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**HayZee518** · 12-16-2008, 06:58 AM

First of all you got to get rid of that water! Buy a sump pump and pump out that stuff as best you can. take a shovel and make a channel to drain the water to. Then use a fan to circulate the air to dry out what can be dried out. You have a dirt floor, so you may be getting ground water seeping into the space. If you have a high water table in your neighborhood this may be the source. Next take off all the pipe insulation and look for breaks in all the piping. from the looks of things the previous owner didn't care what happened down there. Next the wiring find out what the lines feed. Staple up the hanging wires. Remove all the insulation and start new with kraft or aluminum backed insulation. The kraft paper is your vapor barrier to the livable space. Cost for something like this - hmmm maybe about $6,000 complete.

**puffca** · 12-16-2008, 08:08 PM

Originally posted by HayZee518 View Post

First of all you got to get rid of that water! Buy a sump pump and pump out that stuff as best you can. take a shovel and make a channel to drain the water to. Then use a fan to circulate the air to dry out what can be dried out. You have a dirt floor, so you may be getting ground water seeping into the space. If you have a high water table in your neighborhood this may be the source. Next take off all the pipe insulation and look for breaks in all the piping. from the looks of things the previous owner didn't care what happened down there. Next the wiring find out what the lines feed. Staple up the hanging wires. Remove all the insulation and start new with kraft or aluminum backed insulation. The kraft paper is your vapor barrier to the livable space. Cost for something like this - hmmm maybe about $6,000 complete.

Thank you for your reply.
One more question: If the root cause of the water problem is high water table, is there any way to prevent flooding?

This is a house in southshore Long Island. The house has been vacant for a while, and is owned by Fannie Mae. It doesn't have a heating system. And, since it has been vacant, I wasn't able to check the utilities.

The house is very cute inside though. I hope I'll buy it cheap and fix all the problems.

**HayZee518** · 12-16-2008, 09:12 PM

No heating system even being in long island seems a little off. must be this was a camp where the seasonal changes didn't matter. you are going to shell out big bucks if you are to make this a year round residence. check out your neighbors to see if they have any water problems.

**jnaas2** · 12-17-2008, 08:17 PM

Make sure to check for rotted floor joist, seal plates, and sub floor damage. If this has been going on for a long time the high moisture content of the air will damage everything in the crawl space and mold will be a major problem. I would find the problem and extent of the damage before making a offer

**pushkins** · 12-17-2008, 08:59 PM

I doubt it is a high water table issue, you can see in one picture a clear "water line" created when the crawl space was much deeper in water, high water tables don't fluctuate this much , this quickly. As you mention that the utilities are off (this is a foreclosure so the utilities must have been off for at least a month or two if not more) I doubt it's a leaking pipe.

The grade around the home most definitely needs to be graded away from the property, it clearly shows that the surrounding area grades towards the home. With the addition of gutters and downspouts directed away from the home and regrading, I think you will solve many of your problems.

Has there been a lot of rain there lately ?

**puffca** · 12-17-2008, 11:57 PM

Thanks for the inputs.

I agree that the house needs gutters and downsprout. I took the pictures after a week of raining days.
Hopefully a perimeter drainage system can solve the problem.

However, this house is near the beach, and it is lower than the neighboring houses. I'm wondering about:
1. The high water table (because it is close to water)
2. Flood from the ocean
Are there any ways to prevent these two problems?

By the way, offer has been made.
*Crossing my fingers...*

**pushkins** · 12-18-2008, 08:53 AM

To check any ground water table heights, dig a hole about three feet deep away from the house, see how fast it fills with water and just how far up it fills. If it doesn't fill, then using a hose fill the hole and see how long it takes to empty out.
This will give you an idea of ground water and perc. results.

**dha** · 12-26-2008, 10:55 PM

Here's how I solved this very problem. I dug a pit about 3-4 feet deep and inserted a lining consisting of a 3 foot length of plastic pvc pipe which was 15 inches in diameter. I outlined the pipe at the surface with concrete. This hole was created near the edge of the house which had the worse flooding under the crawlspace. I installed a sump pump at the bottom of the hole and burried discharge piping all the way to the street, which was lower than the house. Make sure the discharge is glued sections so it does not leak. You will need to instal appropriate electrical power for the pump. Check and follow local codes for that. You will probably need a permit. It's worth it and it works.
I got the pump from Northern Supply. It was just a half horse or so, with a float switch. The crawl space dried up. That was five years ago. The hole with the pump was covered with a metal plate with drain holes on top and would take rain water directly and pump it away. The pump would start and run on and off the year around.
Good luck.

**Jimmer** · 12-28-2008, 09:13 PM

Basement full of water

If I can give you a word of caution. Check the water level in the ground outside the house before you start pumping it out. If you dig a hole outside and it is full of water to the same level as the basement water, do not pump out the basement. The presure from outside may end up damaging/destroying your cinderblock walls. If it is not then go ahead and pump out and take the needed steps to keep future water out ie. resloping the property, evestrough, water-proofing the outside of the foundation walls, installing weeping tile, etc.

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