BHA
11-19-2007, 01:54 PM
Hi,
I have a few questions...
Our crawl space leaks in two places:
1) Some water seeps in through the concrete/cinder block wall that faces the backyard. This is a very small amount of water. However, the wall has a bunch of efflorescence on it.
2) The top of the crawl space is the subfloor from the first floor. Some water comes in where the subfloor meets the top of the concrete/cinder block wall that faces the backyard. This is the leak that I care most about, because it is turning the sub floor black where we have the leak.
We live in a city row house, so the back wall of our crawl space is the only wall that is adjacent to the outside. The back wall of the crawl space and our backyard is about fifteen feet wide. Above the crawl space we have a door that goes out to the patio/backyard.
We?ve been told different solutions by different water proofing companies, and I was looking for some guidance.
One company suggested digging down in our backyard to the footer that is below the crawl space. (This is about 3-3.5 feet.). They suggested waterproofing the entire wall and then putting the patio back.
Another company suggested putting a speed drain along the outside back wall and a French drain system in the inside of the back wall.
My questions:
1) If we have efflorescence on the wall, but very little water seeps in, do we need an inside French drain system? The water only comes in when there is a heavy rain, and the wall gets wet, but there isn?t any pooling on the ground. When is the right time to get the inside system? Is there risk if we don't get this system?
2) I would only get a 7 year guarantee for the waterproofing of the exterior but a lifetime guarantee for the outside speed drain and French drain system. They said it?s because outside waterproofing doesn?t last as long. How long should I expect it to last?
3) Do people typically use an internal French drain system or waterproof their exterior wall first? Since it?s a crawl space, our exterior wall is only about 3.5 feet.
Thanks so much for your help.
Brad
I have a few questions...
Our crawl space leaks in two places:
1) Some water seeps in through the concrete/cinder block wall that faces the backyard. This is a very small amount of water. However, the wall has a bunch of efflorescence on it.
2) The top of the crawl space is the subfloor from the first floor. Some water comes in where the subfloor meets the top of the concrete/cinder block wall that faces the backyard. This is the leak that I care most about, because it is turning the sub floor black where we have the leak.
We live in a city row house, so the back wall of our crawl space is the only wall that is adjacent to the outside. The back wall of the crawl space and our backyard is about fifteen feet wide. Above the crawl space we have a door that goes out to the patio/backyard.
We?ve been told different solutions by different water proofing companies, and I was looking for some guidance.
One company suggested digging down in our backyard to the footer that is below the crawl space. (This is about 3-3.5 feet.). They suggested waterproofing the entire wall and then putting the patio back.
Another company suggested putting a speed drain along the outside back wall and a French drain system in the inside of the back wall.
My questions:
1) If we have efflorescence on the wall, but very little water seeps in, do we need an inside French drain system? The water only comes in when there is a heavy rain, and the wall gets wet, but there isn?t any pooling on the ground. When is the right time to get the inside system? Is there risk if we don't get this system?
2) I would only get a 7 year guarantee for the waterproofing of the exterior but a lifetime guarantee for the outside speed drain and French drain system. They said it?s because outside waterproofing doesn?t last as long. How long should I expect it to last?
3) Do people typically use an internal French drain system or waterproof their exterior wall first? Since it?s a crawl space, our exterior wall is only about 3.5 feet.
Thanks so much for your help.
Brad