Forum: Waterproofing
June 17, 2008
Need Structural Engineer
We need recommendations for structural engineers who can identify causes of leaks in newly built masonry extension. I tried home inspectors who want to charge $600 to run a hose on the roof. We need someone who really understands construction and the ways of water. Neither our contractor nor our architect's attempts to find the source of the problems have panned out.
May 27, 2008
Caulking a hatch
Hi everyone,
I am writing for some advice about sealing the hatch that leads into my basement. The hatch covers the stairs to the basement. These stairs lead to a small vestibule that has a door that opens into my basement and is right below my small stoop (I have more of a tenement building than a brownstone). I noticed yesterday that the concrete ceiling (which is also the bottom of the stoop) looks like it is about to fall down, because of water damage and dampness.
Here are my questions:
1. What should I use to caulk the hatch so that water doesn't seep through?
2. What kind of concrete do I use to redo the concrete on the walls and ceiling in the vestibule?
3. Does anyone have any creative ideas about venting given that I have a hatch and given that the stoop is so small that there isn't room for venting from there?
4. Can I do this or should I hire someone? How much would something like this cost
Many thanks?
May 16, 2008
Who to hire for Concrete grading?
We had our mud hut removed from our Bed-Stuy brownstone, and nw need to do some back-filling on the piece of ground that was under the mud hut.
Meanwhile, our basement is getting water as a result of the recent rains. WHo can I get to put some concrete in that can be both an attractive patio as well as graded away from the building so we don't get water into the basement?
May 6, 2008
Waterproofing exterior brick
We have a 4 unit brownstone/brick coop that has peeling, lead-based paint in the back of the house. We're received 2 estimates for the removal. Both contractors would use Peel Away, but one swears by Toraseal (sp) to waterproof the bricks and another recommends water based silicone elastomer. Any recommendations of which would be better?
February 13, 2008
Water damage!
Some pipes on my neighbor's garden floor burst this morning, and flooded my basement, including water running along the drywall on the ceiling and dripping to the floor via the light sockets. The basement is not finished, and although I store personal items down there it is just stuff, so I am not overly concerned. But I am wondering what kind of actual damage there might be to ceiling and electrical and how I should go about have it assessed/remedied.
January 16, 2008
mold
Our main waste line backed up; the plumber, clearing the clog put waste water on the floor of an already damp basement (there have been repeated dampening incidents over years). We did our best to dry it, but mold has quickly appeared in that area.
Worse: a contractor, brought in to assess, inspected the entire basement and found mold on all walls throughout, front to back, c. 1000 sq. ft., not just in the wet area. Scary. He advises a big abatement job: three chemicals, wire-brushing, cement, HEPA vaccumming, paint, and intallation of a mega dehumidifer venting to the outside. And advises: "Don't use bleach" -- contradicting advice already received.
Does anyone have a sense of whether this makes sense, is overkill, will or won't work, etc.? Thanks for any thoughts.
December 19, 2007
Sewer Pipe Leak Outfit
Searching for solid references for companies that check for leaks in basement sewer pipes (usually by snaking a camera into the pipe). We may have a leak in our Pk Slope brownstone basement sewer pipe that is causing flooding. Thanks in advance.
December 18, 2007
Secret to Dry Basement?
What is the secret to waterproofing a basement (poured concrete) with rear staircase to backyard. There is a drywell near basement backdoor. Water seems to come from wall and seam between wall and floor. Any suggestions?
December 17, 2007
Basement water leak question
Hi all,
seems that we have a small problem with the basement. The hatch at the back of the house leading to the cellar has started leaking. A wet vac cleaned up the 30 or so gallons of water but that's not solved the problem. We've sealed the hatch but seems like water is still coming in. I did think to brick this up and fill in the hole with rocks / cement as it's not like we use this in any way or ever will. (Really not sure what function this fills - if anyone has ideas i'd love to know). Any other ideas how to solve this issue I'd greatly appreciate as we're currently stumped on how to solve.
December 16, 2007
Moisture Under Window
Beautiful People:
I am working on my garden apartment. Right now, the area underneath the front windowsills is exposed, on the inside, to the brick (as is much of the rest of the house).
On a nasty wet day like today, the rest of the brick is nice and dry, but the area underneath both the windowsills is as damp as can be.
We pulled out lots and lots of rotten wood from this area: rotten floors, molding, wainscotting, etc. So I don't think this is a new problem.
There were real gaps that let light in, so we filled those cracks with steel wool and expanding foam and figured we solved the problem. But it is still as wet as can be down there under the sills!
How do I best troubleshoot this? Do I look at the grade of the cement in front of the windows? The windows themselves (it's not the window casing that's leaking, it's the wood frame underneath the casing)?
I certainly don't want to replace all that wood only to let it all rot again.