user 35841
Member
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2015
- Messages
- 14
- Reaction score
- 0
Hi all, I'm hoping to get some input regarding what do about water in my basement. Here's a rundown of the background:
-We purchased the home last November. We didn't experience any problems through the winter, but in the summer we've had leaking during intense summer storms. We have some basement remodelers coming out to deal with that tomorrow.
-The home is a 100 year old row home in Baltimore sandwiched between two other homes.
-Half of the basement is finished while the other half is not. The leaks during severe storms happen in the unfinished part of the basement on the north side of the house.
-As far as I know drainage in the basement is handled by a french drain, though I've never seen behind the walls in the unfinished part to make sure.
-During an incredibly severe storm a couple of weeks ago, our sumps went down (I replaced them the next morning). During that time, groundwater leaked up through the basement slab to a height of about an inch and a half. The basement has since then been dried out.
-The drywall in the finished portion of the basement does not reach all the way to the floor, and I don't think the masonry on the other side has been sealed.
-Sometimes you can get a whiff of something if you put your nose real close to the gap between the slab and the drywall. It's not really musty, but earthy, like soil.
I'm an amateur in home repair with a limited budget, but I want to try to fix things up as best I can (the basement is supposed to be my space). If I had an unlimited budget, I'd tear the drywall out of the finished portion, make sure the walls were drenched in sealant, then put the drywall back up, level the slab (it's a little uneven in places), then put everything back up the way it was. As it stands I'm thinking the what I'm actually able to do is this:
-Let the basement remodelers re-do the sump pits, drainage, and seal the walls.
-Purchase some sealant for the slab and paint it over.
-Caulk the gap underneath the drywall with some water-resistance silicone and install a base shoe for it to look nice
-Get some rubber backing for the carpet (I'm not sure exactly what we have down there now, but it looks like a water resistant outdoor type).
Any additional thoughts?
-We purchased the home last November. We didn't experience any problems through the winter, but in the summer we've had leaking during intense summer storms. We have some basement remodelers coming out to deal with that tomorrow.
-The home is a 100 year old row home in Baltimore sandwiched between two other homes.
-Half of the basement is finished while the other half is not. The leaks during severe storms happen in the unfinished part of the basement on the north side of the house.
-As far as I know drainage in the basement is handled by a french drain, though I've never seen behind the walls in the unfinished part to make sure.
-During an incredibly severe storm a couple of weeks ago, our sumps went down (I replaced them the next morning). During that time, groundwater leaked up through the basement slab to a height of about an inch and a half. The basement has since then been dried out.
-The drywall in the finished portion of the basement does not reach all the way to the floor, and I don't think the masonry on the other side has been sealed.
-Sometimes you can get a whiff of something if you put your nose real close to the gap between the slab and the drywall. It's not really musty, but earthy, like soil.
I'm an amateur in home repair with a limited budget, but I want to try to fix things up as best I can (the basement is supposed to be my space). If I had an unlimited budget, I'd tear the drywall out of the finished portion, make sure the walls were drenched in sealant, then put the drywall back up, level the slab (it's a little uneven in places), then put everything back up the way it was. As it stands I'm thinking the what I'm actually able to do is this:
-Let the basement remodelers re-do the sump pits, drainage, and seal the walls.
-Purchase some sealant for the slab and paint it over.
-Caulk the gap underneath the drywall with some water-resistance silicone and install a base shoe for it to look nice
-Get some rubber backing for the carpet (I'm not sure exactly what we have down there now, but it looks like a water resistant outdoor type).
Any additional thoughts?