Forum Archive: Waterproofing

Has anyone used Quality 1st Basement Waterproofing? Seems like it could be a good deal, lifetime guarantee. Thanks.

I know this seems to be a regular topic but I read all the posts and still don’t know who to call.

We have water coming in from heavy rains in the back of our basement. We have a “sump pit,” if that’s what you call a triangle pit in the corner that is filled with dirt. The rest of the floor is cement. I can actually see water flowing (dripping when its just a mild rain) into this pit from the foundation. With all these heavy rains, it over flowed last night. Even when my husband shopvac’d the water out, it filled back up right away.

I’d especially like to hear from people with similar problems who have already had this fixed. Recommendations for specialists would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Hello all

Background-
Over the winter, the ice storm created a leak in our neighbor’s gutter and downspout. The junction of the gutter and downspout rests firmly against our building (our building goes back further, the downspout runs down the inside corner created where the two buildings merge). This caused a huge leak during the winter into our building, and massive water damage to our entire building, all 5 stories. We notified the owner in the winter of the problem, showed his super the issue, showed his contractor the issue, and did so again last month. He has still not fixed it and every-time we have a big rain we are getting small leaks. Whenever I call him and tell him we have a leak and if there is damage he will be liable he calls me and assures me it will be fixed right away. He is extremely slow to react to things (its a rent controlled building and he’s not at all motivated to address any issue of ownership that costs him money).

Now the question(s)-
Are there any building codes that would require the downspout to not be touching the side of our building?

Can we do anything to protect our exterior wall from this leak?

If we do put something on our wall to protect it, his downspout would have to come off our building. Can we do this work without his permission (as in just inform him that we are doing repairs and will be removing the pipe from our building)?

Are there any avenues we should pursue to apply pressure on him to fix the issue?

Thank you.

Hi, Our house is next to an empty lot that has no drainage and slopes toward our house. When it rains there are large pools of standing water sitting up against the right side of our house and seeping into our ground floor wall and basement. We have spoken w/the owner of the lot and he says that we are welcome to do whatever work we feel is necessary, but he will not pay for anything. I got this recommendation, “Whatever waterproofing that is applied to your foundation wall should go down approx. six or seven feet- really should be to the floor of the basement. In addition , the waterproofing material needs to be “protected” with a “protection board” to prevent debris from piercing through the waterproofing material. Then a drainage mat should be applied over the protection board to relieve any hydrostatic build up against the foundation wall. A perforated pipe should be placed at the bottom of the trench to carry all the water away from your foundation.” Does anyone have experience with this? Suggestions on who to hire and approx cost? (length of wall is about 40′)
Thanks

Two questions:

Our basement is very wet. Swimming pool whenever it rains. I think the problem is coming from the neighbors on both sides, but I am not certain. Who can we call who could take a look and say for sure?

Second, the only ventilation in our cockloft is the bathroom air shaft. I am told that originally the cornice would have had vents. It is insanely hot on the top floor whenever outside temps reach over 90 degrees. Who is the expert to call who can tell us what we should do with our vent setup? And maybe if we should install a fan?

I own a unit on the top floor in a co-op and I’ve had issues with the leaking roof for the entire 7 years I’ve owned it. They’ve done several patch jobs but the problem remains and gets persistently worse with each heavy rain storm. Part of my ceiling has collapsed (twice!) once in the living room and the other in the bedroom. With the last heavy rain storm, water was leaking through the lighting fixture in the kitchen and the cable wiring in the living room! I’ve been quite patient with them because “they are working on it trying to find the source of the leaks” and I have indeed heard and seen roofers on the roof, pretty much every summer. However, the problem still remains. I am now trying to buy a condo and feel that my hands are tied because I will have a very hard time selling my co-op with the waterproofing issues. The building allows unrestricted renting but I’d be hesitant to put a tenant in the apartment with the issues. God forbid the ceiling collapses again and on their head! I would like to threaten to withhold my maintenance until they have completely fixed the issues but I’m not sure that would fly legally. Other than the leaks, the apartment is in pristine condition (new kitchen, updated bathroom, oak hardwood floors, etc). Any advice on what I can do (other than the obvious, “fix up the ceiling like nothing is wrong and only show it when it’s not raining”- which is probably illegal anyway)?

Thanks in advance!

We are going to fix up our front patio area, and are considering putting in a bed for plants. We’re wondering of anyone has thoughts about whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing from a drainage pov.(we’ve had issues with water in the front of our basement) Does all that dirt soak up the water, or does it just get the ground saturated & seep into the basement. I guess the question is – to pave or not to pave? Thanks

Brownstone 3rd flr ceiling leaks with every rain/snow. Checked all possible sources without luck. Roof, windows, balcony, flashings, 4thflr, etc. I understand not uncommon in these older houses. Anyone successfully solved this problem? Would you share solution?

Can somebody advise me for the best waterproofing company in Brooklyn to fix a leak in my basement.
Has anybody heard of Bonded waterproofing?

http://www.bondedwaterproofing.com/