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Home Ownership is Just One Persons Fight Against Water (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 6 months ago by jubilationtcornpone@sh.itjust.works to c/homeimprovement@lemmy.world

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Had a nice little foundation leak during the last rain storm. Installed a drain line last fall to divert two downspouts and front walkway run off away from the house which helped a lot. Front walkway and a big retaining wall next to it ultimately need to be removed and reinstalled with proper grading and drainage. That's going to be a huge and expensive project so for now I'm just replacing all the worn out concrete sealant and hoping for the best.

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[-] EccentricaGallumbits@lemmy.world 40 points 6 months ago

Id argue 90% of home ownership boils down to trying to keep outside air and water out of the house. If you can do both of those, you're winning the battle.

[-] Thavron@lemmy.ca 17 points 6 months ago

A big part is also getting the inside water out.

[-] card797@champserver.net 8 points 6 months ago

I must cool the inside air or else I'm still outside.

[-] Num10ck@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago

but you also need to exchange the air inside often, so you need ventilation too.

[-] InEnduringGrowStrong@sh.itjust.works 27 points 6 months ago

Water will find a way.
We had the whole foundation drain replaced and urethane sprayed the whole thing.
That was expensive as fuck, but no regrets.
The dehumidifier barely has to run in the basement now too.
Still, 20k was a lot of money to keep water out.

[-] jubilationtcornpone@sh.itjust.works 21 points 6 months ago

Our house was built by idiots so it doesn't have any foundation drainage that I know of and the grading is all wrong. Well, lots of things are wrong, but most of them don't flood the basement when it rains.🤷‍♂️

[-] NegativeLookBehind@lemmy.world 16 points 6 months ago

Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior, Flex Seal? You can make a boat with it and float around in your basement!

[-] Madison420@lemmy.world 0 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

You don't really want water holding inside of the breeze lock, you want it to drain and dry out or the brick will rot inside to out and instead of a pinhole you have a bowling ball, it'll just take longer to happen.

[-] NegativeLookBehind@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

K, thanks

[-] GBU_28@lemm.ee 16 points 6 months ago

Honestly, start saving and complete exterior earthworks. Excavate, line/enhance the foundation, and install professional drainage tech around the perimeter. Everything else is a stop gap

[-] Dkarma@lemmy.world 14 points 6 months ago

Time to try sumpin' new

[-] ikidd@lemmy.world 11 points 6 months ago

Expensive is digging out foundations to put in weeping tile and a sump.

I swear, you could have a house on top of the biggest rock in the Atacama Desert, and water would still find a way to get into the basement.

[-] card797@champserver.net 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

In Louisiana we just don't have basements. Too wet.

[-] nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 6 months ago

But you guys have to find a way to keep water out of the second floor.

[-] card797@champserver.net 1 points 6 months ago

Keep an axe in your attic in case you must escape upwards.

[-] mvirts@lemmy.world 10 points 6 months ago

Mmm theres nothing like the taste of fresh natural spring water straight from the source

[-] pissedatyall@lemmynsfw.com 8 points 6 months ago

Water is patient. Water just waits. Wears down the cliff tops, the mountains. The whole of the world. Water always wins.

[-] r0ertel@lemmy.world 7 points 6 months ago

I worked through college doing landscaping for new construction in the Midwest. I don't know about all the rest of the stuff here, but we spent most of our work to put a 2' plastic barrier all around the house. In some situations we'd put in a French drain around the house, too. Later on, I figured out that we needed to cover the gap from the backfill so that the water would at least start it's journey moving away from the house. We'd also mound up the dirt next to the house because it would settle.

I see the new cheap "nationwide" builders now will sod right up to the house and in talking with the homeowners, they all have an active sump and worry about finishing off the basement for that one time that the sump doesn't keep up.

Good luck with your project.

[-] Toastypickle@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

https://waterproof.com/

I've installed this baseboard gutter system in a few basements. Doesn't solve the problem but it prevents flooding of the floor at a much cheaper price.

[-] GiddyGap@lemm.ee 2 points 6 months ago

I get the appeal of a basement from a space perspective, but this is the exact reason why I always steer clear of any house with a basement when house shopping. Seen too many flooded basements.

[-] Maalus@lemmy.world 9 points 6 months ago

That's not a basement problem, that's a location problem. Look for houses that are higher up than other houses, the water will flow down the hill and flood the people who didn't do that.