Purchase of single-family house - Water is leaking into the basement

  • Erstellt am 2019-05-06 15:51:29

hampshire

2019-05-07 14:51:02
  • #1
Two parameters determine the costs:

1. Groundwater level --> Effort of measures to keep the house permanently dry
2. Type of damage caused by moisture --> Amount of renovation costs

Opinion: Do not buy a house that has the potential to make you sick in the long term.
 

Climbee

2019-05-07 15:00:39
  • #2
I am not an expert, but personally I can't imagine that the building fabric of the swimming pool (i.e., this concrete basin) has not been damaged over the many years where it obviously always had at least water at the bottom. And when I look at the rings on the pool wall, the water level was also much higher there before. I wouldn't want to use it like that anymore.

I also don't know what the capillary properties of concrete are, i.e., whether moisture has been drawn from this basin into the floor slab and possibly basement walls – and how to safely dry a then damp floor slab again.

With us, the water stood in the basin max. for a few days, it was always immediately AND COMPLETELY removed and dried – so the moisture hardly had time to completely soak the walls. The mess floating around in here doesn’t look like anyone ever made the effort to at least occasionally dry the whole thing.

Besides all the uncertainty regarding tightness and groundwater level, I can well imagine that mold fungi have settled in there nicely. Judging by how it looks, this will be somewhat of an elaborate renovation project – no matter how pretty the house above is. I wouldn’t want something like that in the basement.

But here we can all only speculate: get an expert, possibly warn them in advance about what to expect (so that, for example, they bring a device for moisture measurement and to possibly detect mold infestation) and then wait for their expertise. If it can be managed, get a rough cost estimate and then review the purchase price again and, if necessary, request an adjustment if the house is still an option.
 

Climbee

2019-05-07 15:06:58
  • #3
Please let us know what the expert ultimately said about it and how you then decide.
 

taschenonkel

2019-05-13 13:09:20
  • #4
Hello everyone, the expert appointment is approaching and in the meantime the realtor has done a little more research.



What is to be made of this? Should alarm bells ring at the mention of the peat lens or is this not a problem with proper foundation?
 

Climbee

2019-05-13 13:49:02
  • #5
The foundation with these 19 concrete piles should be stable and prevent sinking if executed properly.

However, it still bothers me that obviously there was a pool in the basement for years where groundwater collected. This means nothing other than water has penetrated through the concrete wall – I would have it checked thoroughly whether it has seeped into the basement walls. I also find it concerning that sand has come through the openings where the lamps for the swimming pool were once planned. I personally doubt the building fabric because of that.

But, as I said, I am not an expert. If the problem is really limited to the area of this pool, then, as mentioned above, fill it up, put a floor slab on top, and the basement will be dry. Possibly also consider what may have corroded due to the years of water presence (as it looks: radiators, pipes).

Even in this best case: something must be done. At least that should allow some negotiation on the price.
 

Mottenhausen

2019-05-13 14:20:06
  • #6
Strange:

Ok, they were missing the money for the finished bathroom, as far as I'm concerned, but wouldn’t it have been possible to tackle the elimination of the moist biotope in the basement at some point? Are there any traces of failed repair attempts?

The realtor admits: there is a relationship "groundwater --> water level in the pool," which is why it is now lower than before. As soon as the water level rises, for example due to a neighboring future construction site, water will flow freely through the basement again.

Relationship to precipitation rather unlikely, you have to water if it is very dry for a long time. Nevertheless, there was obviously water in the pool.

Photo 1 shows what I would say is a water ingress point in the masonry to the left of the radiator in the corner.

The realtor suspects the lamp openings, but are these really open at the back, so sand can get in there? Where would the sand come from there? If yes, that would be easy to solve, but I don’t believe that. Instead, I suspect the pile foundation at different heights: some piles support the pool, some the higher basement floor. Already during construction the piles outside under the walls sank by a few millimeters, but those under the pool shell did not, as they were unloaded. The pool shell basically stands too high and has therefore separated from the rest of the foundation; water is now entering through the cracks. Warning: pure speculation

Edit: I find the idea of a 5x6m swimming pool in the basement pretty cool! If somehow possible and financially justifiable, I would have it completed and please never fill it in!
 

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