My house is...
- Thread starter LittleRedDevil
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SleepingWarrior
Egocentric Sociopath
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Bah it aint no ghostly activity MistressHoney, I live in Minnesota and I know nothing exciting ever goes on there! 
G
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ok
look at this......
notice how the cinderblocks are......
I would definately have it checked...looks like they were replaced... or maybe its a leak... but ya got a pattern.
look at this......
notice how the cinderblocks are......
I would definately have it checked...looks like they were replaced... or maybe its a leak... but ya got a pattern.
G
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Re: MH...............
SleepingWarrior
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With the hat and face it looks like how Mr. Hyde is portrayed in the movies, or old drawings of Jack the Ripper.
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SleepingWarrior
Egocentric Sociopath
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jadedpast said:
Definately, especially with those smaller blocks that are place inbetween the others when it appears as if there arent any other smaller blocks any where else on the wall.
SleepingWarrior
Egocentric Sociopath
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MistressHoney said:
Well, darlin'... you needed to be in Duluth last weekend...
LOL couldnt be much more worse than where I am presently residing.
Guys, I can't just knock the fucking wall down.
Basement walls are your foundation. This house isn't stable.
I will have to have someone out to look into it.
tuirin, You're right. It is a water stain....... There are others, also with salt sediment.
What is strange is how it took this shape. Also, It reappears in other wet spots, but currently none are showing the image but this one.
I have counted three separate appearances, in different locations, in the basement. Same image.
Basement walls are your foundation. This house isn't stable.
I will have to have someone out to look into it.
tuirin, You're right. It is a water stain....... There are others, also with salt sediment.
What is strange is how it took this shape. Also, It reappears in other wet spots, but currently none are showing the image but this one.
I have counted three separate appearances, in different locations, in the basement. Same image.
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Actually Star...
Mischka
Ms Snooby Pants
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- Mar 18, 2001
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- 15,820
Starfish
OK, I'll play Scully for a bit. Considering the placement of the water stain, the salt residue, and the history of "green slime" I say you need to get a professional plumber to check your basement. It sounds like you have a problem with the water pipes or perhaps even ground water seepage (that amp places you close to a lot of natural water sources). Given enough time, the problem could cause serious erosion of your foundation.
OK, I'll play Scully for a bit. Considering the placement of the water stain, the salt residue, and the history of "green slime" I say you need to get a professional plumber to check your basement. It sounds like you have a problem with the water pipes or perhaps even ground water seepage (that amp places you close to a lot of natural water sources). Given enough time, the problem could cause serious erosion of your foundation.
Cheyenne
Ms. Smarty Pantsless
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http://www.stretcher.com/stories/00/000724k.cfm
Dear NH,
We have a 55 year old house, with a 3/4 in-the-ground basement. I would like to put up finished walls. However, the basement has a moisture problem with efflorescence. I have treated the efflorescence with muriatic acid, with Zypex and with bleach at different times through the last few years but the efflorescence keeps coming back. The basement has good ventilation and we intend on putting radiant heat in the floor. The basement is used year-round and is kept very warm in the winter. If I treat the efflorescence once again and dry out the walls, can I put up the vapor barrier, then 2x4 walls with insulation?
LM
LM,
As I know you know now, from experience, efflorescence is a mineral deposit caused by the migration of mineral-rich water through your basement walls. In new concrete work, efflorescence can be a short-term problem that may disappear over time as the new walls dry out. However, if this is a long-term problem there are two possible ways to eliminate it.
Removing all traces of the efflorescence by scrubbing and cleaning with muriatic acid (most dangerous) or phosphoric acid (less dangerous), drying the walls (they do not have to be totally moisture free... just not wet) and applying a quality below-grade cement-based waterproofing paint will definitely diminish and may even eliminate the problem. Be warned... if other sealers or paint products have been applied to the walls, there is the possibility that the waterproofing paint will not adhere and the results may be disappointing.
You need to keep in mind that these waterproofing products are not designed to stop flowing water. Actual leaks must be stopped either by sealing them inside with a concrete patching compound (with a high risk of eventual failure) or doing some more labor-intensive work outside your home. The solution could be as easy as cleaning your gutters. Then again, it could require diverting the water through regrading (if the source is surface water) or even installing a drain system at the base of your foundation. A professional evaluation might be advisable so you can assess all your options. Perhaps the best book on this topic is available in our bookshop... "The Original Basement Waterproofing Handbook" by Jack Masters. You will know as much about your foundation and ground water movement as many of the waterproofing contractors you will speak to! The URL is www.naturalhandyman.com/bookshop/reviews/origbasewater.shtm.
Once you have eliminated most of the moisture moving through the walls, then and only then can you install your vapor barrier and walls. Yes... even after the waterproofing steps you must still install a vapor barrier because there will still be some low level of moisture movement through the walls. You don't have to worry about mildew... the vapor barrier will form a "stabilizing zone" that will not promote mildew growth... there is nothing for the mildew to feed on!
On the subject of basement walls, there are a few basement wall systems that are both time and labor saving alternatives to standard 2x4 framing. One is offered by Owens Corning and features wall panels with insulation and channels to run electrical, telephone and cable TV wiring. Check it out at www.owenscorning.com/around/insulation/products/basementwall.asp .
Dow Chemical offers a somewhat different system, using specially slotted 2'x8' Styrofoam panels that can accommodate a 1"x3" nailer... suitable for the installation of wallboard. Using "green" water-resistant wallboard... at least for the bottom half of the walls... would be advisable. The one drawback to this system is that all your electrical wiring must be on the surface... visit your local home store for the scoop on surface wiring systems. Ain't competition grand!
Don't throw away your dehumidifier. Any below grade area that is anything less than swimming-pool-sealed will have some moisture leaks... especially in the warmer months... and a dehumidifier will keep the air moisture level acceptably low. Again, and I can't reiterate this enough, you are doing this to protect your property and your investment in what will be a wonderful renovation!
If you don't take these extra steps you will regret it. I have seen too many basement renovations that did not take into account the damaging effects of moisture and I have taken roomfuls of once-nice furniture to the dump because of permanent mildew damage. You have to be proactive so that you not only keep the value of your home but increase it through wise use of your hard-earned money!
NH
Dear NH,
We have a 55 year old house, with a 3/4 in-the-ground basement. I would like to put up finished walls. However, the basement has a moisture problem with efflorescence. I have treated the efflorescence with muriatic acid, with Zypex and with bleach at different times through the last few years but the efflorescence keeps coming back. The basement has good ventilation and we intend on putting radiant heat in the floor. The basement is used year-round and is kept very warm in the winter. If I treat the efflorescence once again and dry out the walls, can I put up the vapor barrier, then 2x4 walls with insulation?
LM
LM,
As I know you know now, from experience, efflorescence is a mineral deposit caused by the migration of mineral-rich water through your basement walls. In new concrete work, efflorescence can be a short-term problem that may disappear over time as the new walls dry out. However, if this is a long-term problem there are two possible ways to eliminate it.
Removing all traces of the efflorescence by scrubbing and cleaning with muriatic acid (most dangerous) or phosphoric acid (less dangerous), drying the walls (they do not have to be totally moisture free... just not wet) and applying a quality below-grade cement-based waterproofing paint will definitely diminish and may even eliminate the problem. Be warned... if other sealers or paint products have been applied to the walls, there is the possibility that the waterproofing paint will not adhere and the results may be disappointing.
You need to keep in mind that these waterproofing products are not designed to stop flowing water. Actual leaks must be stopped either by sealing them inside with a concrete patching compound (with a high risk of eventual failure) or doing some more labor-intensive work outside your home. The solution could be as easy as cleaning your gutters. Then again, it could require diverting the water through regrading (if the source is surface water) or even installing a drain system at the base of your foundation. A professional evaluation might be advisable so you can assess all your options. Perhaps the best book on this topic is available in our bookshop... "The Original Basement Waterproofing Handbook" by Jack Masters. You will know as much about your foundation and ground water movement as many of the waterproofing contractors you will speak to! The URL is www.naturalhandyman.com/bookshop/reviews/origbasewater.shtm.
Once you have eliminated most of the moisture moving through the walls, then and only then can you install your vapor barrier and walls. Yes... even after the waterproofing steps you must still install a vapor barrier because there will still be some low level of moisture movement through the walls. You don't have to worry about mildew... the vapor barrier will form a "stabilizing zone" that will not promote mildew growth... there is nothing for the mildew to feed on!
On the subject of basement walls, there are a few basement wall systems that are both time and labor saving alternatives to standard 2x4 framing. One is offered by Owens Corning and features wall panels with insulation and channels to run electrical, telephone and cable TV wiring. Check it out at www.owenscorning.com/around/insulation/products/basementwall.asp .
Dow Chemical offers a somewhat different system, using specially slotted 2'x8' Styrofoam panels that can accommodate a 1"x3" nailer... suitable for the installation of wallboard. Using "green" water-resistant wallboard... at least for the bottom half of the walls... would be advisable. The one drawback to this system is that all your electrical wiring must be on the surface... visit your local home store for the scoop on surface wiring systems. Ain't competition grand!
Don't throw away your dehumidifier. Any below grade area that is anything less than swimming-pool-sealed will have some moisture leaks... especially in the warmer months... and a dehumidifier will keep the air moisture level acceptably low. Again, and I can't reiterate this enough, you are doing this to protect your property and your investment in what will be a wonderful renovation!
If you don't take these extra steps you will regret it. I have seen too many basement renovations that did not take into account the damaging effects of moisture and I have taken roomfuls of once-nice furniture to the dump because of permanent mildew damage. You have to be proactive so that you not only keep the value of your home but increase it through wise use of your hard-earned money!
NH
Cheyenne
Ms. Smarty Pantsless
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2000
- Posts
- 59,556
I have efflorescence in my basement, too. The area I live in has lots of clay so water stands against the basement wall in a couple of places. Over the years, the efflorescence shows up. That's what the picture of the basement wall looks like to me, but I'm definitely not a contractor.
Mishiekins!
Well, the map is not accurate. It is a hand drawn, shoddily surveyed map that is a good hundread and some odd years old.
We are at an elevation where the river is not an issue. As a matter of fact, all our run off drains down to the river.
I will look into the plumbing, but I think it is just rain run off. I don't deny it being a water stain, but it is errie how this is what my friend saw.
Here is a pic of the fort from an airshot.
The river is a good 60 ft. below the fort on the back side. You can make out the incline but it is there.
I'll try to find a pic looking up at the fort from the river.
Well, the map is not accurate. It is a hand drawn, shoddily surveyed map that is a good hundread and some odd years old.
We are at an elevation where the river is not an issue. As a matter of fact, all our run off drains down to the river.
I will look into the plumbing, but I think it is just rain run off. I don't deny it being a water stain, but it is errie how this is what my friend saw.
Here is a pic of the fort from an airshot.
The river is a good 60 ft. below the fort on the back side. You can make out the incline but it is there.
I'll try to find a pic looking up at the fort from the river.
White_Tigress_
Really Really Experienced
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2001
- Posts
- 327
Long, but here is my story.
Wow, I would have thought of it being a damp spot, but looking at it...and people mentioning it, would have me thinking twice!
I've had my share of thinking I was going crazy, growing up in my mothers house. I never had problems there until I moved into the largest bedroom (we had 3 upstairs, get older, we advanced rooms..lol). From the first day I had a funny gut feeling something wasn't right in there. As time passed, I would encounter some strange things. I put my wallet in the middle of my bed, turned for a min, but never left the room. When I went to grab for it, it was gone. I looked under the sheets on the floor, but no where. A month later I was tired of looking but thought that I didn't look in one spot. It was under my mattress, right in the middle. Almost as if it went straight through the mattress. Then I had brushed my hair, put it on the dresser, went to the bathroom, came back....it was missing. I found that also several months later, in the top drawer of the dresser, in the middle, right under everything that was in it.
I was getting tired of all these little things moving...there were more....so i would get angry and start yelling in my room "knock it off!!!".
Then it got worse.....the night before my b/f's prom. I hung my gown on my closet door, metal hanger twisted so it will hook over the top. The gown was on the outside.
I went to lay down, turned off the lights, shut the door.....
I started hearing whispers at the foot of my bed at night. I layed there with my eyes closed but listened. I was scared and didn't know who was in my room. There were 3 voices, I couldn't make out any of the conversation, but I heard my name several times. Then at the end of the whispers, I heard a glass break & my closet door slam shut.
I opened my eyes and sat up...that was it, I was freaked out. Nothing was there...hummm....so I went to sleep. (I didnt want to believe in ghosts, and let it go as my imagination) When I woke though.......I went to the end of my bed, and my foot was soaked. I looked down and there was a huge puddle of ...I guess, water. I touched and smelled it incase it was the cat peeing. No odor at all. Besides, the door was shut so the cat couldn't have came in. I turned to get something out of the closet and noticed it really did slam shut. The hanger even still on the top of the door so it shouldn't have closed, was now jammed in the wooden frame. There is still a mark there.
Years passed with little things happening..but THEN I FOUND OUT THE TRUTH.
Mother had the attic reinsulated. The guys came down and handed her a high school diploma with someones name on it we never heard of. It was in the wall under the old insulation. Dated back when my grandfather would have gone to highschool. Mind you now, my father, uncles and grandfather built this house 32yrs ago. No one lived there before. I asked my grandfather if he went to school with this guy, he said he never heard of the name before.
I went to the school to look in the records, but they were in the vault and I couldn't access them. They did however find his brothers name...he lived a few blocks down the road.
I went to the city hall with the diploma to ask about this guy in the diploma...they have no records of him after 1957, claimed missing..so not sure if he died. No death records found.
I resorted to the Ouji board...I needed answers, I was extreamly curious...why the bugging me in my bedroom? Whats this diploma of someone we don't even know?
My sister and I sat at the kitchen table, mom standing beside my sister, my sister-in-law was sitting taking notes of the letters we say. WOW, I got answers like you wouldn't believe.
The guy "Fred" was sad and lonely. He was married and had a child. His wife killed the baby and wound up in jail where she died a few years later. He said he died from being alone. (not sure exactly the cause of death though)
Anyhow....it did get very in detailed, he even referred spirts to talk to for more answers. One which is in my sister in laws home. Fred said he was tired, and went to bed. The ouji kept saying 'bye' and nothing more. (after about 2hrs)
OK, I won't tell anymore details...this was way to long. If you made it this far...thanks...lol
I did learn though that the ouji is a scary thing....we talked to a child who was hit by a car, a wise ass guy that lives at my brothers house, and a few others. I quit after I got the answers I wanted though. Since I moved out of moms, I haven't had any encounter since...but I do have that diploma still and still on the hunt for any family that knows him.
*catches her breath*...sorry for being longwinded.
Wow, I would have thought of it being a damp spot, but looking at it...and people mentioning it, would have me thinking twice!
I've had my share of thinking I was going crazy, growing up in my mothers house. I never had problems there until I moved into the largest bedroom (we had 3 upstairs, get older, we advanced rooms..lol). From the first day I had a funny gut feeling something wasn't right in there. As time passed, I would encounter some strange things. I put my wallet in the middle of my bed, turned for a min, but never left the room. When I went to grab for it, it was gone. I looked under the sheets on the floor, but no where. A month later I was tired of looking but thought that I didn't look in one spot. It was under my mattress, right in the middle. Almost as if it went straight through the mattress. Then I had brushed my hair, put it on the dresser, went to the bathroom, came back....it was missing. I found that also several months later, in the top drawer of the dresser, in the middle, right under everything that was in it.
I was getting tired of all these little things moving...there were more....so i would get angry and start yelling in my room "knock it off!!!".
Then it got worse.....the night before my b/f's prom. I hung my gown on my closet door, metal hanger twisted so it will hook over the top. The gown was on the outside.
I went to lay down, turned off the lights, shut the door.....
I started hearing whispers at the foot of my bed at night. I layed there with my eyes closed but listened. I was scared and didn't know who was in my room. There were 3 voices, I couldn't make out any of the conversation, but I heard my name several times. Then at the end of the whispers, I heard a glass break & my closet door slam shut.
I opened my eyes and sat up...that was it, I was freaked out. Nothing was there...hummm....so I went to sleep. (I didnt want to believe in ghosts, and let it go as my imagination) When I woke though.......I went to the end of my bed, and my foot was soaked. I looked down and there was a huge puddle of ...I guess, water. I touched and smelled it incase it was the cat peeing. No odor at all. Besides, the door was shut so the cat couldn't have came in. I turned to get something out of the closet and noticed it really did slam shut. The hanger even still on the top of the door so it shouldn't have closed, was now jammed in the wooden frame. There is still a mark there.
Years passed with little things happening..but THEN I FOUND OUT THE TRUTH.
Mother had the attic reinsulated. The guys came down and handed her a high school diploma with someones name on it we never heard of. It was in the wall under the old insulation. Dated back when my grandfather would have gone to highschool. Mind you now, my father, uncles and grandfather built this house 32yrs ago. No one lived there before. I asked my grandfather if he went to school with this guy, he said he never heard of the name before.
I went to the school to look in the records, but they were in the vault and I couldn't access them. They did however find his brothers name...he lived a few blocks down the road.
I went to the city hall with the diploma to ask about this guy in the diploma...they have no records of him after 1957, claimed missing..so not sure if he died. No death records found.
I resorted to the Ouji board...I needed answers, I was extreamly curious...why the bugging me in my bedroom? Whats this diploma of someone we don't even know?
My sister and I sat at the kitchen table, mom standing beside my sister, my sister-in-law was sitting taking notes of the letters we say. WOW, I got answers like you wouldn't believe.
The guy "Fred" was sad and lonely. He was married and had a child. His wife killed the baby and wound up in jail where she died a few years later. He said he died from being alone. (not sure exactly the cause of death though)
Anyhow....it did get very in detailed, he even referred spirts to talk to for more answers. One which is in my sister in laws home. Fred said he was tired, and went to bed. The ouji kept saying 'bye' and nothing more. (after about 2hrs)
OK, I won't tell anymore details...this was way to long. If you made it this far...thanks...lol
I did learn though that the ouji is a scary thing....we talked to a child who was hit by a car, a wise ass guy that lives at my brothers house, and a few others. I quit after I got the answers I wanted though. Since I moved out of moms, I haven't had any encounter since...but I do have that diploma still and still on the hunt for any family that knows him.
*catches her breath*...sorry for being longwinded.
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