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krynski · 05-06-2019, 07:27 PM

I am hoping someone here knows a little about foundations/concrete and can help with some thoughts!

I bought a house at the end of February, and in the basement there was a spot where if you stood on the laminate, the laminate would flex about an inch to an inch and a half down. I ended up pulling back the laminate flooring at the end of March, and discovered what appears to be a cleanout. This did not seem alarming to me. What was alarming was the level of the water in it.

I had 3 professionals come in to look at it. The first was a foundation expert. He immediately hit the panic switch and told me I need another sump pump near the hole, and I need to cut out some of the concrete and trench in weeping tile to the new sump. The current sump pump is on the other side of the wall of this, probably about 15 feet away. The second professional was my house inspector, who told me a new sump pump might impact resellability and would be a red flag for water problems if he was to inspect this house, maybe try and core some weeping tile and connect to the current sump pump. The third professional was a contractor who basically told me that I could probably do all that, but this house was built in 2003 and it has settled all it is going to, and the water is not much of an issue.

I am planning to concrete most of the hole and make a smaller access to the cleanout, then use better material to cover it over (something that won't rot).

My concern is that the water level went down all of april to the point where there was almost no water in there, and since the snow/rain, it's gone back up to the level in the last picture. I don't think it's going to rise much more than it is at, but I guess in the event of a torrential downpour of biblical proportions, do I need to be concerned? Do I need to do something about this water?

Any help/advice would be really appreciated!

Pic 1: Oh dear, are there dead bodies under this? (Pics 1-5 taken March 29)

Pic2: No dead bodies yet....

Pic 3: Phew, just some plastic thingy. Wait, what is this water?

Pic 4: What is this? A lake for ants?

Pic 5: I should plant a tree here!

Pic 6: It's going to have to be a tree that tolerates lots of water. (Pic taken today)

My images didn't come through, see imgur link:
https://imgur.com/a/98kjsf0

05-06-2019, 07:27 PM	#1
krynski First Line Centre Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Behind Enemy Lines Exp:	Water in the hole! I am hoping someone here knows a little about foundations/concrete and can help with some thoughts! I bought a house at the end of February, and in the basement there was a spot where if you stood on the laminate, the laminate would flex about an inch to an inch and a half down. I ended up pulling back the laminate flooring at the end of March, and discovered what appears to be a cleanout. This did not seem alarming to me. What was alarming was the level of the water in it. I had 3 professionals come in to look at it. The first was a foundation expert. He immediately hit the panic switch and told me I need another sump pump near the hole, and I need to cut out some of the concrete and trench in weeping tile to the new sump. The current sump pump is on the other side of the wall of this, probably about 15 feet away. The second professional was my house inspector, who told me a new sump pump might impact resellability and would be a red flag for water problems if he was to inspect this house, maybe try and core some weeping tile and connect to the current sump pump. The third professional was a contractor who basically told me that I could probably do all that, but this house was built in 2003 and it has settled all it is going to, and the water is not much of an issue. I am planning to concrete most of the hole and make a smaller access to the cleanout, then use better material to cover it over (something that won't rot). My concern is that the water level went down all of april to the point where there was almost no water in there, and since the snow/rain, it's gone back up to the level in the last picture. I don't think it's going to rise much more than it is at, but I guess in the event of a torrential downpour of biblical proportions, do I need to be concerned? Do I need to do something about this water? Any help/advice would be really appreciated! Pic 1: Oh dear, are there dead bodies under this? (Pics 1-5 taken March 29) Pic2: No dead bodies yet.... Pic 3: Phew, just some plastic thingy. Wait, what is this water? Pic 4: What is this? A lake for ants? Pic 5: I should plant a tree here! Pic 6: It's going to have to be a tree that tolerates lots of water. (Pic taken today) My images didn't come through, see imgur link: https://imgur.com/a/98kjsf0 Last edited by krynski; 05-06-2019 at 07:33 PM.