Who should I call to have this fixed??

Colleen

Colleen

Senior Member
Location
Pennsylvania
This house has been nothing but a money pit and it continues. The previous owners (now deceased) built this house in 1969. My late husband and I were royally duped about this house but we didn't know until later how bad things were. We spent over $80,000 remodeling and updating many rooms that hadn't been touched since it was built. Let's just say that the man that built this house was very "frugal" and did shoddy work from the beginning.

Fast forward to today. I was in the garage looking for some outdoor lights that hubby had bought last summer. The former owner added a 8'x8' addition to the back of the garage (it's attached and enclosed) and my husband had our fishing poles hanging up in there along with some of his tools. I noticed a puddle on the floor in this addition. I looked up at the ceiling (the roof overhangs here) but there wasn't any water stains. I started moving some buckets that hubby had piled up along the outside wall of the addition and the floor was all wet and I couldn't tell if it was mud or mold. YIKES!

I moved everything out and left the door open (it goes into the garage) and opened the garage doors so it would help dry it out. At least it's sunny today and warm. I walked outside and looked at the foundation that the addition sits on but I couldn't see any problems but who knows. We've had so much rain that everything is saturated. Won't be getting my grass mowed any time soon and it looks terrible.

Anyway, I'm worried that there might be a problem under the cement that the addition sits on but I don't know who to call to come look at it. What kind of company does that kind of thing?? We've never owned a house that ever needed anything done to it so now that hubby is gone, I'm at a loss. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 

My cellar is the same way. Just as it starts to dry out, it rains again. Spring is the worst because all the aquifers fill to overflowing. I guess someone who specializes in waterproofing is who I'd call.
 
Judycat said:
My cellar is the same way. Just as it starts to dry out, it rains again. Spring is the worst because all the aquifers fill to overflowing. I guess someone who specializes in waterproofing is who I'd call.
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That's what I thought. Excess water was never a worry when we lived in AZ...haha :) My basement is very dry and I keep a dehumidifier running to help with any dampness. I believe the basement walls are coated.
 

Colleen said:
That's what I thought. Excess water was never a worry when we lived in AZ...haha :) My basement is very dry and I keep a dehumidifier running to help with any dampness. I believe the basement walls are coated.
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My walls are coated too, but the water comes up through the floor. It's a mess. Time for a sump pump in my case, it's what my neighbor finally did. We live at the bottom of a hill, so everything runs down ⬇️ on the way to the creek.
 
Could be just condensation from a lack of ventilation
If so, you need to have a couple vents installed, up top, just under the roof overhang, one on each opposing side (for cross ventilation)

If it's on a concrete slab
and it's wet
find a recommended sealer

Some small slabs (for sheds and such) are often not built to code, thus moisture build up

If you see black mold
Get some KILZ paint/primer

Those are my immediate thoughts
 
Judycat said:
My walls are coated too, but the water comes up through the floor. It's a mess. Time for a sump pump in my case, it's what my neighbor finally did. We live at the bottom of a hill, so everything runs down ⬇️ on the way to the creek.
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We had a new sump pump installed about 2 weeks before hubby died. The old one wasn't even running and the owners had unplugged it. It was the original one from when the house was built in 1969!!!
 
Gary O' said:
Could be just condensation from a lack of ventilation
If so, you need to have a couple vents installed, up top, just under the roof overhang, one on each opposing side (for cross ventilation)

If it's on a concrete slab
and it's wet
find a recommended sealer

Some small slabs (for sheds and such) are often not built to code, thus moisture build up

If you see black mold
Get some KILZ paint/primer

Those are my immediate thoughts
Click to expand...
The neighbor in back of me is on higher ground than my yard so everything runs down into this yard. When hubby was alive, he made sure the drainage ditch between us and the neighbor next door stayed flowing. I guess I will have to keep an eye on it now. My back yard is like a swamp right now. I'm wondering if the wind (50mph) and blowing rain we had the other day didn't cause that to come into that part of the garage.
 
I,m I water problem expert since I live next to a swamp, right now my sump is running every couple of minutes, and Im not exaggerating.

If it was me I would keep the area clean and check it every time it rains, see if water reappears and see if you can see how it's creeping in. Is there a cutter over that area? If so and its plugged the water overflows and lays by the foundation and seeps in. Easy fix, clean the gutter.

If it's water running from the yard against the building a bit of grading may solve the issue.

By the way sump pumps are typically only around deeper foundations, like a basement. Garages are usually on a slap and have no footer tile to drain into the sump basin. It's a good habit to check your sump pump but I don't believe it has anything to do with water in your garage.
 
Sounds like the water running downhill from the backyard neighbor could be puddling up along the back wall of that garage addition. If that is the case, some grading as @C50 mentioned should fix it.

The slab that addition sits on could be at ground level or below in back since not only water but organic matter and debris would wash down from the backyard neighbor over the years and buildup and collect along the back wall of that addition, effectively raising ground level there.

If you examine that addition's back wall outside and you can't see the slab or the vertical wall appears to run right into the ground ... maybe some trenching or a small ditch along that back wall will correct the issue.

My point is to keep water from breaching the top of the slab as it runs down from the backyard neighbor.
 
I think if you are best to hire a home inspector.
Show him or her the problems that are concerning you and ask if he or she can recommend someone.

You’re best to get at the root of the problem.
If it’s going to cost too much then you might want to sell it like you originally considered.
 
Have you found out what the problem is. Personally, I’d hire someone to keep that drainage ditch cleaned so your backyard isn’t a swamp. It needs to be done, even if this isn’t part of the problem of water in the shed. Good luck.
 


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