Enough of COVID...what are you doing to the house?

mimico_polak said:
How hard is it to use a mini-excavator? Think I'm going to prepare for a dig around the house in the Spring/summer to just do the waterproofing.

My issues of note are:

1. 4ft of concrete around the majority of the house that needs to be broken down to size / cut off 2ft so I can dig
2. Concrete stairs at the front of the house will need to be broken down and replaced with something different
3. Driveway (asphalt) - 2ft need to be cut out in order to dig by the wall
4. Shed needs to be disassembled to dig in that part of the house (unless there's a way to go UNDER without dying / getting buried
5. Patio needs to be disassembled to dig in that part of the house (same as above)

If I could support the concrete under the shed / patio I'd try that...but then will never be able to compact the ground along those sections.
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I've run zoom booms, bucket trucks and fork lifts without any training and pretty soon the controls become a natural extension of your body. That said, with the above you can re-position a skid of merchandise a lot easier than you can rebuild a block wall if you overshoot.

1) Are you planning to just remove the 2 feet of concrete adjacent the house. To me that's a narrow workplace. Also consider shoring. If a wall of soil collapses on someone you don't have a lot of time to get them out before circulation problems become life threatening.

How thick is the concrete? Did Kevin go with the minimum of an inch and a half or did he spend all the money he saved elsewhere to put in a bomb shelter roof? Drill a test hole or two or three.

2) A stinger on a skid steer will reduce most things to rubble, including your wallet when you rebuild. :)

3) If the driveway is in good shape it can be saved by replacing the cut away section with interlock and there are companies that do small hot mix patches. Do you need to waterproof in front of the garage?

4) How much does the shed weigh? I once lifted a car and a half garage myself using a 2X4 lever. I could have put rollers under it if I wanted it moved.

5) How big is the patio? All or part removal and how to blend in a patch?

I would hate to think of the price if you farmed the job out and with all the construction going on there aren't a lot of hungry but good contractors.

What if all the digging and waterproofing doesn't help because of an unknown underlying condition?

How deep are your footings and what is the soil type? If I was committing to a lot of work or money I'd want to know more details. If the problem isn't wide spread a spot repair may be all that is needed.

IMO, if you ever move the cost of waterproofing won't add to the house sale price.

We've spent probably $20K on waterproofing and it was well spent from a rec room usage perspective. No more dribbles of water when it rained.

I just completed the last bit myself. It was an awkward spot and to do it conventionally would have been another $20K. I did it myself unconventionally, possibly iffy by code, but at the end, costing me nothing but my labour.

Confused yet?
 
Very confused @nobbie48. If you've got time pop by and we can take a look around and get some experienced eye on it from you. I'm around all week, just trying to find some time to start ripping apart the bike.

Tomorrow afternoon I'm out as we're going to find out if boy/girl/healthy.
 
crankcall said:
@mimico, put a level on that concrete 4ft slab running around the house and be sue it doesnt tip into the walls . 90% of them pitch the wrong way but to the naked eye it looks fine.

Im not sure digging around your house with an excavator is a DIY deal , I've seen a couple go pretty wrong.
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Yeah I would do some further investigation and find out where or how the water is going to whatever location.
I'm sure you don't want to do a Mike Holmes, lets rip it all out and rebuild it because that's the only way to "make it right" lol ;)
 
It looks to me like the same floor paint is behind what you tore out....so an 'add on'.

Why?
 
Checked the grading of the concrete around the house…all good except one but there’s no water on top of it near the house edge except in a corner with a downspout.

Small area.
 
To be honest @mimico_polak I wouldn't bother with the exterior excavation unless you are planning on living there forever. Depending on where you have the water coming in, obviously not all four walls, you can look at doing an interior waterproofing. I looked at the photos you posted, seems you have an interior dimple membrane along the wall?

Anyways, cutting up the slab along the floor of the wall where the leak(s) are coming in and installing a weep running to a pump will be much cheaper than exterior job and maybe an option for you. It's pretty simple, easy to do yourself and cheap.

When I was finishing my mechanical room, the sill plates of my newly framed wall and drywall was wet. Dimple membrane the wall to floor. Used an angle grinder to cut drainage lines to the floor drain, membrane over and was done with it. I couldn't do an interior weep because of the location of my furnace. I had planned on doing exterior waterproofing but I can't even get an excavator on one side of the house, so that wall would have to be all hand dug.
 
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