Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with basement

Here comes the rain

selfnoise — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:10:37 -0800

My basement is currently flooding. Anything I can do before it stops raining? In Westbrook, Maine. Heavy rains. Water is coming through holes in the foundation. There's a drain... it was draining but no more... I think the storm drains may be full. No sump pump. Unfinished basement. Furnace and tank in basement on some blocks. Any suggestions other than wait it out and assess the wreckage tomorrow? I was bailing the puddle above the drain and I put a tray under the most obvious/fast hole, but there's no way I can keep up with it all night. Thanks!

Why is my sump pump bone dry?

Waldo Jeffers — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:42:53 -0800

Why is my sump pump bone dry? My sump pump, which I am certain works perfectly well, is completely dry in the middle of a rainy November in Seattle! What the heck? We had an extremely dry summer, but for the last few months it has been a typical Seattle fall. Why hasn't the water beneath/around our house worked its way into the sump pit?

I know the pump works. I've tested it, and I've had a plumber test it. The GFI at the outlet it's plugged into was tripped for a long time during the hot summer (probably not related to pump), so it was down until the beginning of October. However, isn't that enough time for the ground to get soaked enough for water to work its way into the pit?

Basement water source mystery

miyabo — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:57:27 -0800

How is water getting into my basement? I discovered a substantial amount (~20-30 gallons) of water in a puddle in my basement. I haven't been in the basement in a week, so there might have been more, and it either went down the drain or evaporated.

I figure the water may be coming from seepage through a hidden crack in the wall, from the basement drain (which is near the puddle), or from the water main.

It's been raining a lot here lately, which points to seepage. But the walls and floor don't have any visible cracks, and the walls are completely dry.

The water main is suspiciously near the puddle, and looks old and corroded (green). It's even slightly damp on the outside. But it isn't actively leaking.

The basement drain is also near the puddle. Can seemingly clean water come out of a sewer drain when it rains?

We don't have gutters, so it's not a gutter issue.

Should I call a plumber for the water main, for the drain, pile up more dirt against the outside wall, or just live with it?

Thanks! This is really bothering me.

My cat's pee is missing.

miagaille — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:56:11 -0800

My cat hasn't used her litter box in over two weeks. The house smells great. She has no way to get outside. Where is the pee going? Two weeks ago she stopped using her litter box and started pooping in the basement crawlspace. The whole house smelled awful. We naturally assumed she was peeing in the same place.

Yesterday I crawled in on my belly in a hazmat suit and picked up all the poop. I searched around for damp or stinky spots that would indicate urine, but found nothing. Today I went back in with a fairly high-powered UV flashlight, and again found nothing to indicate urine. I went all over the house with it and similarly found nothing. The smell also completely went away when I cleaned up the poop, and now the house smells fine.

The cat is a 2-year-old spayed female, indoor only. She's been eating and drinking normally and shows no sign of pain or distress that would suggest a urinary blockage.

So, WFT cat pee?? I'm pretty sure the cat's fine, I'm just completely mystified and weirded out.

What do I use to replace basement wall coating?

Swede78 — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:39:48 -0800

My old house's basement walls are deteriorating and need attention. But, I'm just not sure how to prep them and what to use to re-coat them. Also, should I be worried about moisture problems? See pictures here My house was built in the 20's in the midwest. This is my first house, and I'm not much of a handyman. But, I do care about my home and want to keep it as well maintained as possible. My current project is my basement, which is in much need of attention. See pictures here. It appears to have some kind of coating over the bricks. There are several areas where the coating is crumbling and efflorescence (I believe) is present. The walls themselves are pretty straight, and are not bowing in any way. The bricks seem solid and don't appear to be crumbling.

When we moved in, there was some water leakage coming from one corner during heavy rains. Not enough to cover the floor, but enough to see it run to the drain. Luckily, that was an easy fix (a gutter that ran along that edge of the house needed replacement). Now, it is rare to see any water in the basement, even during flooding rains. But, should I still worry about moisture problems based on these pics? Should I hire a professional to inspect the walls?

I'm just clueless as to what I should use to re-coat the walls. I'm guessing that I need to scrape and remove the current coating that is falling apart. Then recoat with plaster maybe? I just want to use the right product to avoid water problems. From what I've read, it's possible that the wrong product could trap moisture and cause the bricks themselves to crumble. What should I use? Please advise.

this will end well

ddaavviidd — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 07:58:38 -0800

[Renovation DIY filter] I need to install window wells for my basement windows. Is a drain really necessary or can I get away just by filling it with gravel? Few more details. This is in Qc, Canada, so lots of snow in the winter. The window sills are pretty much at ground level (perhaps 2-3" above). We have a french drain around the foundation, leading to a sump pump. I'd like to get away without drains going away from foundations because they would have to be quite long to end up in a lower terrain (about 50'), thus requiring machinery and huge trenches...

Can I put a vertical drain going all the way to the french drain? Is this a recommended method, or should I just dig a hole and fill it with gravel? How would I "cap" this drain?

Make your own basement

Napierzaza — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 08:50:15 -0800

I recently bought a house that's an duplex joined on both sides. The basement is a ~2 foot crawlspace (though one small area is ~4 feet). I would like to excavate it into a basement. How could this technically be accomplished?

My basement smells of decaying fruit. Help!

mygothlaundry — Thu, 07 May 2009 07:56:36 -0800

My basement smells like rotting fruit. What is causing it and, since I'm thinking it needs dehumidifying, any dehumidifier tips or recommendations? I moved into my 1966 house in October. The basement is finished; i.e., it's not really a basement, it functions more as the first floor of the house - 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, a laundry room. The house is built into a hill, so the basement level is completely underground on one side and half underground on the other two sides. The people who owned my house before me were enthusiastic if not completely skillful remodelers and they turned the basement into living space - it has concrete floors painted blue, a couple of windows, one room composed completely of glass doors and, well, it's hard to describe. There is not a lot of ventilation - a couple of sliding glass doors, one window.

All would be well except that there is this terrible sort of rotting fruit smell down there. If I leave all the windows and doors open the smell goes away for a while or at least recedes, but I can't leave them open while I'm sleeping or at work. It went away after I mopped the entire floor with pine sol, too, but then it came back.

We've had a lot of rain recently and it's very bad at the moment. I mean it smells like someone has been making pruno or something down there; like a still, like a giant heap of rotting fruit. Has anyone ever encountered this before? What could be causing it? Is it something scary, like black mold? It doesn't smell like mold and there's no visible mold or mildew anywhere.

I'm going to go buy a dehumidifier and see if that works. I know nothing about dehumidifiers, which brings me to the second part of this question: do I need one or two? It's about 800 square feet total. What should I be looking for? How often will I have to empty it (them)? And, should I be looking for any specific brands?

What kind of flooring should I use in my Basement of Doom?

dayintoday — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:13:07 -0800

Are there any flooring options for a concrete basement floor that occasionally gets moist from groundwater/high water table? If so, do I need to remove the paint on the floor first? Here's the full story:

-Basement was once carpeted (by previous owners). Sewer backed up so we pulled up the carpet.
-We painted the cement floor (Sherwin-Williams concrete stain... lovely shade of blue).
-We hate the painted cement floor and want something else.
-The basement is mostly dry (no water gets in from storms, we use a humidifier, and don't have a sump pump). However, when objects (like large plastic storage totes) are on the floor, some moisture builds and mold forms. Gross.

We've been told several things so far, none of which we're totally sure about:
-We should NOT seal the concrete b/c hydrostatic pressure will cause the concrete to crack or shift over time.
-We should remove the paint b/c that seals the concrete, causing above problem.
-Carpet is fine and no vapor barrier is needed.
-Carpet is fine if a vapor barrier is used.
-Carpet is not fine at all.
(and so on with every type of flooring)

Does anyone have a similar experience and advice on flooring that will work without turning the basement into a nasty mold pit? And is the paint we used really sealing the concrete and potentially causing this mold issue and/or a later hydrostatic pressure issue?

How do you feel about owning a pool table?

docpops — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:04:08 -0800

Tell me about your pool table... I'm considering purchasing a pool table in the next year for a new basement I'm finishing. The room isn't huge - 14.5' x 25', but I'm hoping to acomodate a seating area for a TV and a pool table as well, ideally an 8 footer. I'm curious if owners of tables out there feel like it was a good purchase over time, or regrettable. I've got two kids, and would like to teach them something and have fun as well. I've enjoyed the game ever since med school and the crappy tilted mess in our basement way back when, so its always sort of been a dream of mine to have one.

Please help identify object in basement.

mihaca — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:56:18 -0800

Can anyone help identify this object in the basement of an a 10 unit multifamily building built in 1915. I have posted a link to a flickr account with pictures. There is a metal pipe (believed to be hollow) coming from within the cement basement floor extending up to a metal beam. This metal beam extends into a firewall (an apartment is on the other side). I do not believe the metal beam extends into the apartment.

The metal beam is directly underneath a wood beam, however, I do not believe it is supporting the wooden beam - especially as I suspect the upright pipe is hollow and wouldn't provide sufficient support. Most likely the horizontal beam is supporting the upright pipe.

Other objects in the picture (water heaters, etc) do not touch this object, even though the pictures may make it seem that way.

The interesting question is, what is in the middle of the upright pipe?

This "funnel" seems to be made of a material like paper or canvas - it is almost like an old style megaphone. It has been broken at the side, and when you look inside you see the funnel is hollow, and the pipe extends through the middle.

The funnel, along with the top piece of wood, rotates slightly, however, only about an inch or so and is most likely loose and supposed to be solid instead of stuck and unable to spin. The bottom piece of wood, "table top" does not rotate or move with the top piece. The top piece is solid and does not contain an opening to the funnel.

Any help would be appreciated. I will try to answer any questions, however, I do not have direct access to this object.

Thanks in advance.

basement insulation

docpops — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:11:46 -0800

Need opinions on insulating a basement... I'm finishing my basement. About 2/3 of the walls are below grade, framed with 2x6 lumber set an inch from the wall. I've read competing opinions on optimal insulation strategies, with the primary concern being moisture. A contractor friend has basically stated he would never put batt/fiberglass insulation in a space like this (even with moisture barrier) that might get condensation and is recommending foam board.

I'm OK with foam board, but not sure how the hell to put it in so it's nice and airtight, imagining tons of minor air gaps where I didn't slice the panels correctly, and not sure I'll get much of an R value unless I lay the panels in 4 inches deep or more, so I need to double or triple lay them, I guess.

Another option we are investigating is sprayed foam, so anyone with firsthand knowledge of this techniques, please spill it.

240V to 120 conversion(s)

docpops — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 07:55:18 -0800

I need to convert a double 30 amp breaker that feeds a 240V dryer outlet into a subpanel for several 120 lines... I'm finishing my basement. The original plan allowed for a washer /dryer down there, long since relocated upstairs, so I have an unused dedicated 20amp circuit (washing machine) and an unused double 30 amp circuit for the dryer. There are a couple other 15 amp circuits that feed stuff down there that are pretty much accounted for.

My hope, and I will be utilizing the services of an electrician (but would like to be prepared for the conversation I'm going to have as much as possible), is that I can turn the dryer outlet into some combination of circuits, i.e. a subpanel, that would give me at least 2 extra 20 amp, or 2 extra 30 amp, circuits down there for 120V wiring which I could then use to feed the bed, bath and whatever other stuff I need (like a small 120V space heater).

I ran 2 courses of 12G romex yesterday from just at the 240V box into the eventual bathroom and bedroom. Tell me if I've just wasted a ton of time and money.

Thanks.

The incredible seeping floor

edmcbride — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:54:58 -0800

Seeping (almost weeping) water from the floor in my basement suites bathroom. How do I fix this? We moved into a basement suite, earlier this summer, and noticed that the floor "weeps". The more you stand on it, the more water comes through the tiles. Its enough to get your socks soaked all the way through. I have an electric radiator, and a de-humidifier running. The De-humidifier has been running all day everyday for the past couple of days. It doesn't seem to be sucking the water up.

My plan was to rip up the tiles, and get concrete sealer, and then put down new tiles. I have no real experience doing any sort of home repairs. My father in law will be helping me, and he has some experience.

I'm just worried that its growing more mold than I can see down there. The shower is dry (no seeping water).

Would that work? Whats the thoughts of the askmeta hive mind?

What’s the best way to build a storage room in my basement?

bondcliff — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:07:48 -0800

What’s the best way to build a storage room in my basement? I want to build an 8x14 storage room in my basement. I have the usual crap to store, a few pieces of furniture, some camping gear, some old photos, etc. I know the basement isn’t the ideal place for some of this stuff but, well, it’s really the only place I have for it. I’d like to build an area that will offer the best quality storage possible in a basement.

I have a new, very dry basement. There’s no issue with water other than humidity in the air. Walls and floors are dry to the touch, the walls are waterproofed and insulated on the outside and there’s a vapor barrier under the slab. We had a slight problem with mold growing on some stuff (but not on the house itself) that we seem to have solved with de-humidifiers.

The floor will be PT 1x sleepers with plywood flooring over it. Given that there’s already a vapor barrier under the slab, should I put an additional one under the wood floor?

Two of the walls will be framed with wood studs with OSB (or plywood) walls to separate them from the unfinished part of the basement. Is there any reason to use sheetrock instead? I want this to be quick and easy and the OSB will be lighter and easier to work with. The other two walls will be against the concrete exterior walls. Given that the concrete is dry, is there any benefit to putting up wood walls on these sides with a vapor barrier behind the OSB? Would that offer any better protection?

Is there any reason to put a vapor barrier on the interior walls?

Should I attempt to seal this room off from the rest of the basement and make it as airtight as possible (via poly barriers) or should I do the opposite and allow air to circulate in and out with a couple of air vents? Obviously, since there will be a door I can’t make it totally air-tight.

I’ll have de-humidifiers running in the basement during the damp months. Should I put a smaller one in this room with a drain to the sink on the outside?

What else am I not thinking of?

Mural, Mural on the Wall

ian1977 — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 04:17:00 -0800

Help me think of mural ideas! We have a 1/2 finished section of our basement. Two of the walls are fairly nice older plank wood paneling. The other two walls are cinderblock. The cinderblocks are in great condition and are currently primed white.

Id like to paint a mural with a HUGE caveat - it has to be dead simple.

To give you an idea of the level of simplicity I am going for here are a couple initial thoughts I had -

- Alternating red, blue, yellow, green on the cinderblocks
or
- Paint a bunch of big 2 color cartoon trees, with an occasional birdy or beehive

The area is kinda split into two rooms, one part has a bar area and the other is a library area with a bunch of bookshelves, but I'd like it to be one mural going all the way across.

I'd like the mural to be friendly enough that the library area is welcoming and comfortable but adultish enough that it fits with a bar area.

Help me pimp my cinderblocks!

mold in basement remodel -- what now?

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:36:17 -0800

I've put an offer on a 1924 house that has a refinished basement. The remodel was done by the homeowners, with no permits. My inspector found some mold on some wood and drywall. What now? This house is in Portland, Oregon where it rains non-stop during the winter. Most basements here have some water seepage. The current owners refinished the basement themselves either in 2005 or 2006 (I'll get confirmation of this), so it's been through at least one winter here, but not lots of them.
There was an area by a door jamb, where my inspector could look in and see the non-pressure-treated wood (which is apparently a no-no itself) and drywall had some mold on it from water.
So, what do we do now? We will obviously let the current homeowners know about this. My realtor thinks they should just get the work permitted. My concerns are:
- If there's already visible mold, what is behind the walls that we can't see/can't get to? Will we just need to rip all of this remodel down in 5-10 years because it'll be rotted away or totally mold-infested?
- My partner says he's allergic to some kinds of mold, but we don't know if it's this kind. I know mold is supposed to be "BAD BAD BAD!" but really, how bad? Don't most old houses have some kind of mold, somewhere?
- If we ask the homeowners to permit the basement and the county says it's not to code, then what?

Are we getting in over our heads on this? Is it a long-term problem with no real solution?

How clean is clean enough for the floor before a carpet install?

tickettrader — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:37:55 -0800

I am laying carpet in the basement this week. It's has a quality carpet pad and will be on top of concrete. The drywall mud/tape guy and the guy who sprayed the ceiling left an absolute mess on the floor. I've cleaned, scraped, swept, scraped, mopped, scraped etc. for a couple nights and the floor is fairly clean now. At the very least, it is VERY LEVEL as any cracks are now filled with mud that has been smoothed over. My question is - how clean does the floor need to be? Do I have to worry about the little bit of mud/drywall dust somehow magically seeping up through the pad and into my carpet?

Wood molding: DIY or hired help?

flyingrock — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:59:06 -0800

Finishing up a small basement project. Should I install the wood trim and base molding myself (with rented finish nailer) or hire some help? Installing a home theater in a previously finished portion of our basement. I framed and drywalled a 14' L-shaped half-wall on my own, which came out fairly well. I now need to finish it by installing wood molding under the half-wall cap and the baseboard. I have an electric miter saw, so I can miter cut the molding (I think), but installing it is a different story. I tried hand nailing one section with finish nails and a nail set and it was a disaster. I consider myself fairly handy, but some more precise tasks challenge me. Should I rent a compressor and finish nailer (I assume for about $80-100/day) and try it myself, or should I try to locate a handyman on Craigslist to come in for two hours and do it for me? I'd like it to look good, but absolute perfection is not required. Ultimately, which option would be 1) cheaper and 2) produce a better result?

How to fix a leaky basement

Badmichelle — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:18:12 -0800

Should I fix my leaky basement from the inside or the outside? My basement: it leaks. What follows is plenty of detail, since I now know more about basements than I ever wanted to.

I've now had three contractors come to view it, and they're giving me contradictory advice: two say fix it from the outside, that works best, one says inside is the way to go. All three say I need weeping tiles. Two say they will put them on the outside of the wall, and apply a membrane, one says they should go inside.

The details: We live in a pretty old house (80+ years, as far as I know) with what looks like a stone rubble foundation. The parging is coming off the walls on the outside, and I can see that the foundation is damp. Inside, there's actually not much water, but the walls are damp and there is some water on the floor. Not much, but this hasn't happened before, and I suspect it will only get worse: we've have spectacular amounts of rain in Toronto season, and I believe there's more to come. One window frame has rotted wood, and needs to be replaced.

The complications: The basement is finished. Fixing it from the inside means we'll have to remove the drywall and part of the floor. If we go from the ouside, we have to dig up a concrete walkway and then replace it (it's a shared walkway and our neighbors will not look upon us favourably if we don't replace it).

I'm still struggling to understand what will work best/longest/be best for the house. If we fix it from the inside--isn't the water still penetrating the foundation? Isn't that bad? If we fix it from the outside, are we risking damaging the foundation in some way? (I've read that you should leave a stone-rubble foundation alone).

Do you have any experience with this? Any advice? Fixing this is going to be really expensive either way we go -- we can only afford to do it ONCE.

Boston.com's most popular article?

theredpen — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 03:04:42 -0800

Why has this article on a basement door (and some other readers' questions) spent so much time at the top of the boston.com "most emailed" list? It's from October, and although it seems useful, there must be something going on that it's been emailed to others 10 times in the past hour (when I viewed the list early Sunday morning). It's at the top of that list all the time. Is it some secret underground meme or prank that I'm missing? Am I perpetuating the myth by drawing attention to it (I really hope not)?

Water (storage) to wine (storage).

liquado — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:45:32 -0800

What is the best way to convert an old, dry cistern into a wine cellar? We're mere days away from owning our first house, which is a beautifully refinished 77-year-old home. The basement has a cistern which is the perfect size for a modest wine cellar (and really wouldn't serve any other functional purpose, to be honest. My somewhat-inexperienced DIY nature says, hey, let's cut a doorway through the cement bricks, install a door, frame and drywall the gap at the top, run some lighting in, and voila!

Then, Ms liquado asked what kind of saw would be needed to cut through the wall...and I started thinking about how I was *really* going to pull it off.

So, constructionally-talented folksies, any advice or ideas?

My central heating unit smells like farts

lxs — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 08:13:49 -0800

Is my central heating system killing me slowly? I've lived in a garden apartment for the past two years. Right after I turned on the central heating system my first year living there, it broke and the landlord had it replaced with a new unit, which is in a sort of closet type thing in between our kitchen and living room. Whenever the thing runs, it smells strongly of sulfur. We've told the landlord and she had someone look at it, but said there is no problem with it. Does anyone have any idea what the smell could be? Am I slowly killing myself by breathing it in, or is the real problem just how embarrassing it is to have to explain to first time visitors that really, no one farted? I'm definitely moving out when my lease is up in a few months so I'm really just curious where the smell might be coming from and if it's something harmful.

Are we getting ripped off for basement HVAC work?

crunchtopmuffin — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:31:06 -0800

Home HVAC filter: Help us figure out if we're getting ripped off! We were quoted $800 for some HVAC work that needs to be done for finishing our basement; is this a reasonable amount? My husband is acting as the general contractor for finishing our basement, which is approx. 600 square feet. He just hired a guy who was recommended to us as an HVAC "expert" (as in he works for an HVAC company during the day) by someone we trust. We initially got a good feeling about this guy, and we went with him without getting other estimates because we're eager to get this work done. (I know, I know, not the best decision.) We hired him off the books and he quoted us $800 for the following work: From the main trunk in the basement ceiling, he ran two 15-foot lines with a single register at the end of each. He also cut into an existing line and added two registers. All of this is occurring between the floor joists in the ceiling of the basement. The price sounded reasonable to us, but it turns out that it will only be about 4-5 hours worth of work, which has made us wonder if perhaps we're overpaying. Of course, we assumed that since he's doing this work off the books that we'd be getting a deal.

Anyone have any idea if this is a reasonable amount to pay? Anyone who has experience with HVAC subcontractors or who is an HVAC subcontractor, your input is greatly appreciated!

Can I seal furniture in plastic to prevent mold?

intermod — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 11:44:58 -0800

Is it possible to "seal" furniture in a plastic bag to protect it from mold while stored in a basement? Please help me protect my inheritance until I have a bigger house! I have inherited some nice furniture but have no space in my current house. Climate controlled storage is too expensive for the 2-3 years that I'll need it until we get a bigger house. And I've got a basement, so if only I could store it down there ...

The basement is what they call "an improved crawlspace", under a 1930's bungalow. It's not open to outside air, but there is bare dirt crawlspace in half of the plan and standing room with rough concrete in the other half. I do have drainage properly worked out so that rainwater doesn't come in. There's no climate control in the basement, in the system that handles the living spaces of the house is not big enough to handle the basement too. I do have a dehumidifier to remove the worst of the humidity but it's not enough.

Other furniture I've stored in the basement has quickly been consumed by mold. I've already taken all other reasonable steps to keep the dampness down, but it's still damp enough that the furniture will quickly be ruined if I put it down there unprotected.

I'm thinking that there must be some solution to this, something like a plastic barrier that you can seal the furniture in, or even have a professional come out with their fancy Seal-O-Matic and do it onsite. Alas, googling on that leads nowhere so perhaps it doesn't exist.

Does such a product or service exist, or can anyone suggest any other solutions?