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8″ of standing water in a crawlspace?

joshrogan | Posted in General Discussion on March 29, 2003 07:52am

Hi, everyone… I’m a DIY’er in Rhode Island, and my wife and I are thinking of taking on our second home renovation project.  We completely had to gut the first one, but the framing and foundation were in good shape.

The next one that we’re considering is in similar shape; it’s a 1925 house that hasn’t been well maintained (and probably wasn’t very well built), and is going to need some fairly extensive work.  This one has a new wrinkle to us, though… the 3′ crawlspace under the house has about 8″ of standing water in it, and the owner said that the water is there more often than it’s not.

I know our first priority will be to get the water out of there and stop it from coming back in, and we’ll also need to replace the now-springy floors and joists on the first floor (it seems safe to assume that all that moisture has taken its toll).  But what I’m most worried about is the foundation. 

Once we get the water out of there, is there any way that I can tell if all that water has done permanent damage do the poured concrete foundation (beyond any obvious signs, like massive cracks or bulges in the wall)?  And, if it has, should I run screaming?  Or can I use a combination of concrete patches, lolly columns, new joists, or anything else to make the house structurally sound?

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

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  1. wallyo | Mar 29, 2003 08:22pm | #1

    No if it is ground source water.  There may be a under ground spring  or low water table under the house and there is no way to stop that.  Well  there is one way raise the house up on pilings as the do in flood ways' just kidding the house may have to be lifted enough for a bob cat to get under. Fill brought in and built up to raise the crawl space floor one foot above flood stage new footing foundation laid house set down footing covered and sloped away  to get it below frost line.  How big of a piece of land is this on?  Could it be move to  a new foundation on higher ground on the same lot.

    Get a good screw auger m I have a manual one similar to what a soil engineer would use to get samples or rent an gas unit like that used for fence posts..  Dig a hole about 20' from the house a little deeper the the footing if water collects it is probably ground water. Also hit the county office they should have flood zone maps by the Army Corp of Engineers or Geological survey.

    1. joshrogan | Mar 31, 2003 03:27pm | #4

      Wally... That's a good point... I'll do that.  My gut, though, is that some of it is ground water, but most of it is from when it rains.  We live right down the street, and our basement would probably have a few inches of water in it too if we didn't have a sump pump going (especially in the spring, with all the rains and thaws).

      Edited 3/31/2003 8:33:29 AM ET by Josh

  2. 1110d | Mar 30, 2003 03:52am | #2

    Short of a hydraulic action pushing on the walls or footing, I don't see any damage to the concrete.  Don't forget, they build bridges and dams out of this stuff.  To get a high water level, you must have at least one of the following: poor surface grading, a underground spring, a high or perched water table, high bedrock, or a broken water pipe.  Naturally the pipe will need to be fixed.  Hopefully it's a supply pipe, not a waste pipe.  Ick.  Surface grading can be easily accomplished by the DIY handyman.  Just be sure to keep the soil 8" below the siding.  If it's high water, then perhaps a sump pump and some drain tile will help you.  I'd go with a duplex submersible pump on two separate breakers.  If this is the case, then the crawl space will never be dry and will always be a source for mold and rot.  Not to mention the insects.  Replacing floor joists and floor sheathing is a major major project.  It is always two times worse than what you thought it was.  If the water table is that high, then I'd have to ask about your septic system also.  It sure can't be working well.  I hope you have a holding tank or sewer instead.  If this is high water situation, I'd really have to recommend you looking else where.  This one might be too far gone.

    1. joshrogan | Mar 31, 2003 03:30pm | #5

      Tim... I'm nearly certain that it's not a suppy or a waste pipe, but is just the local groundwater (per my last post... we live right down the road, and are pretty familiar with the water habits of the area).  And good poitn about dams and bridges... I slapped my forehead in an "of course, dummy" fashion when I read that. 

      Why do you say "major major" when talking about replacing joists?  We had to do that under one of the rooms in our current house, and we pretty much just jacked up the current joists, and then sistered them with some 2x10's, and then ripped up the floor and put ply down over the new joists.  Now I'm nervous... did we do something wrong?

      Good point about the septic, but it shouldn't be a problem for too long... sewers are coming in this year (woo hoo!).

      Edited 3/31/2003 8:33:47 AM ET by Josh

      1. 1110d | Mar 31, 2003 04:43pm | #7

        No, that's about all there is to repairing floor joists. It's just that it's dirty overhead work with no room work. A truly miserable job.

        1. joshrogan | Mar 31, 2003 06:28pm | #8

          Fortunately it's a tiny house... only 450 sq. ft on the first floor!

          Thanks a lot for your advice... it's been very helpful.

  3. patren61270 | Mar 31, 2003 09:02am | #3

    Where's the drain tile and sump pump at? (or do they not exist?) gutters and down spouts?  foundation waterproofed?  These are important to the overall performance of an existing foundation/crawl space.

    PatRen.

    1. joshrogan | Mar 31, 2003 03:33pm | #6

      PatRen... there is no sump or drain tile, which I think would be the very first thing we'd do (might even make the seller do it).  Gutters and downspouts exist, but are in rough shape, and since the house was built in 1925, I highly doubt there's any waterproofing.  I'm not really going to shoot for keeping it bone dry, but just want to minimize the moisture to the extent that I can.

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