martinB
New Member
Hi all,
Hoping for a second opinion on an issue we're having. We recently purchased a home with a finished basement. A few weeks ago we started noticing a mildewy smell in the basement and, fearing water seepage, pulled up a corner of the wall-to-wall carpeting. What we discovered was that the concrete has wood beams embedded in it. We believe the previous owner may have poured this concrete himself. The wood is currently damp to the touch and looks like it may be beginning to rot.
We've since had a waterproofing specialist in and discovered that the sump pump wasn't working or draining properly. They said we do have correctly installed drain tiles around the exterior walls but didn't have much to say about the wood in the floors. But our fear is that it will continue to be damp, deteriorate, and cause further problems (such as mold, general stink, or develop voids) down the road.
I was hoping for any guidance/suggestions people may have on this. I'd obviously love to not have to have to try to dig out the wood and fill the voids, but I also don't want to put down new flooring only to have further problems (especially mold, which my wife is highly allergic to).
(As a secondary question: is leaving wood in concrete like this normal? It seems wrong to me but I know next to nothing about anything.)
Hoping for a second opinion on an issue we're having. We recently purchased a home with a finished basement. A few weeks ago we started noticing a mildewy smell in the basement and, fearing water seepage, pulled up a corner of the wall-to-wall carpeting. What we discovered was that the concrete has wood beams embedded in it. We believe the previous owner may have poured this concrete himself. The wood is currently damp to the touch and looks like it may be beginning to rot.
We've since had a waterproofing specialist in and discovered that the sump pump wasn't working or draining properly. They said we do have correctly installed drain tiles around the exterior walls but didn't have much to say about the wood in the floors. But our fear is that it will continue to be damp, deteriorate, and cause further problems (such as mold, general stink, or develop voids) down the road.
I was hoping for any guidance/suggestions people may have on this. I'd obviously love to not have to have to try to dig out the wood and fill the voids, but I also don't want to put down new flooring only to have further problems (especially mold, which my wife is highly allergic to).
(As a secondary question: is leaving wood in concrete like this normal? It seems wrong to me but I know next to nothing about anything.)
