Ground Water Seepage into Concrete Slab Home

WHAT HAPPENED TO MY MESSAGE IT DISAPPEARED WHEN I WAS PROOFREADING IT?

Sh... happens, live with it.

I commit that by using the Alt key and numeric key pad to get special characters (old habit from Word Star days)

For your OP

L stands for little information.

I just came back from a visit to a friend who had a leak into the basement. It can be fixed or managed!

I NEED SOMEONE WHO KNOWS ABOUT CBC HOMES IN WARM CLIMATES IN US. AFRICA IS TOO FAR AWAY .

CBC warranty expired? Typically seepage should not occur because a vapor barrier is and industry standard used to prevent such seepage from beneath. However sometimes the exterior grading has been changed or raised planters have been constructed either of which may cause seepage to occur.

Have home inspector assuage the cause and pursue remediation.

Still have 2-10 warranty. I had a leak detector service come and the insurance company denied paying for my cupped wood floor SMALL AREA and top of woodhaschanged , rippling , too, on half of the room. They paid me for the detector service. Adjuster said ground water was responsible. Builder says it is from hairline cracks in stucco????? He also said flooring company should have put a moisture basrrier under on slab. Vapor always causes moisture through the slab. I have to rip up the floor as moisture readings were high under flooring. I have to hire a structural engineer/geotechnical to help me. Warranty says it has to be a structural defect which would cause harm and I have to pay $250.00. Builder says I should not go that route. He said if there is a big crack in the slab he will call in an engineer. If there are little ones , he said that they are normal???? I don't know what to do. I happened to call the engineering firm, I did not know that they did the original soil sampling befor the slab was poured . It is three feet above the water. The man said he had to call the builder to see if he could help me independently. I never heard back from him. The home was built in 2001 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

I don't know who to trust???? Moisture readings in rooms of home are between 52-62 in each room. 1,700 sq. feet. Got a new air conditioner a few months ago. Who do I get to help me identify thw real source and remediate it???

Thanks.

The builder is correct about small cracks being normal, even large cracks are common. Being three feet above the water is normal also.

Cracks in the stucco siding are also normal but there should be house wrap or felt behind the stucco to prevent water entering that way.

But builder is evading the fact that a vapor barrier is supposed to be under the slab to prevent the condition you are experiencing. A barrier under floor covering is for condensation not seepage.

So does the water puddle or is it just damp there?

If puddle Email FOXNEWS on your side.

Thanks. What is ground water seepage? I don't see any puddles around the outside of the house. As far as the flooring, I don't know what is under it. Puddles? Water Stains? I don't know how much dampness or moisture or any mold ? Outside I don't know if there is felt or wrap under the stucco . I'll bet not as the builder had an article in 2007 that said he was using Fortiber now because of excess moisture in his homes in Florida and somewhere else. Is Fortiber used on CBC houses? The builder said only on wood homes , not stucco?I know the sprinkler system of my neighbor's hits our stucco side where the flooring is. That side gets a lot of sun, too. Weird that it only affects 1/2 of the floor against three outside walls.

The builder also saID ,AS DID THE LEAK DETECTOR ,THAT WE HAVE TO CAULK ALL AROUND WINDOWS AND PAINT AND SEAL THE HOUSE? If one seals the house once ,does it have to be sealed every year? Small cracks in stucco?? Could they produce the seepage? No moisture was found in any walls using moisturereaders by builder and leak detector?

I have the CD from the city and I can't seem to find where it would tell what type of moisture barrier was put uuder the slab? He said it is in the records I got. He ordered the same records from the City.When we meet (Head of Customer Care) again I willask tosee where his CD says that.

I am the second owner. We have been here almost five years. July 2003. THE ENGINEERED FLOOR IN THE GUEST ROOM ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HOUSE is fine. Same floor person, same wood at same time.

I had the gutters checked. NO ROOF LEAKS, NO HVAC LEAKS , NO PIPES BROKEN.If there is no moisture barrier or it has been compromised, does it cover the sides of the slab too? Is there such a thing AS A SPRAY OR APPLIED LIQUID MOISTURE BARRIER USED BY SOME BUILDERS IN 2001? It is a monolithic on grade slab. I would think this would prevent water seepage or excess moisture. Builder also said all slabs give off moisture!!!!

I get more confused each day. I just need to find the cause and have it corrected.

I also kep my HVAC on almost everyday all year round. We never open the windows.

What are normal moisture readings for inside temperatures?Mine is 57-63.

Where does one find a state building inspector? Or does one contact another structural engineer? If he bores through the concrete to look for a moisture barrier won't that put a hole in it? How long should a moisture barrier last?

The insurance company said we can reopen the case if a pipe or something is found to have caused seepage. (No onr found water seepage, just the effects of a floor cupping, etc. )The wood did not turn black??? I don't know how they came up with it? In the Leak Report it said MAY or POSSIBLE CAUSES.

I appreciate your insight.

Slow down think about what you're doing, be careful...

Take a deep breath and try to whistle "Mary had a little lamb."

Most of your questions can be solved by seeking the definitions.

Information regarding building codes can be obtained from your county hall of records and building code dept at state level.

When you seek info from county and state offices or from a reputable construction company (Pulte) do not expound about your tribulation and do not mention the builder to them just stick to the subject.

Caulk has a life time depending on the quality of the compound but mostly dependant upon surface preparation; this is simply following strait forward instructions. Typical construction grade caulk, putty or tube/tile type compounds are worth 1-3 years before replace; hear that replace - you need remove what's there first.

hello sunshine1943, if i were in your shoes, i would rip up the wood floor and toss it before the mold gets out of hand, cuz we all know it's already growing, go rent a small jackhammer and pop a small hole in the slab and see just what is under there. just be carefull not to be to vigorus when getting to the bottom, cuz if there is a vapor barrier, you want to try not to tear it. if there is one under the slab, you can purchase something like quickcrete from your local homecenter to patch the hole, if there is no barrier you will have indisputable proof the builder neglected to put one in, therefore it would be his liability. i would also talk to your floor people and see about getting something of an airspace between your slab and wood floor. good luck and keep us in the light.

Retain a geotechnical engineer to conduct the survey. He will likely have a technician core a hole in at least one spot to evaluate the concrete, verify reinforcement, verify concrete sand thickness, verify vapor barrier, and check underlying subgrade for capillary moisture/soil moisture content. A jack hammer is probably a bit more than you need to penetrate the slab and obtain the information needed. They would likely use a concrete hole saw and cut small cores through the slab. Keep in mind that with fine grained soils, you can have capillary groundwater rises of up to 20 feet. You should have a vapor barrier and sand underlying your slab to break this type of moisture from wicking to the slab.

Thank you very much. That is exactly what I am going to do. Actually, it may be the firm who did the original boring sample. We probably will have to seal the side of the house and put a drainage drain out to the swale. Hopefully there is a moisture barrier and hopefully the soil is okay. The builder has been in business a long time and I am sure he would not compromise the situation.

Do you think it will be necessary to pull the entire floor up? Or will it depend on what is under the 1/2?

Thanks to all of those answering who are not follies but are interested in helping. One cannot compare a home in Florida to a home in Africa. Nor is this sight meant for people who have too much time on their hands and want to interject information which is totally irrelevant to the pursuit of the truth. Go to another forum. Please get off of my questioning and answering.

well i guess a jackhammer is a little overboard but you know what i mean. sounds like you've got a plan going together to remedey the situation, but as far as the floor goes i've always understood that your not supposed to put wood directly on concrete or put plastic in between, you should have an airspace so the wood and conrete can breath, staying dry. like i said, thats the way i've always understood it. maybe a guy could talk to several different floor shops and get some info. i think i would be a bit concerned about mold growth, especially if the wood has been getting damp for several years. good luck, hope everything drys up for you and stays that way!

Be careful about retaining the same geotechnical consultant who conducted the soils investigations and earthwork inspections. They are not likely to ever find any fault that could implicate them or their client in the project (and if they are closely involved with the contractor, they may not find any substantive fault in the construction). On the otherhand, some other consultants would go out of their way to implicate a competitor, even when the results of their investigations do not adequately support their claims. It is good to locate a reputable firm who works locally, who is not too stongly bound to residential development. In the bay area their are a near infinte number of geotechnical firms, many of the largest ones have corporate headquarters in the bay area. URS-San Jose has a pretty good group (not so much Oakland-they are a bit too large), or BSK in Pleasanton. I also believe Earth Systems has an office in Fremont (though i have no experience with their bay area services).

There was only one product I found that worked after the fact. In a concrete floor with seepage and poorly mixed concrete we had moisture readings of over 20 in the floor using the calcium chloride test. We hired Moxie International to do the work. They can be found at http://www.moxie-intl.com.

Mr Sunshine

My post 2 referred to the only question available to me (disappearing data - #1) at the time. I am almost sorry if you interpreted that as having reference to your problem.

having only a L available as detail I went ahead of reassuring you that any problem can be solved or managed.

Regarding relative experience. In SA we have the Cape flats, Very sandy and the water table from +1 to -5ft , Some of it is by definition wetlands and NO buildings may be erected there without a licence. In 1975-76 I was involved with the designing of a water care works on the flats - we had NO problems because we made certain of the conditions before we started designing.

The CBC method may be compatible with some of our older designs. I don't see much difference in solving seepage problems in a CBC house or a 3 story home either.

I definitely did not intend to visit you and never expected an invitation.

We in SA, GB and else were are as close as your computer to you. Why exclude us?

(Especially since your problems were caused by Americans)

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We in SA, GB and else were are as close as your computer to you. Why exclude us?

(Especially since your problems were caused by Americans)>

Sunshine-Hendrik always comes with sensible solutions.

We in SA, GB and else were are as close as your computer to you. Why exclude us

Probably because of a couple of issues.

1. is the fundamental differences in building codes and requirements even at the engineering level. However, you should seek more local advise than just in US, since the building standards differ substantially from state to state.

2. Technical communication differs in the old world relative to north american (except canada), different units, different terminology. Again the terminology within Us also differs a little base on location and industry.

3. technical skills and education tends to differ, sometimes substantially, based on the nation where these skills and education were obtained. This is based on the needs and requirements of those communities. Again this also happens within the US, to some degree (less on the education and much as experiential skills), based on location.

The cheaper route is to install a perimeter drain to the drainage swale as you have stated.