I used to do that kind of water proofing and I am wondering if they are going to put anything on the walls?
I may treat the concrete in the walls with silicate based waterproofing when I treat the floors. I need to remove the plaster first though. I will be using 2" foam board against the concrete as a vapor barrier and insulation. The portion that leaks, is actually the portion most above ground. Walls leaking is not that big of a problem. The water is sweating up from the concrete patch going over the water tract. There was also a bit of pooling near the rear door. The contractor who put the system in told me it could take a few weeks for the concrete to cure fully, and during that time the patch may sweat. I was told to call him back if it continues in a week. I had another contactor on scene that agreed with the advice. The pooling water in the back (which is just a small puddle and not a torrent or flood) seems to be coming from the water heater, which has been sitting in water on-and-off since we got the house. It may be leaking due to corrosion. The plumber comes Friday, and will check on that.
Wow. Having done a couple basements like this, I feel your pain. The previous house (up on a hill) had a WONDERFUL poured-concrete basement with 7' 6" of clearance....and took 8" of water in a heavy summer rainstorm that ruined an entire finished and carpeted basement. Next year I declared war. Added french drains around the entire 40x60 house, draining over the hillside, much hand-dug. It was worth it. Never got wet again. Have a much older house now but a similarly impressive drain system. But I've still been flooded - twice - by drain backups from the City. Yeah. Really bad. Took out a lot of insurance, also put in a huge check valve. Then the main drain line collapsed FOUR DAYS after the insurance policy went into effect... a $6K bill to repair, and after I was investigated they decided I was just incredibly lucky, not an insurance cheat. Oh, about that fuel oil tank. I've lived in two houses with fuel oil tanks 'inside'. BOTH of them suffered catastrophic tank leaks due to the corrosive sulfur in the fuel oil from the inside out. The first one caught fire and almost burned down the house. The second just scared me to death when I found a pool of oil on the basement floor and the furnace was running. So if you are keeping the tank inside, now is an excellent time to buy a new tank. I was stunned that a tank could corrode like that from the inside.
Wow, what a lot of work just to have fun with trains.:startled: But it will be so nice when done.:happy: Maybe because the fuel oil tanks can leak is the reason that out here they have to be outside.
Exactly my thoughts too when I saw a oil tank inside, What? That goes outside incase of leaks, fires, might just have a big extremely hard to get rid of mess...
Well, its funny when manual labor is involved everyone gets busy, so I started the demo myself. I have been busy as well with extra shifts at work so it is very hard finding time to get anything done. Here is where its at: And the dumpster:
I forgot to mention that the plumber came by today. The previous owners apparently used underground electrical conduit instead of PVC piping for the drains. And 20 feet of it are flat level. And they neglected to put traps in. So the water lines, sewer, gas and radiator pipes, and water heater will all need to be scrapped and replaced. Total cost will be somewhere between $6000-9000. On the plus side all the old plaster is asbestos free. Little miracles...
Well it has been over two months since posting. We are down two dispatchers at work and I have had to work a lot of overtime. That being said, I have made more progress in the last few weeks. So lets get to it! Demolition: The “finished” potion of the basement is long gone. I have kept one wall, as I am too lazy to build a wall if there is already one in place. It’s not built well, but it’s not going to be used for anything other than a divider to the unfinished portion of the basement. The old plastered ceilings came down with the help of one of my wife’s coworkers. He was very pricy, but put off working on that ceiling for more than a month just because I have nil upper body strength. Damn skinny arms cost me $600. With the ceiling in rubble on the floor, I had to call a new dumpster. I got a 15 yard deal from a co-worker in Natick. Plumbing: So with the ceilings down, I finally got a plumber. The whole house is being re-done; gas, water and sewer lines radiators, steam pipes and garden hose spigots . Total cost? $7500. Permits are also being pulled for this so we will finally have certified plumbing in the house! Yay. (Sewer pipes now hug the wall, alowing me to build the studs in front and eliminating any overhead issues. Water lines are next!) BTW, the guy is a real professional. He works hard, has everything he needs set up the day before and takes short lunches. When working some leftover demo, I try to keep pace with him. It’s very hard. Electrical, and Oil: With the plumbing done sometime next week, I need to get some cleanup work on the wiring before the plumbing inspector reviews the work. I figure I will take the opportunity and have an electrician pull all the wiring for the basement while he is at it. This will reduce clutter, and let me lay out my own wiring when I am ready. Once the wiring is pulled, I will have the oil company move the tank. I am saving this almost for last because it is out of the way where it is, and they require permits as well, which means another inspection. Once this is taken care of (mid October), I can get Basement Technologies back and finish up the French drain where the tank was. And then it begins: Mid October will be a huge time for the basement. This is when the floors get sealed and the waterproofing and insulation are added. I hope to start putting up studs by the winter. Running Tally: French Drain and Sump Pump: $8200 Filling in Windows and Cement Work: $300 Ceiling Removal: $600 Plumbing Related Issues: $7500 Dumpsters: $550 -------------------------------------------------- $14450 out of a $22000 budget
Overtime = our trip to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore in September. We go on one big trip a year, usially to visit family in Thailand. This year, we wanted a mini-trip within the trip and decided to travel down the Malay peninsula. Those who have built a full sized layout knows there is a lot of give and take when talking it out with the wife. In this case, we needed (but not urgently) to fix ongoing problems with flooding in the basement. Once that was worked out, I showed her all the things that was wrong with the plumbing. Now she didn't care much until the tub and toilet backed up and the shower would not turn off. Suddenly, the project was fast-tracked, and she even located the guy to help me with the ceilings. The Layout: The layout will focus on three major areas: Worcester, Westboro/Framingham and Boston. Worcester will be located near the stairs at a height of about 50 inches. Boston is at the other end with a height of 44 inches. I want to focus on Conrail, MBTA and Amtrak. Other operations will include Providence & Worcester, Guilford, Grafton and Upton and possibly Bay Colony. Dave Smith will be helping me on a layout plan once I get the interior demensions squared away. That will not be untill I start laying studs as I do not know how much room I will need to give the sewer pipes behind the studs. The layout will be fully DCC, with computer controled traffic flow when I'm not in the mood for operations and will be well light for nightime scenes. All track will either be Atlas C55 or ME C55 and C40 for branches. I hope to keep radii over 24" and switches #7 for industrial and #10 or larger for mainlines.
Well I am back from vacation and working on the basement again. Here is how it stands: Plumbing: All plumbing is complete and working. The radiators actually knock a lot less with the new configuration. Toilets flush without clogging and drains move much more quickly. The new water heater has been tucked behind the furnace, opening up the area around the chimney. Electrical: I have hired an electrician to clean up the panel and re-route the house wiring in a more professional manner. He will also be pulling all the current basement wiring and adding a ground to the house. Anticipated cost will be $400-600. Work starts this week. Oil Tank: The oil tank will be moved by my oil supplier on Monday. They anticipate the cost to be around $600-800 to pump the tank, reposition it, add the hardware to the house and refill it. This will put all my incoming utilities along one wall in the basement, allowing an unobstructed room of about 650 square feet. French Drain: Basement technologies will be in next Wed/Thurs to put in the last section that was blocked by the tank. This work was part of the contact and will be at no additional cost.
Water heater has been moved back. Wiring is being restrung. Stairs, closet and "finished" basement in April Stairway is intact, but the walls and closet have been removed, along with everything else.
Did you know The N Scale Architect is coming out with the Worcester NH station, or did you just happen to be planning it anyway? The kit is full-sized and completely accurate as to the restoration. It is supposed to be released by December. If you didn't know this, you lucked out at not having to scratchbuild it! Though it looks like a huge project just to assemble.
Do you mean Worcester Union Station? Yeah, that was a five year project: If they are reissuing the kit, I hope they did some updates on the design. It was NOT an easy kit to build and half the parts had to be modified or scratch built. The station ended up nice in the end and thats all that matters. Worcester, with its station is the center peice of the layout. Now lets hope someone does South Station Boston.
Daniel - when you and the family are in Singapore, you may want to check out Sentosa. It's like a pay-as you go Disneyworld on an island. The cable car ride you can take there is incredible, so is their aquarium - and there is a fun scenic tower/beach area that has no charge (other than the $1 Sing to get in the park. I hate amusement parks and loved it. There is also a mall and casino (clean, nice casino) on or near the premises. Company I work for has a plant in Singapore, so I'm there a lot. On topic - your plans and basement prep sound great - good luck with the new layout.
We spent two days in Sentosa. Visited Universal Studios, the aquarium, the louge, skilift and Merlion. The monorail was a lot of fun, but getting to a beach that didn't cost $35 for a bottle of beer was a bit tough. Singapore was one of the best cities I have ever visited. I think the best part was the Chinese Buddhist temple. We went during services, and it was a mind blowing experience. Back on toppic... Oil tank was moved today. A slightly less mind blowing experience.
