Going With the Professional Way.

Well after a lot of thinking and planning I have finally decided that the best way to fix my problem is to seek professional help. So far I have received 3 bids and one guy who walked in and out in 15 mins and said he can't do it.

The first bid was for a waterproofing solution. They would put up I-beams and a interior drainage system with 2 sump pumps. This system sounded good, but, and theirs always a BUT. The 25 year warranty had restrictions like make sure I have 20 foot gutters running away from house at all times. Make sure the ground is graded correctly. All these little things that could easily get the company out of fixing any warranty issues. Not to mention this would all be done for a whopping $25,000.

The second bid was another waterproofing solution. This guy used to be into construction and rebuilding basements but went to waterproofing instead since its easier and cheaper. He would do the same thing; put I-beams in and an interior perimeter drain tile. The main difference, which I was very pleased with, was the warranty. It's a lifetime warranty and it does not matter if I have the gutters out or even on the house and it doesn't matter about the grading of the soil either. This guy says his system is meant to remove that water no matter what and his warranty stands behind it. Not to mention this could all be done for $15,000, $10,000 less than the other guy with a better warranty.

The last bid I got was for rebuilding the basement. This guy said he could only do the 3 walls and then brace the 4th wall. Also redo the entire floor, but one wall is really hard to get access to so it will cost more. This guy pretty much told me the house was not worth putting that much into, since his bid was $35,000, and that the waterproofing idea would probably work for now and the house will last for a long time with that fix.

So, I think I have decided on going with the waterproofing idea from the 2nd guy. If the floor still leaks when he is done I can have him come back and add fingers to help relieve the hydrostatic pressure. We'll see what happens

FINALLY!!

I think I finally figured out how to actually fix my basement the right way. I had to buy a $18 book about repairing your basement to get some good info. The only problem is I have already finished the walls, but the book is saying to do something different. I have siliconed the walls but I did it over the other silicone, I did scrape away all the loose stuff though. The book says to use a hydraulic cement for the cracks and to chisel out the opening so the cement can go into it and hold. So now I have to scrape everything off and start over. I would leave it since it does actually look pretty good but the wall I did a year ago, with the same method, has already began to crack so it is not a long term fix.

I also currently have another problem fast approaching. Today was the first warm day for awhile now and my gutters were already pouring streams of water out of the end and down the spout. Also one part of the basement has already started leaking. So now I am in a race against Mother Nature as well. I'll let your know what happens.

Wet Basements Help!

Well I might have found a solution to the water in the basement. I haven't bought it yet just curious if anyone else has bought this and found it useful. Its a downloadable ebook called waterproofing manual. It has a lot of solutions to waterproofing a basement, i'm just curious if anyone has heard about it or bought it before and if they can tell me if its worth it. Here is the site with the ebook Click Here!

Leaky Basements

I have a problem with water in the basement in my floor and walls. The floors are my main concern right now since I have already caulked and am in the process of waterproofing the walls. The problem with my floor, which is concrete, is it has several small cracks and a few larger cracks all over it and when it rains a lot or in the spring when the snow melts I end up with a wet basements. The water comes up through the cracks. I do have a drain in the floor so that is not an issue but I would like to eventually make a room and place furniture down there. Anyone know a good way to waterproofing a basement?

I have not been able to find a solution to fix my problem. I have checked on multiple options, but am looking for a do-it-yourself fix at a reasonable price. I have a friend who works at a hardware store who has suggestions but so far nothing will work. I have tried the concrete and masonry silicone to see if that would "seep" into the larger cracks. It did "seep" into the larger cracks but it was either too cold or too much moisture in the cracks because the stuff sat there for a week, with a heater and fan, and was still as liquidy as when I put it on. So after scraping that off I am in the process of trying concrete to fill the cracks using multiple light layers. Hopefully this works.

If anyone has any other suggestions or have had good luck with something please let me know. I was also wondering if anyone know about a good spray insulation of some sort that I can put on my basement walls to help insulate and waterproof them.