Cellar waterproofing and renovation

Anyone waterproof their brownstone cellar? Can you recommend a contractor and insight into costs for:

1. Cellar floor: Capillary break, Water vapor, Concrete slab and vent
2. Repoint cellar wall joints and apply sealant
3. Two new cellar hatches (front and back)
4. Add electric outlets and lights to existing panel
5. Replace load relieving center beam (45 feet)

monaco

in General Discussion 7 years and 10 months ago

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Guest User | 7 years and 10 months ago

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you can call Luis and Ricardo do a very good job of bronwstone and masonry 3472862808

oliver_nyc | 7 years and 10 months ago

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all the sealing was done from the outside. we used gravel to backfill the area so it would drain better.

workisfun | 7 years and 10 months ago

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I think the coats of sealing are band aids. I hope you didn’t sheetrock over the walls. What was the better drainage he installed outside?

oliver_nyc | 7 years and 10 months ago

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we had anthony bauer (anthony the mason) so a bunch of sealing in our cellar – walls, floor – as well as putting down new slab in certain areas and pain the walls from the inside. we did some work sealing from the outside as well though (including digging out some big rocks and clay and replacing with better drainage.) he’s a pro and very fairly priced. not sure about the electrical or replacing the center beam. try him at (347) 307-4725

monaco | 7 years and 10 months ago

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Thanks for the insight, appreciate it.

workisfun | 7 years and 10 months ago

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Also consider a French drain to the sump pump. And a vapor barrier beneath the slab. While you’re at it, Insulation below that might be nice, too.

anotherposter | 7 years and 10 months ago

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We were told we couldn’t really waterproof the cellar, just plan wisely. I don’t remember the costs but here’s some info I do remember.

We put a pit with a pump in it and they pitched the concrete floor towards that hole. We had a backup in the sewage line (tree roots from a sidewalk tree!) that caused a drain in the hatch (the lowest point) to send it into the cellar and the pump did work, we just had to replace a rug.

I’ve been told you shouldn’t seal the stone walls in the cellar/basement as it will make water sit in the walls and damage the mortar faster than letting the walls sweat. We did put some indoor paint on ours and it has bubbled/cracked where the walls sweat but we don’t actually get a ton of moisture (we’re on relatively high ground for Brooklyn, not over one of the many underground streams). The color of the paint almost matches the stones so the cracking doesn’t bother us.

If you are digging down, be prepared to find extra costs in the form of boulders that will have to be buried deeper or built around if under the party wall.

Our hatches do have gutters in them to drain water that gets in them into the waste line.