Waterproofing With Drain Tile On Top Of Footing

KrollProperties

I have a house i sold that i'm doing a waterproofing repair on after they moved in because i told them i would gurantee the basement. I did a tar and seal on the exterior wall but im getting hydrostatic pressure in the block. so i made a system like a lot of the sites that sell the premade system and installed it. heres the system i copied but used pvc pipe and RFP board on the wall with holes drilled to bring the water under the floor so it can flor into the pvc pipe with holes drilled in it

basementsystems.com/learning_center/images/waterguard-diagram.jpg

mine is like the one piece drain and goes into a sump.

so after i was 90% done the homeowner called the city and said i didnt pull a permit, so i pulled the permit and got it approved, the homeowner called someone else at the city and complained and they changed their mind and said i need to do a 4" piper under the footing.

so i got a mechanical engineer to write a report and approve my drawing, they still wouldnt accept that and now want to take me to court for not finishing the job on the permit i pulled.

if i fight this will i win in court or is it impossible to fight the city?

concretemasonry

You copied a typical cheap franchised system and then tried to get them to acept a mechanical engineer to approve/sign a paper? - A mechanical engineer is not qualified to design or approve any type of soil, water or foundation problem, but you bought his signature.

Your are not fighting the city even though there was not permit (that just makes you look bad), but you apparently are fighting the people you gave some sort of guarantee to. Since you undertook a job and it apparently does not work, you will have an uphill fight.

A water collection system sitting on a footing or slab does little to solve the problem or decrease the pressure forcing the water in. The best solution is a sump and interior drain tile system at the level of the footing or lower. You copied a scam solution.

The tar is worthless and is just a show or feeble attempt as is the phoney surface collections system that collects the water should not have be allowed into the living area in the first place.

Now that you have admitted a problem, but did not correct it, you could be on the line for future structural basement problems. the previous owner is probably glad to have a flipper take over the responsibility.

__________________
Dick

Engineer, designer and consultant recently active domestically and internationally on construction and design in about 35 countries.

Seepaluce

I'm going to assume that you mean a 4" perforated pipe on the side of the footing. Do they want it on the exterior or the interior? If you put it in the interior, the system you have works just fine if installed correctly (next to the footing). If they want you to it on the exterior, that is a lot more work/expense. If they want you to put it under the footing, tell them nobody will do that.

How deep is this basement in the ground?

I can't see the city getting involved period.

It's hard to say if the system you put in will work but that type of system is not uncommon in my area. I'm a true believer to prevent water from getting to the foundation wall in the first place but if that is impractical ($), then the system you put in is not a bad one.

The only way out of this one is to hope, fight or hire a company to take the liability off of you.

Good luck.