One problem I have been running into lately is flooding in basements, which is caused by the home’s downspouts being connected to the drain tile around the house. This is a practice that has been banned by cities for many years, but I find that many older houses are still have their downspouts hooked up to the drain. The drain tiles can handle small amounts of ground water after a rain. Rain of two inches or more is what causes problems. If your downspouts are directly connected to the drain tiles you can get 59,568 cubic inches of water down there. That turns out to be about 255 gallons. It only takes a couple of gallons remaining on a carpet to cause a moldy mess.

When the homeowner finds that he has water and mold doing damage in his basement, if his downspouts are not hooked up to the drain, the problem is usually caused by basement leaks which are waterproofing issues. The homeowner may contact his insurance company, and the first thing that needs to be done is get rid of the water. This seems to be done mostly by janitorial services that use floor vacuums to suck up the water. Then they remove the carpet and fan-dry the area. There are some other small tricks they can use to make the jobs bigger, but that depends on the company. The home owner can save a lot of money doing this part using rented tools.

I get complaints from home owners about this process, because when they get the insurance payment for this claim, there is no money left to buy new carpet or furniture, or fix mold damage or fix the actual cause of the water leak which can be several things. Insurance companies seem to be paying a flat rate of $5000 for the entire job and the vacuum guys get most of it because they are there first, and that seems to be the only reason.

House insurance companies are not really selling flood insurance any more. You may be able to buy additional insurance to increase the $5,000 to $10,000 but that is all you can do right now. That may disappear pretty soon too. I read recently that insurance companies in Florida are in the process of raising the rates from around $1500 to $7500 per year with no warnings. Of course flooding would not be a covered item.

In the flooded basement situation, we usually start after it is dry. We remove any drywall, insulation, and molding that was wet and moldy. We do the waterproofing. Then we sanitize the floors and walls. The owner orders new carpet and furniture.

The bill for everything from waterproofing to furniture costs three times the vacuuming in the beginning. The total cost can be from $10,000 to $20,000 in a 1500 foot house. That is why I say to try to do the easy part yourself in the beginning.

The subterranean area under your house can be transformed to an imitation living room without you needing to be a qualified carpenter or an expert in any type in any building occupation. Basements in reality started out being a thing sometimes known a Root Cellar. They were a sort of an particularly tall crawl space. What they describe around here a Michigan Basement. These basements more often than not had field stone for walls which were held together with mortar. These basements usually leaked moisture in between the stones then it dripped down on the floor but that did not matter since the floor had no concrete on it at all. The house above usually came as a kit that came from a catalog at Sears and was called a Craftsman.

New construction more often than not has cast in place cement foundation walls that are eight feet tall and good and straight and more often than not don’t pass through much moisture. There is usually some concrete on the floor. This as a rule ends up as a great big empty cube that reminds individuals of an unfinished living space. In order to finish this area off you will want to build a 2×4 frame around the foundation wall where you can mount insulation and electrical and drywall wallboard. This will not necessitate a flawless job. What I suggest is that it could be a little bit out of plumb and that wouldn’t be of importance because the walls are not in fact structural at all and could fall all the way out and not negativly effect the house at all. So I say erect the walls one 2×4 stud at a time and nail them down to the floor along with ceiling joists and you have a remarkable start.

Once you get the partitians all done then it’s time to build the suspended ceiling. To save time and wealth use 2 foot by 4 foot panels of suspended ceiling. Make sure to nail the wall angle to the 2×4 studs behind the drywall all around the outer surface. Simply measure down from the ceiling joist typically 4 and ½ inches to the top of the wall angle. In the center area I typically use a drywall finish so that calls for some framing all over the I-beam and the heat ducts. That gives you a significant nail base for your suspended ceiling. Just keep an eyeball on your track and keep it reasonably straight. The light fixtures typically install with the ceiling tile.

The next step should be the doors and trims. Use pre hung doorways plus pre primed moldings. That will be the fastest and most affordable. Then give everything a coat of paint. Floor carpet would be next. I make the process sound uncomplicated here I know, But after you have finished a few of these these basements are all look the same. After twenty or 30 you could do them in your sleep.

I have looked at zillions of beginner finished basement jobs. I could say the biggest mistake that amateurs do is try to be a perfectionist. That is not essential. These projects do not have to be faultless. What they will have to be is finished. Done is the key word. So endeavor to get as much help as doable and bear in mind that the light is sort of lower in these places so perfect is not obligatory.

A lot of people have moved away from the Detroit area due to the economy. We specialize in basement repairs and waterproofing and people look to us to set it right again and that is what we do. Here is a video that needs watching if you are from out of town. Click twice.

Way too several homeowners are below the erroneous belief their home-owner insurance covers flooding. This simply isn’t true. If you live in an area susceptible to hurricanes, tropical kind storms, serious rains and different watery climatic conditions, flood insurance would be a wise investment.

This one has been sitting for over 2 years.  Luckily the water was stabilized to one area and didn’t require the whole thing torn out. He originally called because he thought we only needed to fix a couple of leaky rod holes. It turned out that there were two cracks leaking that had been fixed before by someone else using hydraulic cement.  Hydraulic cement is the worse thing to use.

So we did the cracks in our usual excellent repair technique. The carpet was dangerously moldy along with all the carpet tack. One decorative wall was in front of one of the repairs so the mirrors and such had to be removed. Several inspection holes had to be drilled in drywall areas to check whole walls for other leaks. I can safely say all the demolition damage is done. Now we have to repair the drywall and put the trim back on. The owner will handle the paint and carpet.

This is a goodly expense. The owner bought this house because it was a cheap repo. It was on a golf course and at a discount of 50% so he won’t lose any money on the deal. It was just a big surprise. So if you are in the market for a repo, and it has a basement, you should figure the carpet has to go automatically. If it has a finished basement then certain waterproofing issues will need addressing along with drywall work. We can get this done in just a few days. Remember speed is the thing. If your family is living in the place, don’t waste any time.

Bob - 248 341 3900

It is only the middle of April and we have torn out several flooded finished basements. Most of the water that caused these was from waterproofing issues.  An underlying theme however was the time factor. People are just letting things go for a long time. One flood has set wet on and off for 4 years at least according to the owner. This caused the drywall to turn black with mold along the bottom edge. and all the molding and doors too. The carpet had a thousand mushrooms growing on it.

I think the biggest loss was from some antique books from the late 1800′s and early 1900′s. They were destroyed. The owner went through all this themselves. We took care of the finished basement demolition and clean-up and sanitation. All the water was coming in from the outside from under the floor.  So we installed a full perimeter drainage system. The place is high and dry now.

I think because of the economy, people are putting this important work off for as long as possible.  Afraid to fix this stuff for fear of overspending. Too bad you couldn’t see what I have seen. If this was my house I wouldn’t wait five minutes.

If you get a basement flood it is too late to do anything about it. The time is now before something something happens. Get metal or plastic shelves to store stuff on. Get a battery back up sump pump installed. Don’t store any cardboard. Keep everything in those plastic boxes. Replace the hoses to your washing machine. Fix your waterproofing issues. Raise everything off the floor. Never assume it won’t happen to you.