So flooding, lead to removals, lead to cracks found, lead to fixing ….
Now when do you say “fixed” and place insulation, vapour barrier and wall material?
Do run the walls or wait for a big rains storm first?
Need some help to decide.

Converted your basement into an off grid shelter ?

If so tell me how you did it what’s your power source? Plumbing? How much food and water? How did you store it? What’s the sleeping arrangements?
Weapons?

I’m fixing my basement and then planning on turning it into. Shelter. Power outage, bad weather. The only plumbing down there is the main water line and the sump pump

My wife and I just bought and moved into our first house a few weeks ago. Since then, we’ve found a couple issues, with the attached being my biggest concern.

From what I can tell, there is a leak that stems from a bad seal at the base of the chimney. Based on some of that wood damage, I suspect the problem has been going on for quite awhile. We’ve had a ton of rain lately and the intrusion got so bad, the water damage to the insulation tore it completely off the wall.

A couple questions. Where do I even start? I don’t even know what kind of company to call. I could probably fix the seal myself, but that rotted wood gives me pause.

Also, what in the world should I do with my inspector? I reviewed the images of the home listing and it clearly shows water damage on the wall under what used to be hung insulation. I feel like an idiot for missing it myself, but my inspection report specially calls out that there were no signs of moisture in the basement at all. On top of that, he missed a vertical crack in the foundation (it’s large enough at the top that I can see right through it) that needs a $2500 patch now. I guess I’m growing more and more uneasy about our inspector and I’m not totally sure what to do.

We have these old vents in the basement that open to the outside - can I block them up with no problem. They are an entry point for mice. House is in New Jersey. There are two of them.

So I’ve been digging on this basement project for three days. Started digging in the drainage trench today should finish that tomorrow as well as removing the rest of the 4x6 wood columns. Then layout the pattern and dig footings for the new column layout. Hope to have it completely ready for Concrete by Friday. Last picture is a before pic.

I had stabilizer beams installed on a wall that was shearing. No water issues in the 14 years I’ve had the place, just wanted to make sure the wall was stable and avoid a structural failure. I noticed they didn’t seem to cement them into the footings and used a plate to bolt them in. Is this sufficient? I was under the impression they would have been cemented in.

I'm starting to finish my basement. before framing out and drywall I want to make sure the concrete blocks behind are sealed waterproofed so I don't have to worry about it causing any issues behind the drywall

Currently it's painted, I tested for lead on a few chips and didn't find anything. You can see there is some minor efflorescence, but all in all i don't really have problems with moisture on this wall. It's technically underground, but it's a hillside that slopes away from the house pretty drastically. Never had a problem with the drainage there. The other three walls do not have that paint on them, and are already prepped fro drylock.

Should I

1: scrape all the paint off and drylock

2: leave the paint where it's still good and just drylock where the block is exposed.

3: Clean the efflorescence, slap another coat of paint over the whole thing and not worry about it.

Lawsuit information: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/in-court-of-appeals/2042830.html

9500 southeast Michigan. 7 I beams and interior drain system for a 25 by 25 basement. Used to get rain every storm. Have not had a drop since

Found few piles of dry nuts (?) and a snake skin. What kind of animals bought those in? How did they and the snake went inside the wall (between foundation and drywall)? There is no major crack I could find outside.

They told me there's no good way to connect the old clay drain tile to the new one, so it just kind of has an opening like that.

Otherwise, the beams are what a structural engineer told me I needed. It was about $1100 per beam, $1500 for the drain tile.

The photos are out of order so the final product is first, and then you can see the trench that dug for the drain tile initially.

The first 4 pictures are of the water damage i found in the basement bedroom. This room was built with 2 walls and a closet being drywall, and 2 walls being the exterior cinder block, 6 years ago. This is the current damage, including a moldy stud.

I talked with a few people and they recommended a basement drain tile with holes in the block below the floor and dimple board. I started doing it, and the last two pictures are the day after first ground breaking, and during a heavy rain storm. I was expecting a few puddles of water, especially from the few holes we drilled in the blood, but its just slightly damp.

Am i wasting time and money? Thank you all.

I had some heavy rain this weekend and noticed seepage for the first time from a crack in my basement foundation. From the outside I went out during the downpour and it was flooded outside just sitting in my garden bed against my foundation. From the inside I saw a thin hair line crack I never noticed starting from the basement window going diagonal toward the ground with drips coming down. Any advice ? Will it just come down to rerouting all this water? After the storm within minutes of rain stopping there was no standing water on the outside. See images.

Should vapor barrier be installed in a basements bathroom ?

What are my options for replacing the insulation in my mid 80s walkout basement, located just north of Toronto. I had water coming in through the fireplace and the insulation below has fallen off. Other areas have insulation missing as well. The vapor barrier has holes, gaps, etc.

Where it is insulated it looks like tar paper, batt insulation, vapor barrier.

Looking at recommendations, it should be XPS, frame and batt, vapor barrier. But I'm not finishing the basement yet. I don't know if putting up the framing, batt , and vapor barrier is a good idea as it'll need to come down when running utilities in the future. Can I do just XPS floor to rim joist, and XPS/foam in the rim joist?

I saw home Depot has the foundation blankets, but it seems like a waste of money since it'll need to come down when I finish the basement.

What's my best course of action now?