Background: My house (1897) is built on a fairly typical Boston area puddingstone foundation. I would call the space a cellar not a basement–I can stand up down there but no one over 5’8″ can–and being at the bottom of a hill it is darn damp.
The previous owner put in a concrete slab, interior french drain and sump pump but it is still too damp to be a useful space. When it is really rainy the first floor also has a distinct damp cellar smell.
I am an architect so I know that the correct way to deal with this is to attack it from the outside. But I am in a tight urban location (I do have a small backyard) and can’t afford to do a lot of earth moving (architect pay).
There are a couple of companies around here that dry out basements–they basically install a membrane on the inside of the foundation wall tuck it into a french drain and then pump to daylight. Add a serious dehumidifier and the space should be useable for storage.
I am suspicious of anything that lets dampness into the cellar while cutting off your view of the foundation walls. But the fairly reasonable cost ($4000) and one-time fix aspect makes it temping. And suspicious.
Has anyone out there put in one of these systems or worked with one after the fact?
I want to get some knowledgable thoughts on this not just homeowner stuff.
thanks much,
Eli
Replies
>>Has anyone out there put in one of these systems or worked with one after the fact?
>>I want to get some knowledgable thoughts on this not just homeowner stuff.
I see them often as a home inspector.
They work, but are damned expensive. And with that little headroom, it will never be anything more than a cellar.
I haven't seen it on done on a stone foundation - I'd guess you have to run it all the way up the wall 9as with terra cotta tile foundations)
I'm assuming you've extended your downspouts and fixed your gading
Interesting, it was the home inspector who suggested I look into one of these systems.rjw3 it sounds like the systems you saw were working, if expensive. Is that right?And, yes, downspouts and grading are as fixed as they can get given the site shape. Some of this is water off of the roof but I think most of it is comeing through the ground. Dampness is coming up through the slab on one side and the walls are slightly damp when it is very rainy. Being at the bottom of a hill in an area with many springs I expect some dampness. I don't like the way it affects the rest of the house--I would love to fix my old heart pine floors but not with such humidity swings. It will be a cellar but a cellar I can put stuff in is a heck of a lot better than one I can't.Thanks for your thoughts.
I have pretty much the same situation - foundation is fieldstone (I assume same thing you call 'puddingstone') for about 3 1/3 feet & brick about the same on top, concrete floor, but no membrane under it. (Cellar dated from ~ 1895).
I got a nice big dehumidifier, which does the trick when the boiler isn't running. (I can buy a lot of electricity for $4000.) I set it to drain into the sump.
Thanks Kate, I have been thinking of trying the dehumidifier first and if that isn't enough go with a more extreme system.
Before you had the dehumidifier what kind of water/dampness were you dealing with?
When we moved in, the house had been abandoned for 7 years - the 2 bulkheads had rotted out & acted as funnels for all the water running off the saltbox roof. We had about 6 inches of water, & lots of muoldy furniture, rolls of carpet, cat & rat carcasses - you name it if it's wet & nasty.We lugged out all the solids, shop-vacced what we could of the rest, & then started the dehumidifiers. I should add here that the basement is 45 x 35, divided in half by a brick wall with only 1 door - at one time the huose was set up as a duplex.Because of the poor air flow between the sides, I used 2 30 pint dehumidifiers. It took a couple of weeks to really get dried out, in August, but after that, I only run them when needed - In a wet spring, I get some ground water around the floor-wall seam, & along the expansion joints in the floor. (This spring was so dry, I didn't get that.)In a really torrential rain, I will get some seepage in a couple of spots, but a fan & the dehums. quickly take care of it.
I don't yet have gutters, but I did deal with all the grade issues, & patched up the leaks in the foundation by digging doen outside & pouring in roofing tar, which I learned from an article in Old House Journal or This Old House.Good Luck!Edited to add:Also in stalled a big, strong sump pump in a nice deep hole - a lot of the h2o that used to come in now goes straight to the pit.
Edited 8/16/2006 4:17 pm ET by kate
Thanks everyone,
I knew this was a good place to ask.
The other thing I've learned in a long life in old houses - never store anything directly on the floor. Since there is no waterproof membrane under the concrete, always use pallets, blocks of wood, shelves, etc. I have found that the plastic foam moulded inserts shipped with many larger products make good pallets,Also. in front of my electrical boxes I have a half pallet with a sheet of plywood and a rubber mat. I also have thick rubber mats from a farm store on front of my workbenches.The water heater and the boiler are on cement blocks. I have the laudry equipment upstairs off the kitchen, but if they were down there, they would be on blocks too.Belt & suspenders!
Hi all new here...I have a interior perimeter french drain/ sump system in my house. I t was installed by a company that could do the job quicker than I could! it does work well. I finished my basement and could not see spending the extra $$ to protect my investment. It's funny but I would still get a musty odor here and there. I have an adjoining crawl space with a poured floor and an access door from the finished side of the space. I got a dehumidifier and all is well. Problem solved. I do empty the bucket out a lot and will soon hook up to my pump system. (really a dewatering system as its designed to let water come in and pump it out) I'm getting tired of emptying it! It does make the space warmer now as the moisture that cools a basement space is now gone...but its better than that musty smell and I think it would solve a lot of your problems....
Mark Laura
not sure what you are asking....
could you break that paragraph down and elaborate a bit more
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Didn't really ask anything, just giving my input and experience!
Good luck!
Mark
We did the system from B-Dry, based on a) the lifetime warrenty; and b) a neighbors experience. We were at a local bottom, on Spring Ave. near Spring Park, with the creek behind us (get the general drift?)
Anyway, we found it to work very well, but we did have a block foundation about 4' to 5' below grade, 1930's construction.
But I ran a dehumidifier also, as there was no AC.
eas
In your situation I would try this product to seal up the interior walls http://www.ugl.com/DRYLOKFrame.html
Then install a Santa Fe dehumidifier unit (highly rated equipment). http://www.thermastor.com/prod_santafe.htm
One thing to be aware of is the big jump in electrical usage when you have any dehumidifier in frequent use.
Virginbuild