Anybody got experience with B-Dry System?

[MrSplitshot]

So, won't bore you to death with the details, but the new house we just moved into in December has a leaking basement. There's a crack in the wall (poured wall, not block) and water is getting in at the bottom where it meets the floor.

Our basement is finished and the house is 6 years old, so it's a lovely nightmare. When I tore out drywall, I've already got black mold growing in about a 5' long section, about 6" up from the floor on the back of the drywall. With a 14 month old baby and an immuno-compromised wife in my crew, it actually is a nightmare for me.

We bought the house from the original owners. It had a 10 year foundation warranty from the builder, but the builder won't honor it for anybody but the original owners. Sellers say they had no idea of an issue. I'm pretty much bent over a barrel on this deal.

Anyway, I'm trying to decide between becoming financially destitute for the rest of my life by having it repaired from the outside, which I'm told will require demolishing my deck, back patio, fencing, and digging a 9' deep channel around the perimeter of my house....OR....spending less (still $7,000) on a B-Dry System that is installed from the inside and guaranteed against leaking for the rest of my life. My family has known this B-Dry guy for many years and I trust him, but I don't know jack squat about basements....never had the "pleasure" of owning one before and wish that I still didn't.

Any of you have experience with this stuff? Particularly the "inside remedy versus outside remedy" debate?

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[mhall]

Brian I have not used them personally but they are a fanatastic company with an excellent reputation. Now I looked at your issue and from the photo it appears to me that the seam is the only thing leaking??? If I'm right get a professional opinion and ask if a section there can be cut out and waterplug aka ''Hydraulic cement'' could stop that leak. In many cases in specific area's as that appears to be it can be that simple sometimes.

Look into that and get a free professional quote and advice from B-Dry and go from there as a starting point...

[mhall]

Also....where your patio meets this adjacent wall, is there a large gap there where it may have heaved and pulled away from the wall??? If so a really good caulk job may stop the water intrusion as well...Something to consider..

Does water run away from your house in that area or towards it...grading may also be playing a role as many times this is the culprit...

[MrSplitshot]

Thanks Mark...appreciate that...

There is basically a crack there, with water coming in at the bottom, yes. I can't tell if it's really a seam or not, but there is a rusty spot higher up in the crack where the metal whatchamacallit probably was when it was poured.

There is a small patio out back, but it comes in to the foundation quite a bit further down the house. There is a huge deck that was built, that lays over top of the patio, and basically extends the whole length of the back of the house. It's not attached to the house or the foundation, basically sits flush with the ground, and is on 6x6 piers that are only a foot, maybe two, in the ground....thing seems solid as a rock...I don't *think* that the deck would have anything to do with it, but I'm no pro either.

I've also got a workshop in the basement that is unfinished, just concrete floors and studded walls with a work bench where I do my reloading. I've got a seeping leak in there that seems to be coming from the joint where the wall meets the floor, because I can't see a crack anywhere. Our house is the lowest spot in the neighborhood, there is a pond across the street that everything drains into, and I'm thinking we have a really high water table too. There has got to be a lot of hydro pressure on these walls. We have a 1/2 horse sump, with a water-powered backup, and it runs a lot...works fine it appears...but runs a lot.

I'm trying to work with the builder without blowing a head-gasket, because they are the most non-chalant, un-caring, call-dodging SOBs I've ever seen...I'd let them try to seal a crack from the inside and see if it works...but I don't know that I'm going to let them go hogwild and turn my backyard into a themepark for 2 months poking around. And I'm not sure that I'd be confident that something else wouldn't eventually leak somewhere else.

It seems to me like the B-Dry deal manages water once it's in from under the floor, instead of really trying to keep it out. I was just wondering if it's smoke and mirrors or legit. I don't think they would have been around so long if their deal was snake oil. The fact that it's a well known company, been around since the 50's, good reputation, and guarantees to fix any leaks for the life of the home after you turn them loose on your basement....kinda speaks to me.

[DJD]

Not that it matters but my lifetime warranty with the foundation repairs has been nothing short of a pain in my butt. They been out 3 times since the initial repair and have been waiting for three months for the forth repair. Free of cost.....Now my slab has fallen and of course my warranty is only for the foundation so now I have to pay another couple grand for that!!!!

I'm in construction and I deal with the people who are on the site from day one to handing over the keys and walking out. I would say I have met a handful of honest contractors during my 25 years in the business. Most are crooked as a dogs hind leg and quick to move on when things get tough.

I paid 8k to fix my foundation and my neighbor paid 14k so nothing is cheap for us working stiffs.
i feel your pain man. I think the contractor I used has been ok with me and my repairs but they are slow to respond and it usually takes 5-6 phone calls to get anything done.

my advice....ask around for references and talk with others (as you are doing). I have heard good things about those guys but then again I don't know who their competition is?? Sure would be nice to see a job they completed years ago to see how it is now.

Black mold ain't no joke!

[zx150]

We had issues with an old house of ours. We got several estimates and they were all over the place. I finally got 2 engineers to come out to look at it. Both of them said it for was a waist of money for our house. We almost dropped 14,000K. Glade I spent 200.00 on them for coming out and checking them.

[MrSplitshot]

We had issues with an old house of ours. We got several estimates and they were all over the place. I finally got 2 engineers to come out to look at it. Both of them said it for was a waist of money for our house. We almost dropped 14,000K. Glade I spent 200.00 on them for coming out and checking them.

Why was it a waste?

[zx150]

Did not need the entire house done. They wanted to put piers under the whole backside of the house that was what was causing the issue. They (engineers) both said that it was just natural settlement and piers would not help. It was all fixed with some plastic pipe attached to the down spouts on the gutters. No more problems.

Not saying that is all you need but that is all B-dry does. The engineers said that they have never heard of a company that did not recommendnd their basement waterproofing product. Don't take that as Gospelil but, I got their point.

[waterdog101]

if you or one of your friends, can operate an Excavator. rent a small one with enough reach to do the job, and dig a trench alone the side of the house where the leak is. and about a foot deeper than the foundation and continue the trench to a underground drain, or roadside ditch. then clean the wall with a waterhose and a brush. cover the bottom of the trench with about 6" depth of # 57 gravel. lay a double row of 6" plastic pipe with the little holes in it. { Perforated pipe }the full length of the trench. coat the wall with a good concrete sealer and let dry, then coat the wall with a good thick coat of tar. then cover the pipe with a foot or more of the gravel. then use the dirt and refill the trench. this should take care of the water problem. and for about a 3rd or less of the money your talking about. this is the way I did mine when I built it, back in 1986 and never had a problem with it. hope this helps and keeps you from being robbed.

[mhall]

Some real good advice here Brian. I would explore in depth the grading and channeling of water away from your house first and foremost as this neeeds to be done regardless of if it fixes the issue or not. Then watch on the next big rain event, don't worry around here that won't take long and SEE and WATCH where it is coming in. This may be a very isolated area that a small patch with hydraulic cement will fix along with the grading.

I know you want to get it buttoned back up, but study the leak first, determine exactly whre it's coming in and then make a game plan. B-Dry if you so decide to go with do quality work. In Louisville they have the number 1 rated service for there type of work with the BBB here in town and many swear by them. However it may not come to all that. I would like to see your outside grading, man I almost bet some drain work and some extensions off of your downspouts could fix your issue...


Waterdog's drain idea is spot on and can't be done where the patio is, however would be a good idea for both sides. It can roll around and pool in the back causing issue. They only caviat I may add to what he advised would be to add a soil membrane or slit cloth on top of the perforated pipe before backfilling with 57 rock and then the topsoil..

[MrSplitshot]

All great info guys....really appreciate it.

I'll tell you, honestly, that the thought of taking an excavator and digging a trench across the back of my house makes my bunghole pucker. We would have to demolish a deck that would probably cost $4,000 to replace, at least...fence would have to come down....all of the landscaping torched....pretty much a disaster on the pocketbook overall. That's not something I could do on my own either. I'm just not handy enough.

$7,000 for the B-Dry System still sounds crazy to me, but even if I could dig trenches and make the outside repairs myself for a 1/3 of that....by the time I re-build decks, fencing, landscaping, I'm worse off. I've also still got the constant onslaught of water.

I think our biggest problem may be that we are at "The Bottom" of the neighborhood. Everything, and I do mean everything, drains straight to ME...then across the street into a pond.

We're on a corner lot, but the ******* builder of the home next to us apparently likes to mound up his lots and build his houses up on a hill to make them look bigger than they really are...so all of their water drains off that hill straight into the side of my house.

I really don't think our lot can be graded any different than it is already, because of the way it sits...but again...I'm no pro. I'll have somebody come take a look at it.

To have bought and sold a few houses successfully in my young lifetime already, I think we just botched this one. We love the house and love the neighborhood, but I should have passed on this one because of some things that I see now that I just didn't see during the process of house shopping a couple of months ago.

Since I'm always going to have this onslaught of water, with the drainage and the water table, and the fact that the B-Dry System is completely handled inside the basement...it's just pushing me towards that solution more.

I could get some good waterproofing stuff and work on this crack....might hold, pressure might blow it out....but I don't know how confident I'd be in re-dry walling and putting any more money into my finished basement.

Renting sure doesn't seem so bad now. LOL

[DJD]

Build the floor up about 2ft put some state of the art drainage in there and shoot it straight out the back. Sure the room will have a lower ceiling but you can still toss midgets when you get mad?!?!?!
Sorry man I know it *****....