waterproofing and repairing a crawl space with a cinder block foundation

[Rigaud]

I hope I make sense here. My husband and I purchased our home in November of 2005, and soon after started noticing problems. Through process of elimination, we finally became aware of the fact that we had quite severe dampness and water issues in our crawl space basement, which had led to some deterioration in sections of our cinder block foundation. I have just made an appointment for someone from your company to come and give us an estimate and see what they can do to help, but in the mean time I would like to learn what I can about the solutions open to us. We are newly weds and as such do not have large amounts of money to us. Our first concern is of course that we make the house safe and liveable, and also to ensure that the next people who will buy from us do not encounter these "hidden" problems like we have. Had we known about this we would likely either have paid a lot less than we did, or not bought the house at all. What can we do? We have had such a struggle just getting people to talk to us, let alone come and see us because of where we live outside the city. HELP!!!

[richard]

Rigaud,

Congratulations on your new home!

The good thing is that a wet basement (http://www.basementsystems.com/basement_waterproofing/) or crawl space moisture (http://www.basementsystems.com/crawlspace/) problem can be fixed. The Basement Systems dealer will be able to assess the problem and by the end of the presentation, you should understand what is happening in your basement crawl space and what the options are to fix it.

Our warranties are transferrable if you sell the home, so the next people will not have to deal with the same problem you did. Also, you are correct in that many people will take money off the asking price of a house with a moisture or water problem in the basement crawl space, or they may walk away altogether as you did. In some states, these issues must be disclosed at the point of selling a house.

The design specialist who comes out will be able to tell you about the benefits of a moisture-free environment.

-Richard