Has anyone had Bonded Waterproofing do any work in their basement? We just got through a flood. Bonded Waterproofing came over and gave us an estimate of $9,000 to put a French Drain in our basement. They also offer a life long guarantee on the work that is transferable to the next owners of the house. They also supplied us with references. These references said they liked Bonded Waterproofing's service and the ones who got a French Drain installed said they did not get flooded.
First thing to worry about is anyone who wants to fix a wet basement from the inside. Moisture comes in from the outside and that was where any real fix starts. If they did not check the outside first, dump them and find someone who will.
but in general and having lived thru a nightmare trying to fix water problems.
having spent in total maybe 18 thousand.
FIRST make certain yard slopes away from home, downspout water is carried at least 15 feet away from foundation, these 2 basics fix many water troubles. or at least help a lot.
now people mentioned fixing from outside as the RIGHT WAY:(
sure its best but will likely cost way more than interior french drains.
just think getting a backhoe to dig all the way around the perimeter of yoiur home to below the footer. taking out all sidewalks patios, landscaping etc around home. anywhere you have pavement like sidewalks, means the fill under these areas MUST be gravel or the area will sink cracking new pavement or making it tilt. be in no rush once you backfill wait at least a few months and better yet a year, so the ground gravel and everything settles before replacing sidewalks and landscaping. LIVE WITH A MANY MONTH CONSTRUCTION MESS, dirty looks from neighbors, mud tracked in house, etc etc. might have access troubles getting backhoe in place, need to cut down mature trees, we lost a nice one to our project... no other way to get backhoe in back yard:(
with a exterior french drain you really need a lower place to daylight to drain the water too by gravity. if you run it to a leach area in a severe storm the leach area may backflow into your basement... yuk.
now the drains are in, the yard sidewalks plants etc all restored. you find like I did the trouble is the water table during storms is higher than the floor of your basement. your water trouble is still there:(
Whats left to do?
INTERIOR FRENCH DRAIN, it gets the water from under the basement floor, drains it from inside any walls, of course you could of done this before rebuilding your yard, but heck the yard looks wonderful, do miss my tree but that was unavoidable.....
interior french drain is the best lowest cost solution, get at least 3 estimates, call the better business bureau to see if there are any complaints on file.
and again ideally drain the sump by gravity to a lower place away from home or add a battery backup pump.
wait a year before remodeling your basement so if there are any areas of dampness they can be fixed before you remodel.
if your area recently got flooded by severe weather prices will be higher, crews are busy. wait 6 months and you can save bucks
good luck hopefully my experience helps others, itb weas a expensive lesson for me:(
I agree with hallerb's analysis. What the company is proposing could be a very reasonable solution, depending on your exact problem. That type of system is installed many times, including on new construction and is not a scam. And as you've already heard from other customers, it does work. If it were my house, and I'd taken care of grading/surface issues outside, I would get the proposed system installed.
I think hallerb's comments are well considered and right on, and was unaware that central basement french drains might work. Still, some of the others' advice is worth listening to. Assuring slope-away grade in all directions, and piping all rain downspouts well away from the house. Those two things alone could solve your problems. First thing I did when I moved in here was to see that rainwater did not see daylight until dumped via piping at the street. Then did some regrading. The improvements took a few years to really guage effect, but no more do we get condensation on basement bedrooms, no mouldy smells, and generally better air to breathe, and no standing water, anywhere. A high water table is another kettle of fish, and may be very difficult to remediate. Roger
I'm happy with what B-Dry did on my house, and it fixes the problem.
While I fully agree that first, outside issues need to be addressed, the outside issues oeople point to are all about surface drainage. That's not the only source of water. Some like you are in areas which sometimes have a high water table. What I have in upstate NY is clay soil and a rather complicated clay-shale geography that doesn't just direct water over the surface. I'm on a hill, and the house at the *top* of the hill eventually got an interior drain system. As an engineer I consulted with told me, "every basement around here is is a big hole in the clay".
Again, folks are right about the grading, etc. (indeed, I'm increasing the swale on my uphill side after some observations I made in the last nor'easter). But sometimes it gets presented as if that's the total and final fix for everyone. NOT. It's the place to start to be sure, but it's just the place to start.
Absolutely. Power going out and getting a lot of rain are highly correlated events ;-)
All good advice.
Is there a *physical structural* reason to go to exterior drains vs. interior if water table isn't an issue, BTW? I haven't seen one offered...
If the drain was full of mud it wasn't installed properly. I should be perforated drain surround by gravel surrounded by fabric that screens out the dirt but lets the water flow in.
interior drains can fairly easily be replaced.
exterior drains means bring in the backhoe again and start all over:(
Dont laugh the home I spent 18 grand on had outside footer drains all clogged with mud
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