| Posted by Michael Roback on October 09, 1999 at 11:30:33: | |
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My wife and I are buying a house on a hillside property. The house is a two story on a slab. The current owners tell me that there has been a humidity problem during the rainy season on the first floor. They have used a dehumidifier. The house is approximately 40 years old. They tell me that this past year when we had the heavy rains up here that there was quite a bit of water under the house in the crawlspace and that they rigged up a sump pump in a hole about 2 feet or so that they dug in the crawlspace. There is some blistering and patching on the walls and ceilings of the downstaris level of the house maybe related, maybe not. Also downstairs there has been an addition and there are some slight lime deposits where the old and "new" slabs meet indicating some moisture maybe coming up through the slab. The present owner tells me that prior to this past year they haven't had a problem with moisture to this degree. I called a geologist who charges a minimum $900 fee to access the situation. The house as is is a good deal, the cheapest house on the block. It is basically being sold "as is." Are French Drains the only alternative or is a good exterior drain system with a professionally installed sump better? I hear that French Drains can cost $20-$40,000??? The house is approximately 2100 square feet on a relatively small lot. I am down in Southern California. Any idea who I can call to look at it short of a $900 evaluation bill??? The house is basically ours at this point and there is no room for negotiation of price so I am trying to solve the problem within our budget. My wife and I will be living on pennies to make the mortgage and cannot afford a disaster waiting to happen. Any advice, help, suggestions would greatly help me. |
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