Dehumidifier Questions

Darren,
I’ve got a meeting with the builder and electrician today, so I’ll ask. A perimeter drain was installed, and I do know that the footings and walls sat for a few weeks before they were backfilled to prevent some of the issues discussed on the site. That much I did discuss with the builder as we completed that phase.

I’d like to think that because our builder does strictly custom high-end residential he’s considered this, but I’ll ask this afternoon. When choosing him, we did check out multiple houses he built over a span of 12 years (the military are very good at vocalizing issues/recommendations) and we didn’t encounter any issues.

Thanks for the heads up….

Chuck

__________________
Might does not make right, but it sure makes what is.

Did he protect the waterproofing he put on the outside of the walls by installing something like an insulating panel? Did he use geotextile and stone around the perimeter drain?

The easiest way you can prevent water intrusion in the case of something that raises the water table above the floor slab is to go deeper with the sump. If the sump is near an outside wall, it compromises its effectiveness. That's why going deeper is often a solution. As long as the perimeter drain was properly built and continues to work you shouldn't have problems. Often they aren't built correctly and in the future they fill up with soil.

Properly built is the key. I've yet to see a residential contractor do them right. In one case a girl friend's townhouse's basement flooded when the neighbor had a sprinkler running close to the building. The contractor dug the soil out along the back, dumped some coarse graded stone in and said it was fixed. Obviously there was no perimeter drain. She sold the place soon after. Whoever bought the place got stuck with the problem.

Think of a sump as a well. The deeper it goes the more chance you have of keeping the water table (phreatic surface) below the cold joint. This image isn't a good representation since it doesn't show the water table appropriately as it will be drawn down 360 degrees around the well.

Darren,

Had my meeting with the builder yesterday and went over some/most of what you mentioned. The sump(s) are pretty deep, the coating for waterproofing wasn’t the “normal” material used here. He felt that the water-stop (yes he was aware of it) wasn’t required due to the terrain and design. He also assured me that the perimeter drain is constructed properly. He kind of got a chuckle out of this question, mostly because he builds in the 750K to 1.xxx million dollar range and hasn’t had any issue/complaints yet. Ours is actually one of the lesser expensive homes he’s built.

This house is a walk-out, built on top of a hill, graded to have 2-3% downslope away from the structure. The actual/real water-table is close to 60-100 ft below where the house site is. Also when the Perc tests were completed, they averaged something like 3-4 times the required rate due to the soil type present at the location. I’ve attached a couple more pictures to give you an idea of the grading. Final grading isn’t completed yet.







Right now I guess it’s a “wait and see”…

Chuck

__________________
Might does not make right, but it sure makes what is.

One thing I would suggesst to anyone thinking a similar plan would be a 24" round hole in the safe room. It could be plugged now and a culvert burried to the trees shown in the background. As a shooter, I would put lights in and vent it with a fan. That would give an indoor range with an outside vent as well as an emergency crawl out. A ladder with iron rungs could be there and a culvert top hidden in the brush that might be an emergency exit.

You're in good shape. The walkout arrangement solves a lot of problems. That along with the perc results means you'll always be high and dry.

Darren,
Thanks for the review and ideas; definitely got me thinking. I wish we’d had this discussion prior to beginning the house, it’s unbelievable the sheer number of decisions and variables that go into new home construction.

Seems like the “good idea fairy” has/is been jumping up constantly. As my builder put it when we first started the planning with the architect: “Building a custom house isn’t that costly really, it’s the good ideas that cost money, and you folks have a lot of good ideas”. So we had to start drawing the line in some places.

There are also some “good ideas” that either the bank won’t consider, or the builder will flat out refuse to warranty unless you throw serious cash at it. You may think it adds value, but the appraiser gets the final vote.

Thanks,

Chuck

One last picture of a modification I snuck in while no one was looking:



When pouring the back deck I had them pour a slab for my 100-300 yard bench with enough room for position shooting.

__________________
Might does not make right, but it sure makes what is.