Old house/moist basement

[kozmo]

We've just purchased our home, and we've noticed a few problems in our basement. The home was built in 1928.

1) Moisture around the base of the basement wall on the front of the house (below grade, house faces uphill)

2) Wet patches at various locations in the basement floor with no leaks above. One of these patches seems to be connected to a very wet spot. That spot has the look of a dry spring, although we've not seen any water there, and the concrete is soft near that spot in places.

There are no obvious leaks, and general drainage during heavy rain seems fine from the outside of the house.

Any ideas?

[stevea]

Basements tend to be damp places. Depending on what you want your basement to be, I could recommend various things. I do not know the area (Town & State) that you live in, however I would start by reading the June, 2002 Consumer Reports on Drying a Basement.

This is a good basic article that gives various ideas and a plan of action in order of cost.

Good Luck

stevea@pioneerbasement.com

[kozmo]

steve,

I'm in Brighton, MA.

At this point, it isn't necessarily an issue of what we want to do with the basement. Really I am concerned that the (fairly significant) wetness and cracking of the basement floor is something that should be dealt with before it becomes a more significant problem for the structural integrity of the house.

My guess is that there are alse health issues, as the moisture will cause mold, etc. right?

[stevea]

Dear Kozmo,

Pioneer services your area, Joe Tropeano who is a NAWSRC Certified Waterproofing Specialist lives in Brookline. I would recommend that he take a look at the basemnt and than he would be able to make accurate recommendations.

Sometimes a basement built into a hill can cause hydrostatic pressure at the base of the foundation wall. This water pressure can cause the soils under the basement floor to get saturated. The solution usually involves remove the water before it is allowed to get under the slab.

I have personally trained Joe and have full confidence in his experience. I would recommend that you check out his profile under "Our Crew" / click on his picture and a profile will come up. If you wish to set up a free inspection with Joe you can e-mail him at JoeT@pioneerbasement.com .

I would also recommend that you fill out a site inspection form on our web site which you could e-mail to Joe and this would help him in reviewing your wet basement problem.

Thanks for visiting our website. Steve

[stevea]

Yes, water is one of the things that mold needs to thrive. It also needs food which can be any organic materials, such as sheetrock paper, insulation paper, even dust mites. etc.

By controling the water problem it will help control mold from growing. I would also recommend that a dehumidifier should be run in the hot and humid months, to handle any condensation problem.

Steve