Every time it rains now, we get water in our basement. It always comes in near the stairwell and under the door, and occasionally also comes up via the floor drain. We haven’t seen a lot more mud, no more sinkholes or inches of the stuff like we had before, but we do still continue to get a little bit each time along with the water.
Since the first time in happened, I’ve been trying to find someone to fix the problem. After weeks of trying to get in touch with contractors, calling and leaving messages and sending emails, even sending pics to one that was too busy to make the drive out to our place, we finally got someone to come around and give us an estimate. His quote was quite high, in the multiple thousands. That wasn’t entirely unexpected, however he also alleged that our previous landscaper (who we trust did good work) had done a poor job. He said the landscaping and flow of water into the yard would all need to be redone on top of the basement work. I did not trust this opinion, and felt he was just trying to increase the scope of work.
So I called back our previous contractor, who had told me previously he wouldn’t be able to fit us in this year and said, “It’s fine if you can’t fit us in, we will wait until spring, but please just come give us a quote so we know how much to save.” He came and had a look and sent an estimate for several thousand dollars less than the other quote. He also gave lots of additional information, reason and explanations why he recommended we do things his way. We agreed to go with him and said that our schedule was open to doing it whenever it worked for him.
A short time later he called and said he’d cancellation!! He asked if he and his crew could come in just a couple days, right after Labor Day. OK then!!
The plan is to dig up the ground near to the foundation on the low side of the house where in intersects the basement stairwell, and put in a barrier, some rock, and some drainage pipes. That, along with the great gutters we put in shortly after we moved in, should divert the water away from the house.
Once that area is no longer letting in water, then we can fix the cracks inside and replace the rotting doorway. Optionally, we can also choose to locate and connect the floor drain, and pour a patio at the same time, something we’ve wanted to do since we decided to buy the house!
We’ve decided to go ahead with all these things. We still aren’t eager to spend the money, but we can’t wait for the basement to no longer be a problem!