| Author | Message | ||
     Tootal |
Since many of us are celebrating Crusty's acquisition of a house I thought I would enlighten some folks about what I've been dealing with. For the last 5-6 years my house has been sinking due to mine subsidence. It's more listing as from one corner to the opposite corner there is a 5-1/2" difference. I consider myself lucky actually, since the house is all brick veneer and none of it has cracked yet. The better news is I just got word that it has finally stopped moving and I'm finally allowed to fix it. There is insurance for this so I'm hoping I will get enough to do it right. I'm pretty sure they will have to redo my basement concrete. The floor is cracked in multiple places. My pool table is really fun to play on. Upstairs my waterbed has a deep end! So with the last few days rains the basement carpet is soaking up large quantities of water. So why am I here writing this? My back needed a rest from dumping the wet vac canister! 12 gallons get heavy after a while! So here's to home ownership and all it's glories and set backs. One thing for sure, when they pour my new basement floor there will be a drain tile around the outside edge!! | ||
| Strokizator |
The fellow that owns his own home is always just coming out of a hardware store - Kin Hubbard | ||
| Crusty |
I see so much work in front of me,that it could be cause for concern, but I've owned my own home in the past, and while there is work to being a homeowner, the pleasure and satisfaction of owning my own home will more than make up for it. | ||
| Tootal |
You're right John and I'm really glad I'm finally going to be allowed to have the satisfaction of making things right! I have needed to do so many things but was not allowed to. My neighbors are really happy!! | ||
| Teeps |
Siphon won't work? | ||
| Adrenaline_junkie |
I am assuming his basement is below grade so the water needs to go uphill. Siphon not so good in that direction. | ||
| Teeps |
If the outlet end of the hose is lower than the liquid being siphoned it will work. si·phon noun 1. a tube used to convey liquid upwards from a reservoir and then down to a lower level of its own accord. Once the liquid has been forced into the tube, typically by suction or immersion, flow continues unaided. | ||
| Tootal |
If I had a hole in the floor that would work but the water is going under the foundation and then up between the floor and the wall running under two walls and ending up by the back door. It's also coming up through all the cracks under the carpet. None of this ever happened until the housed started to move evidently opening up a passageway to the foundation. But that's ok, there are folks out there losing their whole houses due to flooding. Mine is a minor inconvenience compared to them. This is about the 3rd time this has happened so I know the routine. Soon I will have the fans going and alternating from heat to AC to dry the air. | ||
| Court |
First rule of construction . . . "water always wins" | ||
| Tootal |
First rule of construction . . . "water always wins" Boy is that the truth! I didn't build this house otherwise it would have had drain tiles inside and out! When they dig up around it for peering I'll see if they can do that for me. | ||
| Court |
I'm a huge fan of the 3' to 5' wide footing under the foundation wall with a couple 4" perforated pipes in a 2' x 2' bed of crushed stone wrapped in TyPar fabric with the entire thing gently sloped and routed about 20' down the natural terrain. The last one I built (in Kansas) also had 9' clear ceilings in the basement . . . I figured as long as I had the house lifted (it was a 150 year old farm house) that I'd do everything I could. | ||
| Airbozo |
Yes the joys of home ownership! After 3 months I finally found the last leak (that I know of) in my roof! That makes 5. Have to tear off the back part and completely replace down to the plywood. Think i am going steel this time. Tootal, Are they lifting your house to pour new footings and such? | ||
| Oopezoo |
Wow....that made me feel a little better. I was just bickering with a coworker about what the odds were that our washing machine AND dryer both died on the same day. That was us yesterday. Dad's advice when I was house shopping for my first house......"Water sucks, buy a house at the top of the hill." Best of luck with the foundation. I had a buddy that dealt with something similar. They ended up excavating down to the base of the foundation. They jacked the house back level, reinforced it, and then dug a drainage trench around the entire house and filled it with perforated pipe and stone. Then sealed the walls from the outside and regraded the yard around it. Hell of a project. | ||
| 04buell |
Our front porch is sinking in the southeast corner. It is above the one place of the basement that's not cutout. When it really really rains from the northwest, the water can and has dribbled down the basement wall. Jerry and our boys built this place in 1984. Its not totally horrible yet but we agreed it's time to get it fixed! Jerry and our boys are great carpenters but we may have to outsource this one. Welcome Crusty, to our world. Carol | ||
| Tootal |
That's pretty much what I'm looking at. I haven't talked to an engineer yet, still waiting on the insurance guy to finish his estimate. I did talk to one guy several years ago and he said they would most likely peer it and then raise it. They seem to have some new technology for doing this stuff. Here in Illinois there are enough coal mines to keep these guys busy learning better mouse traps. | ||
| H0gwash |
I have generally found home fix it projects more enjoyable than motorcycle work, even though I have to be vaguely professional-ish when I do home repairs because I rent my house out. Home repairs can often be less precise than engine work. I did get the dreaded sewer pump failure call once. I packed my galoshes and a shovel but was relieved to find that the pump GFCI had simply popped and needed resetting. | ||
| 86129squids |
"...pump GFCI had simply popped and needed resetting." Pooped?  | ||
| Ratbuell |
This is why you ALWAYS tie the pump circuit to something that gets used on a regular basis, such as the fridge, or the living room TV. Don't use lights because it can still go 12 hours unnoticed... Or, just plug a UPS with an outage-alarm on it, into the same circuit. Make it intrusive - a noisy "power is out" alert is still less intrusive than days of backup. Saves the phone call "I just noticed this"....five days after it tripped. | ||
| Zacks |
This is why you ALWAYS tie the pump circuit to something that gets used on a regular basis Electric code calls for anything with a motor to be on a separate circuit. Although, a buddy of mine wired a horn thru a relay, so no real draw. Pump circuit holds the contacts open. Failure drops the relay and closes the contacts and it's a 100db horn blaring. Great having parts left over from a jobsite... | ||
| Ourdee |
Mount the horn in the bathroom. | ||
| Tootal |
Agreed. If the horn went off while you were sitting there it might be good you are where you are! Less laundry to do! | ||
| Teeps |
Never connect sensitive (anything with a "chip") electronic devices to a circuit with a motor. The voltage drop on the line when the motor starts up could damage the other equipment. Don't ask me how I know... | ||
| Airbozo |
True about the motor wiring. Some numbnutz wired the entertainment center power to the box providing power to my heater. When the heater fires up, the whole entertainment system glitches. I've got a UPS system connected now, but will rewire it this summer (I thought I already fixed all my electrical issues). |
