From a wet basement to a dry one
Stephen Roberts is a home inspector with more than ten years experience. Write me if you have questions for the inspector. He agreed to take a crack at answering questions here for home buyers and owners.
Today, Steve of HouseMaster Home Inspections describes what you need to do to turn a wet basement into a dry one.
Here's Steve:
What I tell all my clients is "a basement is nothing but a hole in the ground. Water (as we all know from science class) seeks its lowest level. Therefore, every basement has the potential to develop water issues." It doesn't matter if the home is 200 years old, or brand new, water is its enemy.
Several years ago we had a very wet spring (remember the Mother's Day rain?) The Boston area received an unusual amount of rain, and there was a tremendous amount of basements that were flooded. The phones at basement water proofing companies were ringing off the hook. It was certainly a good time to be working in that business.
Most of my clients understand that there is a level of risk in purchasing a home, and if they plan on finishing the basement, it's advisable to install a basement water proofing system. These systems are designed to move any ground water away from the living area and to pump it to the outside. A properly designed and installed system should be able to handle any ground water issue and keep the living space dry.
Many systems that I run across, though, are not designed properly and are installed by the homeowner. In these systems, one of the most important components of the system is missing, a battery backup. When I come across a system without a battery backup, I always recommend installing one. This simple component is missed quite frequently, and it's needed the most is during a storm, when the lights go out.
More importantly, though, it's imperative that you ask the seller directly about any basement water issues. Because nobody knows more about the home you are buying, than the persons selling it to you.
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Do you have a basement that didn’t dry out with a professional system?
Do you have other questions for Steve about your basement?
And regarding buying and selling: Are wet basements the kiss of death for home resale? Buyers, do you run away if you smell a wet basement?
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Buy on top of a hill. We have a perpetually dry basement with no waterproofing system. Dank and yucky as you would expect an unfinished basement from a 1920's house to be, but dry. The people across the street from us (down hill from us) have water pumping to the street from their basements 24/7 during the rainy season.
Honestly, though, that was luck of the draw. I didn't realize how much it mattered until we moved in and saw the different being uphill can mean.
It would be great if he could go through the components of a dry basement system. They differ, depending on what problem you have.
Does this matter to buyers? Not during the boom, it didn't. Standing water. Plastic covering the entire basement floor. Washers and dryers on two-foot tall platforms. Large chunks of the floor coming up. I saw several people make offers at OHs without having ever stepped foot in the basement. Now they can repent at leisure.
I'm currently very interested in buying a specific house that has a very wet basement (one large 2-3 inch deep puddle). The owner is playing dumb (saying they didn't use the basement much).
I want the house, but the basement concerns me. What can we do as buyers to remedy the problems with the basement (at least to the point that it won't cause damage to the foundation or the house)?
Wet basements are all too common and we're finiding more and more new home buyers who are interested in free inspections.
@RHHomeBuyer: Get the basement inspected by a professional local company. The only major thing you can do at this point, before owing the home, is to gain knowledge. Sadly many homeowners don't tell potential buyers about problems with the foundation or with leaks in the basement's history. Normally there's a period before you close on a home where you have your home inspections done. Having the basement inspected at this point is the best idea.
@Marcus There are so many solutions out there at this point that adding all of the possible solutions to this post would be a bit much.
RMHomeBuyer (#3): Personally, I'd get a very experienced specialist in there to have a good look at the problem. Then I'd obtain a top-of-the-line estimate for remediation (think: foundation repairs, outside regrading, landscaping, new sump pump with battery backup, tie-ins with drainage system, etc.) and demand a price concession accordingly.
To RMHomeBuyer
I happen to agree with the posts above. The time to do something is now, not after you own the problem. A basement waterproofing system can be very costly. And as we all know, if you are buying a home, there won't be lots of left over money floating around (ha, ha) for an emergency. There is nothing worse, than not being prepared for an emergency, wether it's a flooded basement or a leaky roof.
Best of luck with your future purchase.
Stephen Roberts HouseMaster
Cool article as for me. It would be great to read a bit more about that matter.
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
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