Damp in the basement
Apr 26th 2008, 7:09 pm
#1
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Joined: Feb 2008
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Damp in the basement
My friend has noticed lately that he is finding damp patches on the floor of his basement that he hasnt noticed before, they are on the outside wall close to the central heating tank, its like a trickle of water going along the floor for about 5 ft along, also sort of circles similar to when you leave a wet towel on the floor for a few days and it leaves a pattern when you pick it up.
He needs to get someone in to look at it but doesnt want to be ripped off by some one saying " oh you need the whole place damp coursed" it would help a lot if he had a bit of a clue ,if anyone is kind enough to give me some ideas, a good workman over there is so hard to find,most of them do the job and then vanish so you ring them on the number you first rang them on but the line is dead, how do you find a good workman in your area.
He needs to get someone in to look at it but doesnt want to be ripped off by some one saying " oh you need the whole place damp coursed" it would help a lot if he had a bit of a clue ,if anyone is kind enough to give me some ideas, a good workman over there is so hard to find,most of them do the job and then vanish so you ring them on the number you first rang them on but the line is dead, how do you find a good workman in your area.
Apr 26th 2008, 7:25 pm
#2
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Joined: Oct 2005
Location: TN
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Re: Damp in the basement
My friend has noticed lately that he is finding damp patches on the floor of his basement that he hasnt noticed before, they are on the outside wall close to the central heating tank, its like a trickle of water going along the floor for about 5 ft along, also sort of circles similar to when you leave a wet towel on the floor for a few days and it leaves a pattern when you pick it up.
He needs to get someone in to look at it but doesnt want to be ripped off by some one saying " oh you need the whole place damp coursed" it would help a lot if he had a bit of a clue ,if anyone is kind enough to give me some ideas, a good workman over there is so hard to find,most of them do the job and then vanish so you ring them on the number you first rang them on but the line is dead, how do you find a good workman in your area.
He needs to get someone in to look at it but doesnt want to be ripped off by some one saying " oh you need the whole place damp coursed" it would help a lot if he had a bit of a clue ,if anyone is kind enough to give me some ideas, a good workman over there is so hard to find,most of them do the job and then vanish so you ring them on the number you first rang them on but the line is dead, how do you find a good workman in your area.
Apr 26th 2008, 9:14 pm
#3
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Re: Damp in the basement
Apr 27th 2008, 6:11 pm
#4
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Joined: Jan 2007
Location: NW Chicago suburbs
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Re: Damp in the basement
My friend has noticed lately that he is finding damp patches on the floor of his basement that he hasnt noticed before, they are on the outside wall close to the central heating tank, its like a trickle of water going along the floor for about 5 ft along, also sort of circles similar to when you leave a wet towel on the floor for a few days and it leaves a pattern when you pick it up.
He needs to get someone in to look at it but doesnt want to be ripped off by some one saying " oh you need the whole place damp coursed" it would help a lot if he had a bit of a clue ,if anyone is kind enough to give me some ideas, a good workman over there is so hard to find,most of them do the job and then vanish so you ring them on the number you first rang them on but the line is dead, how do you find a good workman in your area.
He needs to get someone in to look at it but doesnt want to be ripped off by some one saying " oh you need the whole place damp coursed" it would help a lot if he had a bit of a clue ,if anyone is kind enough to give me some ideas, a good workman over there is so hard to find,most of them do the job and then vanish so you ring them on the number you first rang them on but the line is dead, how do you find a good workman in your area.
The first thing I personally would be checking is if the water is coming from the humidifier or connections to the furnace. I had this problem. The humidifier only runs when the furnace does, so the water only leaked when the furnace was running. Of course, if it's a connection, it could leak even when not running.
Secondly, usually if the problem is leaking from the outside, it would generally happen when it rains. If there has been a few days of dry, and it's still happening, I would be less suspicious of the water coming from the outside (rather than the furnace). Again, not impossible, but less likely.
Apr 27th 2008, 6:44 pm
#5
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Re: Damp in the basement
Thanks for your reply Tracy, I did mean the furnace,I always forget what they are called over there. 
Apr 27th 2008, 9:43 pm
#6
Mr. Grumpy
Joined: Jun 2003
Location: Nashville, TN
Posts: 3,100
Re: Damp in the basement
tell your mate to construct a french drain
he needs
a shovel
perforated pipe
gravel
I had/have a problem with a duplex that used to flood every couple of months before I bought it, I put the french drain in and there has been over two years between incidents
making sure downspouts drain as far away from the house as possible and grading dirt so that water drains away from the house are all good things also
he needs
a shovel
perforated pipe
gravel
I had/have a problem with a duplex that used to flood every couple of months before I bought it, I put the french drain in and there has been over two years between incidents
making sure downspouts drain as far away from the house as possible and grading dirt so that water drains away from the house are all good things also
Apr 27th 2008, 11:44 pm
#7
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Location: Chicago, Il
Posts: 1,320
Re: Damp in the basement
make sure to check local ordinance as french drains are not allowed in many areas... i know they are not allowed where i live.
