photos of basement waterproofing with bx - questions and comments?

[TheHammer]

amp,

Nice job. I just did something similar this past year at my house. I did it pretty much the way you are doing it, and so far, so good. No more water problems.

One question - in your first post, the first picture appears to show the ground sloping toward the back of the house. It's hard to tell, but if that's the case, do you have any plans to correct this? That was one of my problems, along with the clogged drain tile. I ended up having to dig a ditch and re-grade around the house to help keep the water away.

 

[ampsucker]

hey, alright! it's good to know all this work will hopefully fix the problem!

yes, we do have some ground slopage issues. i think they developed over time, although can't say how. part of the plan is to build up the ground around the house, extend the downspouts well into the yard, and build a nice flowerbed around the foundation filled with white rock and sand to drain any water that makes it under the eves away into the yard.

if i can't get the slope right by building up around the house, the other option is to get some pto tiller time and "shave" off a few inches in the high spots and redistribute!

thanks again for positive comments!

amp

 

[ray66v]

Back fill all the way to the top around windows and with in 12" of the top else where. This requires the hole to be dug carefully, or go broke buying stone.

.

I meant to say: Back fill all the way to the top, [with washed stone] where you have {basement} windows, within 12" of the top, [with washed stone], else where.

 

[LBrown59]

right now still waiting for the asphalt to dry. will be heading out to take off the loader and BH and do some mowing until i can get a second coat on....

amp

I mow with th loader and BH on my BX23 so I would just hop on it and get rite on the mowing.

 

[2manyrocks]

I think I should have given a better explanation of the "burrito." Both the pipe and the drain rock get wrapped with filter fabric. Here is a link to a very good article. http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/PDF/Free/021140064.pdf

I could be mistaken, but the fabric in your photo looks like the light weight material they sell at the box stores. Our local farmers co-op sells a much heavier material. You might find some at a landscaping supply place. Road contractors also use miles of the stuff.

There's a high level of work that goes into a good foundation drain system.

 

[ampsucker]

well, the basement waterproofing project is hopefully finished to the degree possible until some major settling occurs. thanks to all who helped with feedback and ideas. i used most of 'em and we will greet the first rain with excitement and anticipation hoping the work will prove itself satisfactory when tested by the elements.

i attached the rest of the photos showing the final steps and finished grade for any who might be interested. the project consumed these resources:

• 10 sticks 4" pvc
• 6 sticks perforated 4" pvc
• numerous elbows, T's, threaded ends, caps, 45's, etc.
• 1 ream landscaping fabric
• 2 tons 1" clean rock
• 1 ea 5 gallon bucket black jack #57 rubberized asphalt waterproofing
• 3 tubes construction adhesive
• 10x25 foot 6 mil plastic sheeting
• 4 ea 4x8 foot 1.5" thick blue EPS foam board
• 1 tube UGL drylock masonry caulk
• 1 stiff brisled brush for applying asphalt
• 4 gallons diesel fuel
• 1 BX 24 TLB

total cost for materials: about $600 (not counting the BX of course!)

it also consumed my left knee which i think i janked climbing in and out of the hole. and my mom was not pleased to find she had coated the side of her hair with asphalt coating. took mineral spirits to get it out!

overall, i spent about 6 pretty full days on this project. that includes all the fetching of supplies, rock, etc. and in there i did manage to mow the lawn and do a few other little projects that took a few hours. so, a younger guy with limitless energy and the right tools could probably do it in 3-4 days - especially if you have a good helper.

once we get a couple of good rains and test everything out, the final plan will be to regrade the surface near the house adding shallow ditches to divert land runoff away from the building. i'll cover the downspout drains with topsoil, sow some grass seed and build a nice, white rock border around the foundation with grey castlerock.

thanks again for all your help! i'll post back once the rains come and we test things out.

amp

 

[NuBota]

Again, I have to say I am absolutely impressed!

 

[atgreene]

And people wonder why these types of projects can add up to $5-10k for me to come in and do it right. There's a lot of work involved to do it properly.

Good job, it will pay off for many years to come.

 

[stonecastle]

Awesome thread!

 

[davitk]

For those of us up in zone 4, how does one keep a tile from freezing up in the winter?