|
Water
In the Home
|
In the
overwhelming majority of cases, water gets into your basement
from only one place . . . the sky!
The
water, which comes in the form of rain, hits
your roof. The roof then diverts the rain to
the gutters, and the gutters carry the water
to the grades. If the grades close to your
house do not slope away from the house,
water will accumulate at the walls and
eventually find a way into the basement or
crawl space. Water perceives your basement
as a "low spot," the path of least resistance.
Go around the outside of your house and look
for depressions or low areas. Common places
to find them are at downspouts, and close
to window wells, chimneys, concrete steps,
and slabs. Solution:
Regrade to create positive
sloping of the soil away
from the house. Effective regrading is accomplished
as follows:
1. Remove soft soils from any low areas. Soft
soils, such as top soil and mulch, are generally
dark in color. They are very porous
and hold water like a sponge.
2. Build up low areas with clay. Clay is a dense,
brown/orange soil. Develop a positive
slope away from the house with the
clay and tamp it so it is not loose.
|
If
dense soil is not available, you
may have to install a
hydrostatic pressure relief system
(commonly called a french drain) with
a pump to manage any water which may
breach the foundation walls.
3. Put the soft soil back on top of the clay to
prevent erosion and allow for plantings.
In an average regrading situation, you’ll need
10 to 20 wheelbarrows of clay and less than
a day to do the work. If you
elect to hire someone to
do the work, an average regrading
should cost $400 to $1,000. In
a case where there are many expensive shrubs
and extensive landscaping, it may be advisable
to install a hydrostatic pressure relief
system. A hydrostatic
pressure relief system simply allows
water to come into your house, collects
it, and then pumps it out. These systems
work well if installed properly, however
they typically cost approximately $25-30
per foot plus $350 to $450 for installation
of a sump hole and pump. Costs
for an average size basement would be $2,500
to $4,000. |
|
Page
2 |
|
Alban is proud to offer FREE Continuing
Education Courses in Real Estate Offices!Call Melissa For
Information and to Schedule at 301-404-8104 or
301-607-8114. | |
From the desk of . . .
Arthur S.
Lazerow
Pre-Offer
& Post-Acceptance
Home Inspections
Pre-offer
home inspections this year have become
a significant portion of Alban’s work. Multiple
contract situations are extremely common
as our current "Seller’s Market" persists
and purchase offers containing contingencies
often go nowhere. However, I was
recently involved in a twist to the plot. I want
to relate the following conversation with a
Realtor I immensely respect. I inspect for her clients from
time to time and I enjoy a cordial
relationship with her and her colleagues. In
this situation, however, she was the
listing agent and I was scheduled by the purchaser
to inspect her listing.
Two days before the scheduled inspection, it was
cancelled. Gretchen Wright, our scheduling secretary,
informed me that the listing agent
refused to permit the inspection, which was
a post-ratification inspection for buyers’ information
only based on a "no-contingency, as-is"
contract. When I learned the
identity of the listing agent, I
immediately called her. Jokingly, I accused
her of being bad for business! After a brief
chuckle, she explained that a lawyer had recently
advised against permitting home inspections
after ratification. The concern is that
since the purchasers agreed to purchase the
property without a home inspection, if serious
deficiencies were later discovered, the buyer
might attempt to reopen the contract or otherwise react adversely.
|
