Hello all,
We recently purchased a 1924 Georgian Colonial that is entirely brick, including the foundation. We've had two relatively major rains and the basement walls leak pretty severely. In isolated areas, the wall weeps water, and in some areas the water actually formed a stream not unlike a drinking fountain...it was pretty dramatic to see. The house is ~1/8 mile from a large lake, so everyone has to contend with a high water table, but having two ~4-inch floods in the basement in our first two months of living here is unbearable.
My question is this: we have received six quotes for waterproofing. Two are exterior jobs (hand digging, tar application, Visqueen, new drain tiles, backfill) and four are various types of interior jobs. The exterior guys insist this is the only way to solve the problem; the interior guys tell us that digging outside the foundation will compromise the wall stability and may cause the walls to bow. We just want to do the job correctly so we're not constantly revisiting it.
Look forward to your thoughts!
Thanks,
Tony
Pic below of the 'good' wall during a major storm....
We recently purchased a 1924 Georgian Colonial that is entirely brick, including the foundation. We've had two relatively major rains and the basement walls leak pretty severely. In isolated areas, the wall weeps water, and in some areas the water actually formed a stream not unlike a drinking fountain...it was pretty dramatic to see. The house is ~1/8 mile from a large lake, so everyone has to contend with a high water table, but having two ~4-inch floods in the basement in our first two months of living here is unbearable.
My question is this: we have received six quotes for waterproofing. Two are exterior jobs (hand digging, tar application, Visqueen, new drain tiles, backfill) and four are various types of interior jobs. The exterior guys insist this is the only way to solve the problem; the interior guys tell us that digging outside the foundation will compromise the wall stability and may cause the walls to bow. We just want to do the job correctly so we're not constantly revisiting it.
Look forward to your thoughts!
Thanks,
Tony
Pic below of the 'good' wall during a major storm....
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