Dale, This is exactly what they're planning to do, make a drain tile system around the perimeter of the basement. They will drill three holes in the cinder blocks at the bottom, and build a pit, where one, but possibly two, pumps, will be installed, if we choose to go that route.
Are you saying that, if it freezes where I am, we may not want to have the pumps on the outside, as they will freeze? We're in Indiana, so we do have hard winters here. We're looking at three other companies; I hope to get this estimating portion done soon! Claudia ----- Original Message ----- From: Dale Leavens To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 6:45 PM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Another Estimate! This is typical of cement or cinder block walls. There are cavities and water, filtering through the outer shell will in fact fill the voids in the block and migrate slowly through the inside shell. where the blocks are painted on the inside this takes longer. If the basement isn't sufficiently heated that water can freeze and destroy the block walls and yes it will produce high humidity in the area. Many many years ago I did exactly that for a neighbour, drilled holes at the bottom of the block, three per block. It was remarkable how much water flowed out. I am guessing they intend to bust up a channel around the perimeter of the basement floor and line it with weeping tile and dig a sump hole to empty the tile into. This is not an unusual way to deal with the problem and a lot cheaper, it accepts that water will enter and you will deal with it when it does.It is not the method I would choose although you will probably need to bring the water into the building at some point and into a sump to be pumped out, I am guessing that is what the first company will do. They could of course excavate a sump along the side of the building outside particularly if you live where freezing isn't likely to be a concern, we don't do that up here because the sump would freeze in the winter and destroy the pump but I don't se any reason why not elsewhere. You could have a well down to footing level with the pump in it and a cover for access should it need replacement or to clean it out. I would wait to hear from the others. The cracking isn't probably much to be concerned with unless the outside soil is crushing the walls in. If so then only by excavating around the outside can it be fixed.Really though there isn't now any hurry unless you have another unusual deluge. the work can wait until next spring. This might well be the better time as well. There will be a lot of pressure on the builders now and probably less next spring. ----- Original Message ----- From: Claudia To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 2:29 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Another Estimate! Hi All, We obtained another estimate from a basement waterproofing company! This estimate came in at $5800, and $7000, if we add another sump pump and a back-up battery system. This company will only take care of the work inside of the house; they are talking about putting a drain tile system, around the entire perimeter of the basement, installing a pit with a sump pump in it. They told us, by measuring the water levels in the house, that we have 3.5 feet of water, within our cinderblock walls. They stated that they would drill holes in the cinderblocks at the bottom that would drain out all of the water that's currently in the walls, into the drainage system they would build. Is it possible that cinderblock can hold such large amounts of water like this? They indicated this is partially the cause of our basement always smelling damp and mildewy! Okay, so this is only an inside system; they will not fix foundation problems outside or cracks on the floors or walls inside! If we don't get the foundation issues resolved as well, which is what Everdry was talking about, what kind of continual damage will we have, to the structure and soundness of our home? We have two more companies coming out, but the first can't come, until 10-17, and the second can't come until 10-27. On another note, the drain in our laundry room has finally been cleared out; there was a lot of gook and sediment in there, from when we got all the water; I am again able to wash clothes, and our washer is finally set up, the way it should have been, from the beginning. Claudia Join either of my groups; the first is for visually-impaired women, while the other is for people wishing to discuss homemaking issues. [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
