Owner Peter O'Shea will use this channel to help homeowners understand everything related to basement and crawl space waterproofing. On this channel, you will learn secret tips and tricks many waterproofers won't tell you.
We are committed to our customers and work hard to ensure complete satisfaction with every job. Having waterproofed over 25,000 basements since 1997, you can be sure you'll get the experience, quality, innovation, and waterproofing performance you need. Why choose us? We want to help protect your most significant investment from structural, foundation damage, or water control problems. We uniquely use ICC code-compliant practices, dust suppression, and our proprietary foundation repair technology, and leave your home without any post-repair mess. Whether your basement floods during rainstorms or has that musty "basement odor," we have the solution!
Why would someone initially dig out this basement space so large around where the cement or blocks are going to be inserted as basement walls just to backfill that whole area surrounding the basement walls, leaving the walls open to leakage and water pressure? Why not only dig where the material will be? I understand molds. But why not have the mold be styrofoam on the outside that will never be removed? You would kill two birds with one stone that way. It would be very cost effective, too. I’m honestly not telling you what to do. I truly am just curious.
And then there's "THIS OLD HOUSE" who have videos showing people how to do exactly to basement walls as you've shown here.. nail studs/strapping to foundation walls, then use foam insulation, and cover with drywall . 😐 Worst thing ever..
One of the worst things to do to your basement.. a finished basement. Nailing framing to your foundation, then covering it with interior walls etc... When i wanted an extra room/space in ny basement, I built a floating room.. basically a small unattached little shed in my basement with a drop ceiling, etc.. Nothing was attached to my foundation walls in any way. And the walls of the room are 2ft from the foundation walls it is cornered into so air flows and i can check or see if there are any issues at any time.
Yeh, especially since they show people to do exactly what he says is the worst thing ever.. nailing studs/strapping to foundation walls then use foam insulation and cover with drywall..
Thanks for your videos. I've watched a bunch of them to better understand this topic. I had water in my basement even through I have French drains circa 1975 around the outside foundation. The water from outside French drain connects to sump pump and then goes out again. I don't understand why no water seems to have entered my sump pump during the flood event. Trying to figure out if it is better to inspect French drains and fix them, or simply have you install the new system inside basement. What do you think?
In almost all cases. The homeowners have already attempted a mitigation from the outside with no good result. We always check the outside for any unusual perimeter problems, grade, window wells, outside drains, downspouts, or surface runoffs. Sometimes the problem runs deeper.
What an excellent video. Direct and to the point explaining how water travels through soil and then through concrete. My only question is, why remediate a water problem inside the house, isn’t it better to capture it on the outside??
I'm bias. I could be in the business of doing both inside and outside waterproofing, but I have find that most failed jobs are done on the outside. So, I refuse to do any exterior perimeter drainage. Sub-terrain movement of the soil is very active. Most outside systems fail in 3 years. Interior systems are protected inside below the slab floor where water can easily enter, even with a outside system in place. Outside systems cannot protect you against the ground water that can push up beneath your floor.
With a high water table you’re absolutely correct. Inside and outside is a must. I was more talking about runoff when it’s raining. The concept of catching the water before it makes it into your basement is the way to go. But if you then have a contractor that does a lousy job, then yeah you’ve wasted money. But the same thing applies when you’re dealing with a crappy contractor doing inside waterproofing (as per video)
Why can the concrete used for pools handle so much water, but foundations have this efflorescence issue? Couldn’t foundations be made using concrete in such as fashion that they are inherently water tight?
This is a great video. Thank you! About to purchase a 1925 home. I am trying to cure my ignorance to stone foundations. This really filled in some blanks.
We don’t have basements around here. Cellars (4’ deep) yes and some concrete storm shelters. Why don’t people seal the outside? Wouldn’t it make sense to use a waterproof outside so there would be no penetration of water?
Outside sealing is temporary on homes that take in too much groundwater. It fails whenever vertical pressure is applied to the walls when the ground is wet and heavy. The best bet is an interior management system that keeps humidity low, doesn't require high maintenance, and doesn't have the environmental vulnerability of an outside sealing and/or drainage system. We only stick to interior systems because they work.
Thank you, I wonder if this has ever been done. I’m going to put in a “Shelter” it will be below our water table by 4’. We have silt and sand no dirt or clay, the cool thing is water pumps actually dredge the fill. Knowing this I wondered if using a vinyl pool liner set down and the foundation poured into the base. There will be double wall design with concrete between the metal boxes (big one with smaller one inside) the liner will be on the outside of the boxes. Have you seen this design before?
