So my parents bought a duplex, got it inspected, etc. All looked good, price was great.
The inspector said there was a water leak on a basement bedroom and they were told it was from the escape window, but without rain they couldn’t tell for sure.
Well rain came and water got in, it didn’t make any sense to me that it could come from the window so I did a test myself. I put a hose outside running close to the house where I thought the leak was and voila I could see the water coming in, but not near the window. Basically there are two pipes coming into the house, one is clearly the water main of the house, the main shutoff is right there. The other pipe I am guessing might go to the other side of the duplex, who knows. The water comes through the foundation on the two holes for the two water pipes. I was able to see this because there is an easy access panel covering these pipes right next to the window. After looking at them for a second I noticed there are water stains below the pipes.
So my questions are, how do I go about fixing this? a contractor quoted me 1K to drill some holes and inject some sort of thing in there, is that correct? should it cost that much?
And my other question is, shouldn’t the inspector have caught this? I mean there are big water stains under the pipes and I didn’t have to do anything special to see them. Should I bring this up with the inspector? it isn’t as much about the money, I just feel like, what did I get the place inspected for if they didn’t even catch that?
I’ve attached a picture of what I could easily see.
Thank you for any of your comments.
–Carlos
Edited 5/21/2009 11:58 pm ET by casolorz
Replies
Can you take another picture or two , and this time back up a bit.
That picture is such a close up that I can't even see the arrangement of the pipes nor the entry through the wall .
picture? There was a picture?
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yep.
As an attachment. Maybe added as an edit.
Shows 2 copper elbows that appear to be tied into a stainless wrapped ferncos that disappear into the concrete. I can see the stainless band and the hose clamps.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Actually the edit was to mention I had attached a picture on the original post.I'm attaching a few more now.
I was kidding with him.
I don't and cannot download photos larger than about 100-200 KBs. Photos as large as yours eliminate a large number of members here who are on dial-up, so you can increase your audience and get better/more feedback by resizing them smaller.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
hahaha those photos are way down on quality from my originals, I'll see if I can post smaller ones later.
I hope someone resizes them .
You can take a guess as to what the connection between the pipes is then. But on the patching issue... I have used spray foam shot in along side the pipe, let it cure, then cut it back just a bit below the surface of the crete and use a good poly caulk or hydraulic cement to seal things off.
Used that technique a lot on "she" bolts from 12" CIP walls with much success.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
here's one of'emTFB (Bill)
Hard to tell whether it's plastic pipe running through the wall, or if it's just a plastic sleeve around the copper pipe.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
now that I've seen a photo, a sleeve is what it looks like to me, since copper should never be run thru crete in direct contact.the staining is very slight, but can't tell without watching a leak whether it is water running thru on the outside of the abs sleeve or between it and the copper. if the latter, some geocel on the outside will take care of things.i might even speculate that the clamps are there in a misguided attempt to keep water out, and there are no clamps on the exterior side of this gumbo.
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The inspector did catch it. He said there was a leak in the basement.
As for fixing - that might not be very hard, but it is probably the gaurantee and franchise fee that is expensive.
Dig down to expose the pipes and clean the area well, then etch it with 10% muratic acid.
Then mix up some hyraulic cement to work in and smooth out. This stuff kicks within 15 minutes, so be preparred top work fast, and maybe in small batches.
Then after it is cred and dry, paint over the area with foundation coating
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Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
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>>shouldn't the inspector have caught this?
Was the panel accessible at the time of the inspection? Behind something? Under a towel? Painted shut? Nailed shut?
Where did s/he see signs of water in the bathroom? How big is it?
A lot of factors to consider, but if it was easy access and the stains close to that spot, AND, if there were water signs on the drywll at that spot, well, yeah, he probably should have caught the stains below the pipe inlets.
The grand to fix?
Wow, I'll come do it for half that if you buy the tickets!
Someone said hydraulic cement. That's likely best.
As said, it sets up fast: practice/play with it before actually applying it to the spot.
Also, how come you're getting so much water at that one spot on the foundation in the first place?
Betcha you've got a downspout discharging right above there without at least 6' (10 is better) extension. (I'll throw that in for the $500 <G>)
"Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
Howard Thurman
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Yeah the panel was very accessible, he even looked there and told me the water shutoff looked alright.
There wasn't much evidence of the water leak during the inspection, it wasn't until a few weeks later that we got a lot of rain.And you are right there is an outside issue that we need to fix too, there are no gutters other than on one side and its a hipped roof, I'm sure if I just added that the problem would almost go away but I want to make sure its fully fixed.
It's often hard to tell from staining whether the problem is a flood or just a few drips, possibly due to condensation. (It's also hard to tell anything from your picture.)
The right way to fix this is to dig up the area on the outside and seal it. I can't tell from the picture how deep down the pipes run, and your profile doesn't tell us where you live, so I don't know how much digging this implies. But if the water soaked down to it that easily it couldn't be too deep.
We are in Kansas. Its on a full basement, I'm going to guess the pipes are 4 or 5 feet below ground level.