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Posted by Rudy on May 15, 2007, 12:00 am
>I am in the process of building a new home, and my foundation walls in
> the basment have moisture all around the bottom. What is it? I will
> be talking to my builder this week, but want to get some peoples
> opinions before we meet.
Ours was never this wet..just a few days after the forms were stripped, the
foundation was dry but it is dry here. The foundation backfill mixture was
dry..That was all done way before they got close to finishing/framing the
floor above.
I see they did coat the outside of the foundation..with at least spray on
black bituminous/tar substance or some sheet chanelling product
Ok, was there gravel and draintile placed on the outside of the foundation
below (basement floor)grade and then covered with a semi permeable roll
product to keep dirt from entering the drain pipe(big "O" 4" black slit pipe
or the white 4" type with holes)
That is what you re calling a French Drain..here we call it draintile and it
must be below grade to take the water away before it gets to the floor area.
I don't know why they'd take 80 days to get it in there. It seems they've
had time to build the entire floor above and since you say its been
relatively dry, I think you re right to be concerned. It appears that the
walls are dry but that the moisture may be wicking up from the fill below
the vapor barrier. Even after the floor is poured, there is no way to stop
this if the moisture below the floor persists..wherever its coming from, 80
days after the pour..
Hopefully the drain will take care of it if its installed properly and in
the correct place(below floor grade). Perhaps all this dampness persisted
because the drain wasnt in when you got the rain and the water just ran into
the excavation soaking the walls. If there was a trench there for the
drain, I dont know how the water didnt end up below grade.
Only time will tell.
What do they have there below the plastic visqueen/vaper barrier ? Is it
ABC mixed soil sand gravel ? Seems coarser than sand.
Here they use sand, compact it, then apply the 6 mil vapor barrier, RED
(Tuck) tape the seams and them pour the floor.
I d try to get something in writing signed by the builder..at least an
acknowledgment that the matter had been discussed and any dampness must be
resolved before final payment is made. If there are plans to finish the
basement, make sure the concrete is bone dry before any framing goes in.
Good luck
R
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