dry. If I hadn't just happened to have been there working that day, he might have spent $4600 for one of those fancy in-basement drainage systems with a sump pump.

All this to say, again, that you've only given us a small part of the picture. If you ask for help and someone responds and says that it's necessary to provide more information, it's usually a good idea to give them as much additional information as you can. When you do, you might get answers that you'll be happier with.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike