English tudor house has a nice slate roof, but the overhang (eaves?) are minimal, subjecting the sides and the foundation of the house to considerable moisture when it rains. I've wanted to extend the overhang of the entire perimeter of the roof, but what an effing job that will be.... and a difficult exercise in geometry, as well.
So as a stop-gap, I thought of taking coiled sheet aluminum (24" wide), and laying it around the base of the house at some suitable pitch, covering the alum with old slates, etc, mebbe make a walkway around the house in this fashion.
This way, the soil close to the house would stay somewhat dry, keeping the foundation/basement drier. The overall grade of the soil is favorable to the house, and I figured this would raise the protection a few notches, by at least preventing seepage from direct downpours at the base of the house.
I have read/seen (HGTV) that grade is the first measure toward foundation/basement dryness.
Is 2 feet enough?
Anything else I can do to further the cause of dryness, without jumping through hoops/breaking the bank?
interior french drain with sump pump or better drain to daylight.
grade should be away from home 20 feet or more, if you live in a valley you are screwed.
first make certain all gutters and downspouts are clear and working well, and draining far awy from foundation.
had a home with water problems, replaced all downspout drain lines to street, didnt help.
had exterior french drain added around most of foundation, regraded entire yard, replaced all sidewalks, some of driveway, and new drains to street. within a few months water entering basement again..........
having spent near 10 grand I had interior french drain installed $3500 it ended the problem.
How extensive is the moisture, it it everywhere, is it leaking- dripping in solid walls? You should do all the necessary things outside, diverting gutters, plants, grading, your idea of aluminum is good but maybe go out alot more. If you have a high water table maybe only a french drain will help. I have used oil base UGL a rubber- cement paint to stop dripping wet walls that got floors wet, it took 7 coats and stinks real bad. I have used it at several homes.
How extensive is the moisture, it it everywhere, is it leaking- dripping in solid walls? You should do all the necessary things outside, diverting gutters, plants, grading, your idea of aluminum is good but maybe go out alot more. If you have a high water table maybe only a french drain will help. I have used oil base UGL a rubber- cement paint to stop dripping wet walls that got floors wet, it took 7 coats and stinks real bad. I have used it at several homes.
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It's not really a big problem, more of a nuisance problem, but with an eye toward just increasing the overall health/longevity of the structure/foundation.
I tried to turn a rough-ish wine-cellar ditty into a formal clothes closet, but the accumulated moisture made that a lot of wasted labor. When un-paneled, the ambient air was enough to keep it dry -- but paneled, it got dank and crappy.
I'm on a street with a significant grade, and altho I'm not at the bottom, maybe I'm catching stuff from the houses above, and should perhaps build a little diverter between me and them -- just a mortar mound, a few inches high.
In looking up the previous reference to french drains, it seems to me that the "true solution" is a permanent and *cleanable* trough/air gap around the entire foundation -- in principle like a moat or a gutter -- with sump pump. With a diverter/cover over this gap, of course. Daunting, however, when you figger the dimensions of this trough are likely
6 feet deep by two feet wide. Has anyone seen this, done this? Practical? Certainly labor-intensive, that's for sure.
I had a friend who did this, then waterproofed from the outside, but then backfilled everything, ie, did not leave a moat/gap. But it solved his particular problems. But what a job!
In some cases, leaving a deep gap around the foundation could maybe weaken it, as now the foundation does not have side-soil support, which might have been built in to the original structural calcs. An issue??
If so, maybe have side-supports: 1 x1 foot steel plate on the foundation side, then a 2-ft strut, then another plate to the soil, mebbe 2x2 ft.
What a project..... I hope my little aluminum diversion ditty makes all this moot. And even *that* is going to be some effort!
water from above isnt just surface water, my home with water problems oncer had a small stream on it,''
stream was filled in when homes were built in 1950. but water still passed underground.
water can be under your home, high water table.
interior french drain is easily installed, works well.
with normal block walls holes drilled in every cavaity, so wall cant hold water. it drains down under foundation into interior french drain, goes to sump pump or line to daylight.
then clean walls well i used bleach then pressure washed let dry well,
2 coats of water proffing paint.
you also need some natural ventilation in basement.
you dont need to seperate walls from dirt, that helps support the foundation.
the exterior fix may not work the interior one appears 100% and most basement waterproffing companies provide a lifetime dry basement warranty. so cleaning lines etc arent your concern.
What you describe maybe just normal basement high humidity due to the floor and walls breathing in moisture and lack of ventilation. If you dont have puddles, leaks, and dark wet spots I wouldnt think yet about a big drain system. Are walls and floors painted with oil paint, Oil doesnt breath well and will keep moisure from penetrating in, do you have a good dehumidifer and good humidistat, are windows sealed really tight, that might be all you need to control moisture. What is the humidity level in the basement. A moisture meter is a good tool for pinpointing leaks, are there any cracks in walls and floors that allow in water. I just run a dehumidifier and monitor humidity. I recently sealed my basement windows with foamboard, they were leaking so bad humidity dropped about 10% by just sealing them up.
That would seem to be one option. A pitched aluminum barrier on the ground surface for the first 2 ft away from the house may help a little, but it;s no substitute for catching the water and diverting it
10 feet away from the house, which is what gutters would do. Also, how far away does the water land now? Whatever distance that is, I doubt 2 ft is going to be significantly more.
--------------------- google 'bio vee seal' as a possible fix for dampness in the basement foundation. Forms crystals inside the concrete making it less porous without leaving any sort of coating on the surface.
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