House built around studio design/build thread

Hi Greg, I've been pulled away too, - since Christmas. I just looked up your progress and am so sorry to hear about your tough trials! Fight the fight and stay positive, my friend! Just a long shot, but when I was asking questions about my concrete slab in my studio project, my friend who does masonry told me a story. He was stressing the importance of good drainage from the roof gutters. He said his friend in Montana had all kinds of problems with moisture in his basement and went to some extreme measures to fix it with no results, including digging out around the basement walls to treat. His point was that in the end, the thing that fixed the problem was moving the downspout outputs farther away from the foundation. Like I said, this is a long shot and I'm not knowledgeable on ANY of this. I just thought I'd share the story just in case. Hope things work out for you soon! -Ron

Thanks Ron! I think the plumbing dorks did something weird with the sump. He came and swapped the pump out and didn't even check if it would engage when it filled with water before he up and left. I reached down in and lifted the float to the height of the weeping tile and the pump didn't turn on. I called him and told him that I don't think the float was set correctly and THREE times after arguing with him, he kept saying "No, it'll be fine, it'll be fine." So, I filled the sump with water and sure enough, the float didn't engage the pump. The float and pump are fine, the float just has to be VERY low in order to engage in time. So, he finally came and "fixed" it. He had to zip tie the float line very low on the pipe which is bizarre. Why would a normal run of the mill pump not be able to be adjusted to engage in time without moving the float anchor point several inches below where it can normally be set? There is a big hole a ways below the weeping tile pipe that I never noticed as you basically can only see it when you hold your phone down in the sump to take a picture. This hole is a result of them cutting it in the wrong spot, then cutting a few other holes to finally get the weeping tile pipe to line up and penetrate the sump wall. When I checked the sump regularly, I would think to myself "yeah, that water level looks high but it has quite a bit to go before it his the weeping tile pipe". Then, I'd grab the float and the pump would run. I should've looked closer and put two and two together earlier I guess -- Or the plumber should have done his job better! I'm convinced that the pump never actually ran a day in it's life engaging on it's own. Anyway, I've kept and eye on the sump and foundation every day and everything seems fine now. We'll see what the inspector guy determines on the 15th. Greg

Sounds like you got to the bottom of it (no puns intended there). I hope your hands are doing better now! You've sure been through a lot! :( -Ron

I hope your hands are doing better now!

I FINALLY get to see the specialist on Friday morning. I'm really looking forward to finding out WTF is going on with my body. Good news or bad, I want to know. Thanks for the ongoing support! Greg

I put everything on hold for a while waiting for the new home warranty dork to come assess the situation. The break was nice as it allowed me to catch up on a bunch of recording work and do other family/life things. The guy showed up with the house builder people and basically intimidated me with a bunch of threats and had me sign paperwork saying that I'd just let him do his thing and not communicate or else it could result in my case being thrown out. It went the exact opposite of what I had hoped. I was hoping the guy would be awesome and he and I could have a real conversation about everything. He straight up said he never read my case as he wanted to come into the site with an unbiased opinion. At the end of the 5 minute visit to my basement, I asked him if there was anything I could do to prevent this from happening again and he said "No, just finish removing the mold because it looks like you're doing a good job". So, I waited another 2 weeks to receive his report (he couldn't give me any details verbally at the visit as per my signed agreement). The report does not once say what caused it and the conclusion was "no action needed". He referred to the mold as a "black substance". Among a bunch of clearly copy/paste foundation care notes the only thing I could make sense of conclusion-wise was that maybe the grading around the foundation caused water to enter from outside. Two points that piss me off about this are: 1. the foundation has two layers of water protection on the outside 2. we moved in in November and we are still not over winter. It snowed all week here. So when was I supposed to add clay to the sunken clay around the foundation? The moisture clearly came in and mold grew before November. To the good news. I sucked it up and removed the rest of the mold and put the insulation back up. I back filled around the entire house with clay. I've had a few solid build days since and I've made a lot of progress. I still have a good chunk of crap to deal with before my ceiling beef up/box in is complete but the end is in sight for it. I feel refreshed and motivated more than ever after the build break. Greg

Wow. Conclusion I draw from this: the contractors got to the warranty guy first, and he was in their pocket. Deeply. It was probably a lot cheaper for them to pass him a bundle of notes under the table, rather than having to pay to actually fix the problem. The word "incest" comes to mind... To be honest, it looks like you got shafted every which way imaginable by this whole contractor/realtor combination. I do hope you put out the word locally to be spread far and wide, that they should be avoided like the plague by anybody thinking of building a house. I would not even want them building a kennel for my dog! (I don't actually have a dog, but you get the point...). I sure hope this is the end of your troubles with those guys, and you can just get the darn studio built now! - Stuart -

Gosh mate, things are full on in your build, looks to be a good one to follow though! Can’t believe the rubbish you’ve had to put up with the contractor! You said the mould appeared at the top of your wall... could that be the coldest part of the wall so where all the moisture has condensed? If below that outside has been backfilled then it would be warmer... Is it possible to put a monitoring system/alarm at the sump pump overflow level so you can rest assured that it’s clearing the accumulated water?

could that be the coldest part of the wall so where all the moisture has condensed? If below that outside has been backfilled then it would be warmer...

Totally.

Is it possible to put a monitoring system/alarm at the sump pump overflow level so you can rest assured that it’s clearing the accumulated water?

For sure I will do this. Thanks for following! I have been hard at work on the build but I haven't posted pictures as it would be pretty boring to look at endless pictures of my boxing in/beef up. Greg

No Greg, we like those pics. Wanna see that beefing up dudeo. It's good for the newbros to see how it's done too I think. :wink:

Waka wrote:

No Greg, we like those pics. Wanna see that beefing up dudeo. It's good for the newbros to see how it's done too I think. :wink:

+1 ! :thu:

Okay. Here's one not so boring picture for you. This one shows how I made a skinny box to cover up a bunch of electrical and plumbing that goes up/over to our kitchen island on the main floor. You can see some duct work in the joist cavity to the left of the "skinny box" that I need to box in still and you can see that I have a ton of caulking to do yet. For the spots that I do not have my silencer box sleeves penetrating, I will have to build what I will refer to as "lids" to cover up the voids above the main yellow beam. I've added little 2x4's on top of the beam to maintain surface density once I apply the 1" MDF lids. For any of these voids that I have boxed in because mechanical runs through them, I have added two 2x4's in order to maintain the surface density. You can see the two stacked on one another in the void where the duct work is. Greg

Hi Greg, How's the ceiling going? You get it all done, the caulking is a killer right? Dan

Working on it tonight again. We went on holidays for a few weeks and I'm being distracted by work (recording and mixing concerts) as well as planning out our landscaping (SketchUp has been very handy for that). I bought a cordless caulking gun to try and help with my arm pains. It's heavy and large but I've squished out a ton of 300ml tubes with next to no additional pain! I also went and saw my doctor today and got a prescription for different pain meds. I'm going to try Lyrica. Still waiting to hear from the neurologist for my appointment date. Here are some of the "plugs" I made out of 1" MDF to go above the main support beam. I wish I had more to share. I'm hoping to be onto the ceiling insulation stage soon. Greg

Ah sorry about your medical probs. Hopefully you will get some respite from your new meds. I'm not sure where those plugs fit into your design, but they look intricately cut and cool. You'll have to show them in place. Dan

I feel so defeated lately guys. Car problems, street bike problems, preamp problems, etc, etc. Then, we got a super heavy rain throughout the night. I went down to check if there is any moisture and sure enough: So, I'm back to dealing with the home builder. Can you believe my bloody luck!?!?!? Greg

Wow Greg, you seem to be having crazy bad luck atm! They sound like an awful company. Are they obligated to repair these problems? Dan

They sound like an awful company. Are they obligated to repair these problems?

They wrote me this morning and said that cracks over 1/4" in width are covered under warranty. Mine is a hairline crack. So, I looked up the Alberta New Home Warranty coverage and learned that I'm screwed: So, for now, I'm going to concentrate on fixing my wife's car and figure out an affordable way to fix the crack. I know that the outside of the foundation has a membrane on it so removing it would be silly. A fix from the inside would for sure be the quickest and most affordable. I'm just afraid it will be a temporary bandaid type fix. Sorry I'm not moving faster on this project you guys. 2 steps forward, 1 step back every time. Greg

The nightmare never stops! I feel for you, Greg. Incredibly frustrating.

I know that the outside of the foundation has a membrane on it so removing it would be silly. A fix from the inside would for sure be the quickest and most affordable. I'm just afraid it will be a temporary bandaid type fix.

I'm wondering if the membrane is damaged. If it is in tact, then there should be no leaks, even with a crack in the concrete. Have you considered digging out to expose the membrane where the leak is, and check it? Maybe the membrane doesn't go up high enough (above ground level), and water managed to get down the inside of the membrane? If you do a repair from the inside, you fix the symptom, not necessarily the problem. You fix that specific crack, yes, but if there's water getting between the membrane and the concrete, then it will eventually find its way in through another crack, somewhere else. Maybe another hairline crack that doesn't exist yet... I'd suggest finding the original source of the water: How is it getting behind the membrane?

cracks over 1/4" in width are covered under warranty.

Any chance it might accidentally get bigger? :) - Stuart -

Right now, the humidity is 31% in our house. I got this in a email from the house builder: "Hi Greg. From the minimal amount of dampness that is there it is entirely possible that it is emanating from the inside. The membrane was installed correctly and was inspected and approved by the city. I’ve attached photos and the city inspection sticker for your records. We would recommend you check your humidity levels on the interior of the basement again" Here is a pic of the part of the house where the water came through the crack. I see two cracks, one at each end of the house, and after calling around, a repair from the outside will be $2000 each. I do not want to start putting up inside out walls and risk water/moisture getting in so at this point my plan is to suck it up and pay the $4000 for the repair. Greg

Hi Greg, is there not supposed to be a membrane on the wall nearer you in the picture too? Funny how the "internal moisture" seems to pool right around a crack to the outside... :roll: Also, is this repair something you could do yourself? If you look into it, it might not be a major job (although the crazy prices you're being quoted suggests otherwise). Dan

Hi Greg, is there not supposed to be a membrane on the wall nearer you in the picture too?

That is the garage so no, it is not needed on it.

Also, is this repair something you could do yourself? If you look into it, it might not be a major job (although the crazy prices you're being quoted suggests otherwise).

I'm sure I could but like recording, a first timer probably won't do a good job. This is one construction process I'm more comfortable hiring a 30+ year professional for. I'll keep you guys posted. Right now I have my wife's car torn apart so break time is over! Greg

I had a moist/leaky foundation wall as well, couldn't figure out exactly where it was coming from...One corner was always slightly damp. I actually did dig up from the outside to repair the membrane, also I put in a leeching pit and extended the gutter in that corner underground directly to the leaching pit (maybe its called a"Dry Well"?). We also build up the grade against the house so the water drains away from, instead of towards the house. I think what caused the problem in my situation was just the gutter was draining to close to the foundation, and the grade wasn't right (slight ditch/dip near the foundation). I'm not sure which of those things fixed the problem but it's been almost a year (maybe more) since I did those repairs and that corner hasn't had the slightest sign of moisture. I have a few photos of the wet corner and of leaching pit (dry well) before it was complete (plastic container sitting in a hole in the ground filled with rocks and some holes in the sides. Wet corner: Leaching Pit Installtion: Here's a photo of one from the internets: I think my problem was cause by

Thanks for your suggestion! We do have weeping tile and a sump. I actually had a guy out to give me a quote for a repair and he said I should just do it myself. It's clear that the water is coming in above the membrane so ultimately I think I just need to back fill even higher and more precisely. For the current crack I'll just remove some of the parging, apply some sealant stuff all the way down to and over top of the membrane. This is scary as more cracks will eventually occur so I guess the only thing I can do is ensure proper grading for the rest of my life. Oh, and I fixed my wife's car. One of the 1000 things I need to get done. I plan to work some on the basement tonight! Greg

Hi Greg, How you getting on? Did you manage to get your 1000 jobs done and have any progress on your build? Dan

How you getting on? Did you manage to get your 1000 jobs done and have any progress on your build?

Thanks for checking in dude! Life's been crazy lately. I've taken on too many recording projects (need to record to make money to build my studio and live!) and other things like landscaping have taken over my life. I'm hoping to get back into the basement to build shortly as I'm feeling time slip through my fingers. I wish I had more to share, but you might have noticed I haven't even had time to visit the forum! I apologize and I hope I have more time and energy to put into my build and the forum. Greg