Basement Excavating

Feb 19, 2012 Posted By: No Comments

It’s a well known fact that properly waterproofing your cellar is one of the most effective ways possible to add value to your property, beautify your home and protect against unwanted water damage and flooding. Especially if you live in rainy areas of the country, such as the Pacific northwest or the northeast, a good cellar waterproofing job isn’t just an option, it’s vital to preventing inevitable flooding disasters. But some homeowners can be turned off to the idea of waterproofing their basements because of the outrageous price tag that can sometimes be attached to the project. In reality, there are several stairs and methods to properly floodproof a basement, and non all of them are always necessary.

The most effective and most expensive aspect of basement waterproofing is excavating around the foundations of your cellar and installing footer drains that ar designed to lead water away from your home before it has a chance to damage your walls. The time, labor and materials involved in excavating your property and installing drains can end up costing you thousands of dollars. This method is necessary in some extreme situations, but not all. In fact, most homes already have footer drains installed, and simply cleanup them out or replacement a few broken sections might be a more affordable option.

A more affordable option for cellar waterproofing involves internal methods that can be used to keep water out of your home. Sometimes internally installed French drains that span the perimeter of your cellar floor can help as well, and cost much less money. Rather than expensive excavating equipment, installing interior French drains could solve your job with more affordable jack hammering methods. This, in addition to properly treating your basement walls with polymers intentional to keep water from soaking through the block, could be all you need to do in order to keep your basement safe and dry. Read More

Categories : Basement Excavating

Basement Drop Ceiling

Feb 19, 2012 Posted By: No Comments

Ah, a ruined basement. What a worthwhile remodeling project. Immediately provides additional, usable living space in the home. And, of course with insulating the outside walls reduces heat escape and thus conserves energy. It can be thought of as a great home renovation project in the winter when folks tend to cocoon more (i.e. stay at home more) because of the inclement weather.

But, what about the ceiling? Should one install wallboard on the ceiling with wallboard screws attached the ceiling’s support beams, to which wallboard mesh & ‘mud’ (technical jargon of home builders / renovators for what is a white paste) is applied to where the drywall boards meet, followed by sanding (drywall dust, yuk!) followed by priming and painting with cap paint?

Or, should one install a ‘drop’ roof with metal rods hung with wires attached to the ceiling’s support beams criss-crossing the basement upon which fire-retardant cap tiles are placed? In our cellar we have both, but the majority of the cellar area uses a hung ceiling.

There is more labour required with a drywall ceiling from start to finish, in my opinion. Hard labour. How do they get the 8 feet by 4 feet wallboard sheets attached to the ceiling anyway? Yes with screws, but think about the physical effort. Those drywall sheets are heavy.

And then, think about the physical process of applying the mud, and then sanding the mud up on the ceiling. Wow! Painting a cap is hard enough.

One could say it depends on the look. Do you want your cellar to look like a basement? Or, do you want to look like any floor in the house? If the latter you will likely want a wallboard ceiling. So part of this is personal preference, ascetics.

However, after going through our renovations, I will never install a wallboard ceiling in any cellar that we may have in our futures that does not have a ceiling already. Read More

Categories : Basement Drop Ceiling

Basement Drains

Feb 19, 2012 Posted By: No Comments

One of the most fearsome nightmares a homeowner faces is the prospect of a flooded basement. Not only is it expensive to replace ruined walls, floors, and ceilings, but whatever is stored down below can be irreparably damaged. No matter where whether it’s expensive golf equipment or your old record collection, you can’t afford to have it ruined. And it’s for good reason, therefore, that all measures should be taken to avoid this horrendous scenario. Follow these tips to fix a choked drain before your basement floods.

The first thing to do is take a deep breath; this is a fixable situation, even without a plumber. With gloves on, find a pail and remove all the standing water in order to access the floor drain. Also, make sure nobody in the home runs any water. Typically the floor drain is the last one before the end of the house, so water from all the other pipes filter through before exiting the premises.

For specifically this reason, basement drains usually have a clean out access port. Using a crescent wrench, release the clean out plug. Pull out a few feet of plumbers snake. Pour some hot water down the drain and gently push the snake in, until you encounter resistance. The water should help push away the pieces broken by the snake. Also, be sure to only turn the snake clockwise. Not only does this make it act like a corkscrew, penetrating pieces it encounters, but it also adds to the longevity of the snake itself.

Try to avoid using chemical clog removers as the chemicals can be harmful if used incorrectly or too frequently. As you continue to push the snake in you’ll find resistance. Typically there’s more than one blockage, so keep pushing on until you break through. Read More

Categories : Basement Drains
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