An Excellent (and Easy) Basement Waterproofing System!

[@thezfunk]

Anyone who doesn't understand how import each step is here has never had water in their basement.

[@digitalconsciousness]

Yep. Think about it: nearly every step of constructing a house is thinking about moisture. French drains for the footer, leaks in a basement, vapor barrier over floor of crawl space, sill plate sealant (subfloor), Tyvek (walls), air barriers (fighting mold in walls), gutters, peel n stick and watershield and flashing for the roof, grade level to flow water away from house, dehumidifiers (internal moisture control). There's a reason: moisture = rot, mold, insects, leaks, and ruined insulation. It's the #1 way your house can be ruined.

[@cillboon]

You never forget when you basement gets flooded

[@steven7650]

The military term is Defense in Depth. Multiple layers you adversary has to get through that overlap. Your adversary just happens to be water.

[@doctoroctos]

When I built my house, nobody, absolutely nobody wanted to be in charge of waterproofing. I knew when nobody wanted to do it, it is because it is complicated, and mistakes are expensive. I did most of these except the joint, and the mat. So far so good. Probably the best thing I did was add water swales, and in ground drains for the down spouts.

[@genecarden780]

@Will Swift I have water proofed basements in commercial buildings in San Francisco that are built where the bay used to be. So in essence below sea level. For a professional waterproofing company ( not a handyman or carpenter or general contractor) it is relatively easy there are many systems that work. I have even waterproofed 2 basements built n the middle of an underground river.

[@nofurtherwest3474]

Let me ask - see how the footing is square to the foundation wall? Ie the footing is wider than the wall, so at the bottom of thew all the footing sticks out at a right angle. But can't water collect there? Why not have a "tapered joint", ie build up some concrete there to push the water away? I know its dirt there after it gets back filled but its gets saturated then the water can settle to there. The things is is that backfill is less compact than the regular ground so water will move from the more compact soil to the backfill every rain.

[@unclegrizzly7112]

Why not run the PollyWall rubberized coat up to or beyond grade?

[@Stickmanght]

The dimple mat, being plastic, will degrade in the sun and exposure. The rubberized coating may not be necessary to go that high. But, I too was wondering about that detail.

[@alexanderjamieson7971]

I figured the gray color change was so it would look ok painting up the whole foundation wall.

[@bubba9482]

Waterproofing/ damp proofing is probably the most overlooked part of the home. In the Chicagoland market, asphalt damp proofing is standard. I'm amazed how many $1M + homes are damp proofed. We do offer a dimple board option (Delta MS). Great product, very few leaks. Don't go cheap on waterproofing.

[@mattschulz558]

Peel and stick is the best in my opinion, put the dimple over top if you want extra.

[@augustreil]

We had a thick layer of tar sprayed on the walls and footing, then an 8 mill plastic sheeting stuck to that, then 2'' of Styrofoam. 2 - schedule 40 pipes with the holes pointing down on rock around the footing and back filled with trap rock. A layer of landscape fabric was placed between the dirt and stone for separation. The stone was installed all the way to within 16'' of the top. Not even a hint of moisture. That's how you keep a basement dry.

[@JP-kb4yi]

The only problem is when the tar dries it will allow the plastic sheeting to pull away and moisture to get in. The good news is it takes about 50years for that tar to dry out.

[@JamesG1126]

That's a lot of rock.

[@TheSteelArmadillo]

I have a 1962 building with the tar and plastic but no drain tile or insulation. Sidewalks are poured up to the walls and joints are sealed. The groundwater alone causes a humidity issue, but no bulk water.

[@JamesG1126]

@@TheSteelArmadillo Do you have vapor barrier and insulation under the concrete floor?

[@TheSteelArmadillo]

James Gleason that’s what the as-builts show and the historical images at least show the poly on the sides. It was built long before I was born. I do know that poly sheeting is not truly water proof when there is water pressure on one side. Edit, sorry no insulation under or on the sides. Just tar and plastic.

[@davidwostrel]

Two things drive a builder to use these kinds of products on building, the owner requesting them used or the risk of ignoring the water issues. And this risk is minimal because of it becoming the homeowner's problem a year later when the warranty is up. So I love the idea of adding proper waterproofing products during construction but for 99% of us plebs, we will get what the track home builders give us, and that is the cheapest possible solution that will work just long enough for them to not be financially responsible, and maximize the profits for that builder.

[@JamesG1126]

I've never seen a production builder use a basement.

[@sparksmcgee6641]

@@JamesG1126 you live in an area of low cost land then. Everything here has basements

[@davidwostrel]

@@JamesBlazen having a basement has nothing to do with property costs, and everything to do with frost lines and soil rigidity. Here in PNW we have almost zero full basements because of having around inches deep frost line. Take somewhere like NE they have frost lines measured in feet... So if you have to dig that deep for your footings... Might as well make it "additional house space" aka basement

[@davidwostrel]

@@sparksmcgee6641 land cost doesn't mean basements... It means frost line and soil rigidity issues

[@davidwostrel]

@@JamesBlazen haha... I am aware of the crawl space under my house :P. It is on my list of things to deal with after air sealing the attic. Just one of a 1000 projects on my 5 year old half a mill dumpster track built home

[@FixItNick]

Got a suggestion to use in the shower for waterproofing before installing tile? I’m gonna use a tile backer and then wanted to apply some waterproof paint and not the Orange sheets

[@dougfields23]

and now I'm going to dig up my 60yo foundation and fix my current issues. any sponsors want to help?

[@ykciR]

I’m gonna build my house soon and I’m super excited to implement all the knowledge Matt gives us lol thanks for all your knowledge Matt!!

[@chrisbabbitt4202]

Someday I will as well. :D

[@abenzuoo]

Yes yes

[@marcelosantana9311]

That is why I plan to start playing the lottery. 😁. The only problem about all these systems are cost. Sure you having a leak free house is Priceless but these products cost more. Just wish they would do a side by side construction methods and costs comparison.

[@abenzuoo]

@@marcelosantana9311 i wish he reada this then! @mattrisinger

[@billmccance7762]

Use AMVIC insulated concrete forms with a Soprema membrane then dimple board

[@DigitalBenny]

I watch "The French Drain Man" and Dan O'Connor (HydroArmor) and I've been waiting for this video from your channel to compare 👍

[@alexanderjamieson7971]

I am going to do hydroarmor's version of an interior french drain with sump pump in my basement, then have this done to the exterior after excavation, then frenchdrainman's system on side of my yard that is uphill and sheds water toward my house.

[@kirakustime1215]

Why wouldn't you want to extend the basement waterproofing to the sill plate and extend something like the prosoco fast flash down top of the polywall. Aren't we always trying to ensure continuity of the control layers? I have no experience with this, just curious.

[@Retanaru]

Above ground gets plenty of air to dry out with. The issue underground is that the water sitting next to the foundation has time to seep through over days and weeks. Then you get into UV rays and other environmental issues above ground (careless weed trimmer usage) that make or break the budget when it comes to using a single material layer all the way to the sill plate.

[@johnwhite2576]

Proseco as I understand it is NOT a below ground product

[@Kyle_Man]

Drainage mat is key. Stops capillary action of the water on the foundation. Don't skimp on waterproofing.

[@JamesG1126]

Seems key for the exterior walls of a conditioned crawl space too but I never see that done.

[@leestevens446]

@@JamesG1126 Haven't seen my projects, I guess. SOP

[@leestevens446]

@@JamesBlazen Exterior pretty much the same as a conditioned basement, as I described in the long original comment I posted earlier for this vid. Probably the only significant difference will be the interior. Radon is a big deal here, and virtually all new structures must have radon mitigation built in, even if the power venting is not needed at the time. Cold and frost line makes crawls a minimum foundation standard (likely to be drilled caissons with grade beams, the normal nomenclature in these parts), as an awful lot of the soils are far too hot to float a slab on grade; that kind of stuff is just not done around here. Okay, back to topic. The interior will get graded out to bottom of footings or the grade beams, and then 4" perf pipe in crushed stone or crushed concrete (stone size dependent on issues of handling, but normally 3/4"). Drains run out, and radon venting goes up. For a crawl, we simply use 10 mil clear poly over the stone, in the largest pieces/ fewest joints one can. There is a good trick with the expansion joint material that I like. Rip 1/2" off the edges of all pieces, then pin the rips back on to the larger piece with small finish nails. Snap grade lines on the walls, pull the poly up at the foundation walls, and use masonry nails or powder actuated to fasten the main width of expansion joint to the wall. Then 2" +/- of 3/8" aggregate 2500 psi fiber reinforced concrete. Pump it in real wet, screed neatly to the top of the expansion joint material, and bull float to suit, walk away. The concrete is to maintain the integrity of the poly, and hence air/ vapor seal: it also makes a clean work environment for the trades, and any future activities(like personal storage). I do not normally use any foam insulation under the crawl slabs, as we typically have radiant floors with insulation below, in the joists. Temps in the crawl are intermediate, and don't vary widely.The soil mass below will basically stabilize out to something like 55 F, more or less year-round. The exterior foam keeps humidity and condensation from becoming an issue, as the foundation walls could be otherwise affected by changing outdoor ambient temps. The last task is to give the concrete topping a week or so to cure, and go then go back and pull those 1/2" rips off the top of all the expansion joint material at the walls. Leaves a real neat groove, with pre-installed bond breaker at the bottom. Just right for a pourable two-part polyurethane sealant, or a gun grade, if you prefer (trim poly to the groove). Another note about radon: if a sump system is required for the interior, then the sump itself must be sealable (lid) at the concrete surface in the crawl, to prevent radon entering the space, or reducing the effectiveness (pressure drop developed) of the powered vent fan above.

[@leestevens446]

@@JamesBlazen 1) it has become the industry standard/ trade practice hereabouts 2) neither The geology basically dictates, or at least heavily influences. There is a huge range of soils and foundation conditions along the Front Range of Colorado. Once down off the Foothills and onto the " flat" Plains, one is on the ancient seafloor. It is layers of sedimentary rock (mostly shale and some sandstones), layers of oil and gas deposits, and more sediments on top: all hundreds or thousands of feet thick. The lower layers have been so compressed that the original sediments have been turned into those shales and sandstones. The topmost layer has been compressed into a hard layer, that can appear to be stone, but isn't really. We call it claystone. It is composed of expansive clays. Water penetrates down very slowly, and causes the claystone to revert to clay as it gets wetted. Typically, the top 5 to 15 feet will be softened and unstable. Anything founded in that top layer will move, heave, possibly for years after construction. The nasty part is that if one digs for a foundation, the water penetration is pushed downward as a result, just keeps getting softer, deeper. Best practice (usually mandatory per code) is a soils test and report from the geotechnical engineer. The report will specify design parameters for the site, and in these cases, that is caissons. The structural engineer will design the foundation per building loads and soils report. Typical house will be 12" diameter caissons, 10 to 15 feet into the undisturbed claystone, so maybe 15 to 25 feet total depth, but not unheard of to go 40 feet deep. The bearing capacity is a result of the footprint, and also the friction/ interlocking of the vertical sides of the caisson into the solid claystone. It is necessary to also look at and consider potential uplift from the softened material in the topmost layer acting on the upper part of the caissons, during engineering. A modest two story may need these every 10 feet of foundation wall, give or take. The soils engineer must be on site for the entire drill and fill, and approve each hole as it is drilled. A concrete pump is standard, with trucks rolling in as required; the holes must be filled immediately as they are bored and approved ( to avoid water intrusion/ softening/ collapse). Typically 2 to 4 re-rods will be inserted full height in each, sometimes full cages are specified, most likely for larger diameter bores. Here, the caisson industry is like the post-tensioned industry in Matt's Austin. The most prevalent technology will likely be the most economical, and no sense wasting energy fighting it. Now after all that, we also see incredible gravel deposits, along the current river channels. Might be 1/2 mile wide, probably good conventional bearing. Get near and into the Foothills, and anything may be found. Could be solid granite (pin to it), decomposed granite (claw it out, conventional footings), gravels, clays, mixed up combinations (really need the soils engineer for them), and sometimes even decent ordinary soil. We have had jobs where the best solution was 24" to 48" diameter caissons (needs the footprint for the loads and underlying soils) that were drilled through 5 to 8 feet +/- of mixed junk, to hit good bearing (like solid gravel deposits). We have had jobs in marginal soils (slightly expansive, not over claystone), where we were able to use interrupted footings. This mean an array of concrete pads, providing bearing for the grade beams (could be a full basement height, or a crawl) on void between the pads. The pads are sized per the building load right to the limit of the tested bearing capacity of the soils, so there is not enough surface area for the slight expansion to generate measurable uplift. Bottom line, it pays to have a good pair of engineers and a big arsenal of possible techniques to handle whatever you have to deal with. TMI ??

[@leestevens446]

@@JamesBlazen And again, when I checked my reply, it was garbled. I really thought it loaded okay, but no. I edited and repaired, hopefully that holds up.

[@dennispope8160]

Rumor has it that since that 911 beep, Matt has tried to avoid basement builds to this day.

[@bulatdavlet5141]

Texas as florida has too high ground water and floods, so in practic they dont design basments, and as we all know, Matt started his career not in texas so that stroy might be somewhere else

[@Kpopzoom]

You can build under water but always use a self-healing geosynthetic Sodium Bentonite layer like NAUE Bentofix® X

[@ChipsPlace1952]

Of course, he doesn't need the liability.

[@JamesG1126]

For a basement to make sense it needs to be in well drained soil. If you have to excavate rock and deal with water problems, it's not economical square footage.

[@neckofthewoods24]

I would have put a little more stone in the back fill. If that’s clay it’ll take forever for water to get down to the drain tile.

[@billymartin4403]

This sounds like a great system on new construction. I unfortunately have a cinder block basement that is almost 40 years old. I have had 2 different basement companies look at it. And they didn't agree on the solution to waterproof. Can you direct me to someone to help me find a solution. I am in North Texas.

[@richardroy5437]

I used Sanitred about 8 years ago. Worked great.

[@billymartin1247]

@@richardroy5437 Thank you

[@KidFreshie]

How did your waterproofing project turn out?

[@dariob1110]

Somewhat helpful but not enough details. Which way should the dimples face? And each step?

[@ksoman953]

Smart. More than one safety net is always how good engineering works.

[@jtr789310]

I would buy better pipe that the greenish blue crap does he think that pipe going to hold up with all the back fill weight

[@davidapp3730]

Wish I had seen that video 31 years ago when I was doing my basement walls. Things would have been done different than they were.

[@DanielRichards644]

My Sewage Pipe runs out the side wall of my basement, when the water line that comes into the house broke underground we had water pouring in around the collar of where the sewage pipe exits and also if it rains long enough and heavy enough it will show signs of water running down the wall inside, I used dug out all the dirt that worked it's way in between the collar and pipe and filled it with expanding spray foam which has definitely reduced the amount of water on a heavy rain but I still need to dig down on the outside of the house and seal it from the outside once and for all.

[@riumudamc4686]

What about the seams on the dimpled membrane? They are wide open!

[@mattk6101]

Looks like a crap overlap at 6:19. Shouldn't the bottom wrap be one piece coming up a foot or so followed by a nice overlap with the next sheet?

[@digitalconsciousness]

Right guy has it overlapped a little. Left guy looks way too high. video cuts before they place it. I think we can assume they didn't fasten it unleveled, so it eventually did overlap on the left side.

[@leestevens446]

Overall good approach. For my jobs, I prefer to ratchet it up a notch or two, however. Background is that for the past 30+ years I have done all new work with continuous exterior foam for basements and crawls, in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and now Colorado. I have evolved continually over that time span, and best practice now is: 1) Rub-R-Wall hot liquid spray applied waterproofing. Needs no special prep on the concrete. Goes on about 1/8" to 1/4" thick, and bonds ferociously. Cover from outer edge of footing to about 4" below TOW. We use primered, self-adhered membrane (from supplier of the liquid applied on the sheathing) to cover the jump to wood. The sheet material is more resilient at the concrete to wood interface, far less likely to be torn or violated. 2) The Rub-R-Wall guy installs Dupont 2 1/8" Perimate foam over the cooling rubber coating as he goes. Foam more or less sticks, and is also fastened with a few powder actuated pins going through special plastic washer caps. Perimate has keyed drainage slots vertically along the 8' dimension, which have been tested and proven to not silt up over time, thus serving the purpose of the drainage mat. The Perimate is met at the top by the continuous exterior wall foam, faces are flush, so no cold band (heat loss). We typically hang factory finish (colored) Galvalume steel from up under the siding, to about 6" below finish grade. Protects the foam (UV is the big disintegrator of foam), looks good, is an easy fit-up. Our climate, the Perimate controls dew point/ condensation very effectively in our jobs. Typically will have stud walls with R-13 FG batts interior, with no issues ever. 3) Filter fabric from footing to far side of excavation, and upwards from there, with 4" perf drain laid in, holes down. Gravity drainage, even if it means a lot of digging to daylight (no issues with power loss/ pumping in storms). Sump and pumps only if absolutely no gravity path available. 4) Fill trench with 3/4" crushed concrete to about two feet below finish grade. Crushed recycled concrete has been cheaper than stone. Install 4" solid drain pipe, with standpipes for all downspout locations, pitched to dedicated gravity drainage outlet as per perf pipes below. If the roof water isn't down in the trench, why put it there yourself?? Now fill the trench to within 6-12 inches of finish grade, filter fabric over, and soil to taste. I don't mean for the help to take a dump on it, by the way. 5) We are in radon territory. Interior gets full drainage system, pitched for water, covered in crushed concrete. One or more radon vents go up, from the same perf pipe setup. Dedicated gravity drainage as per other systems. If gravity not possible, use a sump and pumps to lift and dump into the RWL solid pipe above and outside. And seal the sump, for the radon. Only downside to this is that my Rub-R-Wall guy died of a sudden heart attack with about a day's work left on my last project. His son-in-law finished the job, then dissolved the company. It is a franchise, and I don't know if anyone ever picked up the Colorado territory afterwards. A big loss for the industry here, this is the ultimate foundation waterproofing system. I haven't actually done any foundation work since.

[@BK-fy2xi]

Step 1) ...goes on 1/8” to 1/4” and bonds “ferociously”..... I think you mean “tenaciously” 😜

[@jefh3730]

My experience with crushed recycled concrete is over time it solidifies not allowing water to pass through

[@johnwhite2576]

what about termites with your continuous external foam ??

[@christopherattfield5507]

Can you use this product for sealing the inside of a foundation. Say your doing a Reno and want to seal concrete floors and foundation walls.

[@augustreil]

Waterproofing is best done before, just like a Dam. No one would ever build a Dam and try to waterproof it after the dam was built, I hope ? Edit: There are products that can help though, Thorough Seal is one that comes to mind. You paint it on and it's thick and a PITA !!

[@christopherattfield5507]

Agreed. I ask because I live in a 1935 house and redoing the outside of the foundation is not an option. I’ve researched other products for sealing concrete on the inside. But the poly wall sealer seams to be a much better product then I’ve been able to find on the internet. I don’t get water in my basement but it does have that damp smell to it all the time.

[@leestevens446]

@@christopherattfield5507 I would expect the damp smell is attributed to moisture migration through the concrete, and or condensation on the colder wall surface from humid air in the basement. Might try a dehumidifier. This is why I do only continuous exterior insulation on basements and crawls (new work) for the past 30 years. Completely stops the condensation/ humidity problems, totally changes the basement environment. Problem with coatings on the inside is that moisture migration through and vapor pressure developed on the inside surface of the concrete wall creates a substantial force to separate the coating from the wall. You can try, but it is based more on hope than certainty.

[@internettoughguy]

@@leestevens446 As you said, vapor pressure and moisture migrating through the concrete towards the inside will eventually cause any coating to peel off. It's just a matter of time. There's no getting around this. Waterproofing concrete from the outside is the ONLY way to do it. Physics says so...no matter what Joe Blow the sales guy tries to tell/sell you.

[@leestevens446]

@@JamesBlazen Four feet. Ha, simple answer. Except I hate simple answers. For a basic job on easy, flat ground, the idea is to almost max out the concrete forms used, and 4' forms are most typically used. We have 36" frost depth, and have to keep wood (even treated sills) above finish grade by some increment, so this works on footings or on caissons (the form void will use up the specified height inside the bottom of the forms, say 4'' to 8", but frost heave is not so critical sitting on the caissons). Some cheapo's will use 2' 8" forms with grade beams, but this gets tight in the crawl, I would not do that. The cost is doing the job, the height reduction does not save an equivalent % of cost. With nominal 4', there is room for ducts and drain pipes, and a tradesman can still get around to work reasonably well. We put in permanent lighting and a power plug, even if no equipment in the crawl (then it is code requirement). Now, the variations: because of expansive soils, any job on caissons with a basement has to have a structural floor. This is now mostly an engineered reinforced concrete slab over foam insulation, poured over form void. Then builder's choice as to whether it will be in-floor radiant, in the slab. It is also possible to do a structural wood framed basement floor, hung from the foundation walls (usually with caissons, steel posts and carrying beam) over a crawl space below. Did this only once, when first arrived in Colorado, but probably never again. Foundation wall pour gets really high, and costly. The crawl gets cut to minimum depth, like 18", and then it is a nightmare to work in: there is always at least some plumbing, and a sump system. This becomes an orphan space, out of sight/ out of mind. Not all that great a scenario, but it does not ever heave, which is critical. And, yet more. Pretty much all jurisdictions here are limiting % of lot that is covered, limiting height (in several aspects) and limiting floor area built. In our culture (especially here) everyone wants max size, so basements are in. Interesting thing about the building codes, any space with highest ceiling height LESS THAN 6' 8" is not "habitable space", and not counted as floor area. The last large project was 10.5k sq ft, on the permit. In fact, there was about 1k sq ft of floor area inside the altered/ added to foundation, that was purposefully built at 6' 7" from top of full floor slab to finished ceiling. Most was used for the mechanicals and other equipment. Legally a crawl space, but full exterior insulation and very nicely finished off. The point? All jobs are designed with a large array of factors clearly in mind. Not just owner needs and desires, but also soils, frost, water, surrounding terrain, mechanical systems, structural considerations, insulation strategies, planning regulations, building codes, and so forth. FWIW: my original stand-alone comment on our basement strategies got sort of mangled in posting the "Reply". Just noticed it, and think I got it edited and corrected. It came out somewhat unintelligible on the first go-round.

[@greendodge98]

I am so glad you did this video. Please keep them coming!!!!

[@Lenser]

Grading grading grading...

[@manillafresh57]

grading helps, but still won’t stop water from coming in if you have cracks.

[@jackjmaheriii]

The concrete is going to crack and when it does, even the best roll-ons won’t save you. If you’re in an area that has anything less than stellar drainage, having a drainage mat is incredibly important.

[@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb]

Amen. Spend money keeping water away, not from seeping thru.

[@augustreil]

@@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb that's why when we do basement walls we have spray on tar and then 8 mil plastic applied and then two inches of foam on top of that and then backfill the foundation with nothing but Stone with drain pipes at the bottom.

[@sparksmcgee6641]

If you build a good foundation it will span the crack. Look at the deformation of the product.

[@MattNis1]

Shouldn’t have so much space between the sections of dimplemat

[@DrivingWithJake]

Looks great to see, it also sounds right. Why try and go back and replace it. I almost bought a place like this the whole basement suite was 3 walls underground and it had a moist smell in it which I am sure was due to not being 100% water tight.

[@michiganengineer8621]

Other than a (relatively) minor cost aspect, now that the Polywall roll on is a nice neutral gray, why WOULDN'T you coat all of the concrete? Personally, I think it looks at least as nice as the bare, poured concrete wall. And if you were to cover it anyway with some form of siding it would STILL make sense.

[@mycool8980]

JW do y'all have radon in Texas?

[@TheIcyhydra]

8:30 can't just randomly dump rocks on a liquid rubber coat... it's going to chip it ... lol

[@IT-TechExpert]

Great video Matt, awesome info from Jake as well. I had a question? can you use the waterproof coat inside the basement ?

[@tullgutten]

Always best to keep the water out instead of blocking it in. But there is a large investment to do the outside but really worth it. You gain insulation value in the wall from drying it and you prolong it's life from rusting rebar away, cracking, frost damadge, mineral depositing that causes the concrete over the years to weaken and crumble. And the innside then gets easy to insulate further and without rotting and water damadge. Some have innside "french drain" where the floor circumference is hacked away and drilled holes to the outside to drain the outside. And you still need to water and damp proof the wall innside 100% before doing anything since the wall will still be wet

[@JeepWranglerIslander]

I'm here because my house is 15 years old and has weeping basement walls when it rains hard and when the snow melts in springtime. Shy of trenching out the exterior walls and redoing it, what are my options?

[@johnhutchison9782]

Nailed it. Trench out the exterior walls and redo it. Seriously though, is it coming in on the wall surface itself or down near the base? Is it block or poured?

[@JeepWranglerIslander]

@@johnhutchison9782 Block. Weeping through slowly, mostly at the base. I'm guessing water logged blocks at the bottom of the wall cause the drain pipe at the footer can't move it away fast enough. Sump runs a lot.

[@JeepWranglerIslander]

@@Sash2016 I'm going to improve my drainage first too. Then paint the inside, then go the extreme route and trench.

[@johnhutchison9782]

@@JeepWranglerIslander good to hear the sump runs a lot so your drain tile is doing it's job but on the bad side you've got an issue with runoff going in the wrong direction, towards the house. When I built in Michigan the soil varied from pea gravel (Lake Huron shoreline on Mackinac Island) to solid clay so there was always a challenge. If you're at the low end of a long slope in the terrain, it may be more difficult to come up with a satisfactory way to channel the water from the exterior wall. Start with what you can control, gutters to move the concentrated runoff away from the house. Digging out the backfill down to the footer would be a worst case scenario, not to mention costly.

[@deerhunter7482]

W R Meadows sells Mel Roll and it is tops .

[@jpbiscaro8694]

Would adding blueskin after the role on doable on top of that to add one extra layer of protection?

[@curtcmiller]

Why not go all the way up the concrete? Wouldn’t it look better than bare concrete?

[@Lenser]

Issue with painting above grade foundation is you have to keep repainting it as it fades over the years. More upkeep.

[@jake.bruton.aarow.building]

I also don't believe the product is UV stable. It isn't meant for about grade. -Jake Bruton

[@KJSvitko]

Homes need to sit higher than the surrounding land. Even a one foot difference slope makes a huge difference. Planning the depth of the basement is important so the house sits higher than the surrounding land.. Sloping the lawn, proper grading, swales and even french drains need to be part of a home landscaping project. Make sure your builder / landscaper makes proper water control and drainage a priority.

[@timothykeith1367]

Absolutely. Most water problems are due to poor site preparation. You should notice a slight grade rise 15 feet away from the foundation. You should plan for drainage during the build and not depend upon sealants to keep water out. I know of a house where the water pressure under the basement slab broke a hole in the concrete floor making a loud pop when the water began pouring in from below. Poor drainage will also cause a slab foundation to crack.

[@appledrains]

Hi Matt. Just love the dream videos

[@AlMai222]

It’s really funny to see all these “high end” and knowledgeable builders almost know nothing about drain tile and perimeter drainage systems. Like where is your sump, or secondary sump if you have the money, where are the rain leaders to complete a double system, cleanouts, etc. Also what’s the point of all that dimple board and coating if it doesn’t raise ABOVE ground level. That’s literally the entire point of installing those 2 things, that’s like if you didn’t install a metal drip edge flashing overtop a window because it didn’t fit the aesthetic. I’m also hoping they are not planning on putting the filter fabric over top of the pipe. This is the biggest no no in the drainage field, apart from of course A. Putting the holes at the top which is completely stupid. And B. Drilling holes in schedule pvc pipe which just makes you look like a Mickey Mouse company. There’s a reason why the products don’t come with holes all around the pipe. Now with those holes in the pipe at the top, you’re going to have more silt coming in to the pipes coming from the top. If you have a proper gravel base underneath the pipe and at least a few feet of gravel over and possibly some fabric on the sides of the trenches (if you’re so worried about the silt) , then you only need the holes at the bottom, which also keeps the water at the correct level. My guess is that they also used 90s for the corners and straight T fittings for the cleanouts/stacks. I’ll give them some slack since they’re from Texas but I mean common it’s 2020 already, installing a super basic perimeter system like the one in this video shouldn’t be considered as a high luxury or new amazing building practice. it’s literally a must for any home with a basement. Houses built a hundred years ago in Canada still to this day have fully working and amazing drainage systems made of clay tiles with not an ounce of dirt in them when done correct.

[@Nphen]

Canada is literally what the United States purports to be metaphorically. Canadians are truly living the (North) American Dream. Watching Canadian builders renovate homes in the snow on "Reno my Reno" made me realize how Canadian construction workers are truly badass - working in the snow like it's nothing, then going out boating and for a beer. Cheers!

[@mattgrizz1153]

Love this! I’ve been doing lots of research for waterproofing from outside and this system I can do myself on my almost 100 year old house I just bought

[@KidFreshie]

How did your waterproofing project turn out?

[@Stickmanght]

So great to see a project from my hometown of Columbia Missouri featured on this channel. I've often wondered if there was any other contractors who watch this channel here. Basements and water intrusion is a big issue here as there is lots of streams, groundwater, and natural springs here. Lots of folks here have leaky basements. Making this video highly relevant.

[@KJSvitko]

It would be interesting to interview a landscaping contractor and see how much they consider about drainage, swales, sloping and water movement when they come in after a home is built.

[@75thshootist]

When doing landscaping you need to maintain a 1/4" slope away from the house.

[@mlhm5]

If you completely wrap the footer pipe in the filter fabric, unless you are in very sandy soil like Florida (and IMO you should use Easyflow), the filter fabric will retard the water from entering the footer pipe and with clay type soils over a short time will seal off the footer pipe because the filter fabric will become clogged with fine silt. The proper way is gravel, footer pipe with holes pointed down, a layer of filter fabric loosely covering the top of the footer pipe, and gravel to grade. Do not encase the perforated pipe in fabric.

[@shaneyoung72]

I'd like to see the detail at the ground level and the top of the dimple mat.

[@joewinkler2168]

Whst would you recommend for a wood basement coating? Henry Blue skin WP200 is what I'm looking at. Grest video as always!

[@gsb5050]

I was taking a bet in my head how long it would take for Matt to say “bomber”

[@HickoryDickory86]

Same. 😂

[@JOSEPH-vs2gc]

he's literally the only person i know who uses that expression lol.. must be a texas thing.

[@ryanroberts1104]

@@JOSEPH-vs2gc Seems to be an "old guy too religious to cuss" thing. Not sure how this started...definitely seen the symptoms before.

[@Smokey420Greenleaf]

how exactly is this an "easy" process? it takes a hell of a lot of time and money to have someone dig your foundation out like this, and in a lot of cases in cities, the houses are too close together to get machinery in to dig around the foundation to begin with. i have priced this type of work for customers in the past and the lowest price i've ever been quoted to dig a foundation out for exterior work like this was over $10,000. while i agree that this is the best way to waterproof a home, its not cheap or easy at all, and only gets 10 times worse when dealing with an existing house as opposed to new construction.

[@dashriprock5720]

100% agree with your philosophy of redundancy. I appreciate your dedication to quality work.

[@buildshow]

Appreciate that!

[@nieldcreek2098]

Matt, The guest on this show has made this episode one of the best that you have put out in quite a while 👍

[@jlydon29]

They private label this product from Polycoat. A lot of companies do.

[@stevenkryptonite1641]

Ok.., i love the fact my state is finally being represented i live in Ellisville, Missouri an ive lived her all my life an live below grade an next to a creek..with a half basement/ garage... an the french drains are way overwhelmed in most heavy rain storms.. if i could pick your brain for water management, please contact me through here

[@michaelcrenshaw9228]

I’m a commercial waterproofer with over 20 years experience. Great advice. Don’t cheap on waterproofing your foundation. And don’t use dry lock. It will just cost you more to remove it later.

[@MrPeterschmit]

Great process and presentation sir. This should be the standard by which all other waterproofing jobs are judged. I have 2 questions that I'd love to have answered. 1 Why don't they always use that sdr type of ridgid drain tile? Its way better than the corrugated shit in many ways. And, why don't you install clean-outs? Anyway, great video.

[@TannerRoberts-k2i]

I'm curious about the fluid applied membrane's ability to accommodate shrinkage cracks (or differential settlement cracks...) in the concrete which will inevitably show up. How large a crack can the material withstand before it ruptures? Love the belt and suspenders approach. Agree 100%. The cost of removing landscaping, fences, concrete walks, etc. to access a crack can far exceed the cost of adding a measure of redundancy in the system.

[@mjsumidaful]

Is this the same method if you did a basement dig out and wanted waterproofing?

[@MrMrSaldana]

If wall and footing shift slightly would that blue joint then become useless..

[@A.R.B.J.]

Jake's an excellent instructor.

[@COLONELDRIVER]

Rubber coating? What about if the concrete cracks? Do yourself a favor - go with Melroll 60 mil elastomeric glue on sheets. Been using for 20 years never had a go back. Props on the PVC top drilled tho. Corrugated pipe should be illegal

[@carlotta4th]

Man it is SO hard to find damp/waterproofing videos that actually show and explain everything so I appreciate your work here! My only question from your video is did you put the grey coat on the side of the footings as well, or just on the top? Also as a note I've seen other videos extend the dimple board to go just over the top edge of the footing ...and that seems to make sense (directing the water even further from the crack where the walls meet footer). But I do like how you sealed your crack.

[@TheNativeTwo]

My property has a water table 0-6 ft below grade. There is always water below the house in the crawl space. I would like a basement, I just don't see how it is possible. The land is flat, so I would be constantly pumping water out. No way to drain by gravity alone.

[@alexanderjamieson7971]

What about adding rigid foam insulation between the rubberized coating and the dimple board?

[@battlebotts]

Spray bed liner to waterproof, and bomb proof,

[@augustreil]

With an 8 mill plastic laid over it, then 2'' foam board.

[@leestevens446]

Be sure to marry the very wealthy heiress, first.

[@genecarden780]

Typical waterproofing installation, VERY poor installation of the sealant before coating. The sealant ne3ds to be tooled much better.

[@bryanrussell6679]

Looks like they're putting the dimple mat on backwards. Otherwise a great approach.

[@WinmanDesigner]

I used tar, plastic, a ton of gravel and a drain pipe. This is high tech. Lots of great pointers. I might buy some of the products.

[@michaelhowell8990]

How many 5 gal buckets were used on this 26x26 ft square foundation?

[@chrisdesimone4249]

Hi, would you compact the back fill every 2 feet? Thanks

[@lucaskiser3294]

That will keep the salt from getting in. That spalling is a funny thing. Great video.

[@ericbross-f5e]

Anyone know the recommended cure time for the concrete before applying the poly guard?

[@whattheschmidt]

I have had 2 basement leaks, nothing major in my house in the 4 years I have had it. 1 was because a gutter was clogged at the front corner...easy fix. The other is a persistent drip of water (in long medium / heavy rains) in the utility corner of the basement. I have tried a couple things to lesson this but nothing has worked yet. I think I am SOL since destroying the patio to dig down 6 feet would be super expensive. The leak is 6-30oz of water each heavy rain. Great to know how to build if I do build a house in the future!

[@leestevens446]

I have used Waterplug hydraulic cement for leak repair, very successfully. Not a surface coating, it is intended for specific water passages that must be stopped. Sets very fast, everything at cool temperatures is essential. Worth a try. Home Depot has a competitor product: www.homedepot.com/p/DRYLOK-Fast-Plug-10-lb-Hydraulic-Cement-00924/100171483

[@mattklein5498]

Guys wiping the sealant with a rag? its a flat wall, use a margin trowel and strike it to the flat surface. The fillet bead? why don't you tool it into the joint with a rounded off putty knife if you don't have caulking tools.

[@calebbarker9366]

This sounds ridiculous. No one is stupidest enoigh to believe that this isn't just a commercial form this product and sounds way too labourus

[@richardglazer7813]

Jake is a great speaker. Great product.

[@martianmanhunter4363]

I don’t get why stop the rubber coating where you did . If you get a 3” to 4” inch rain fall where the water doesn’t drain fast enough you get water soaking on the none coated purist concrete and let water behind your rubber coating .why not just take it all the way up ? Is it going to increase your cost significantly for the extra 2’ to 3’ ?

[@RobertMOdell]

if you have gutters, a frost shelf, and a footing French drain, the dimple mat is quite redundant.

[@Woodstock320]

I just found this video and I am wondering. Don't you need termal insulation if you have four seasons? I mean in europe we use it even on basement walls like that.

[@na2305]

Doing this should be a standard qnd required practice for qll basements

[@Smokey420Greenleaf]

why aren't we talking about the price points for having this kind of work done? i've been a mason for 25 years now, done pretty much every type of basement waterproofing you can imagine, and while i agree this is the best way to do it, the costs involved are too prohibitive, especially when it's an existing house that has had it's foundation buried for 20+ years. to do this work on the average house in my area, including materials and labor, would easily cost the home owner upwards of $60,000, and require almost a month of labor and machinery.

[@KidFreshie]

That seems like a lot! Why so expensive?

[@jayce0015]

Does the footing and foundation also have waterproofing membrane?

[@boedillard8807]

I don't know anything about construction so this is just a question - why don't they put in 2 drain pipes in case on clogs?

[@allanchong4772]

we did much the same thing on basement that was entirely below grade. it was connected to walk-out garage that previously had major weeping issues which is why I researched all the options. I think it was peel and stick, drain panel, then gravel and filter fabric. homemade drains out of thicker pvc pipe with holes drilled ourselves all inside a filter sock. Landscape pipe looked like it would crush. I put a lot of drains to daylight under the slab and put the whole thing on 1ft+ of gravel. AND a sump pump in a deep corner too. a big difference is that I spent an extra 25% on the concrete to get Xypex waterproof concrete. crystals that swell up with water and seal all the holes. We knew it was good when it rained all winter before we framed and the basement filled with water that would not drain, even through the cold joint. waterproof concrete works well. I could probably have done without everything else, but like he said, it's a belt and suspenders type of thing. All the preexisting weeping problems disappeared from the rest of garage and foundation under house nearby too. I think previously, the clayey soil had resulted in the foundation sitting permanently in water retained soil, and doing the basement like that lowered the entire water table around house.

[@nofurtherwest3474]

how has it been performing? any issues?

[@kenkurtz9899]

@Matt Risinger, this is a great system for a new build. What if you had an existing 1979 home with block basement walls that needs a waterproofing problem to be fixed. What do you recommend?

[@viewthoughmyeyes]

He never answers anybody's questions. Too busy making new videos I guess.I have the exact same issue for a client on the 1979 Built home. I did the best I could with excavating their front yard to pull a negative slope away from the house foundation basement wall added 4 10 ft smooth pipe drainage directly from downspouts away from the house to a 100 ft corrugated pipe with filter fabric around it all the way across the front yard. Then waterproofed the shit out of the concrete block wall with 3 spray coats of drylock. 1 top coat with polyurethane then added 10 I-beam with brackets gorilla brace to push the wall back straight from Bowing in the middle of the wall. It's not straight yet hopefully one more year of tightening those bolts down will do it. There was a 2.5" bow at my greatest point. Now the bow is less than 1.5" and down to .5" in some areas mostly towards the end. Entering the second year now. So far no reports of the wall leaking water as before was a small River coming inside.

[@KidFreshie]

Hey Ken! Did you finish your waterproofing job? How did it turn out?

[@jhayes1189]

Is this coating similar to Gaco patch? A siliconized industrial roof coating.

[@AntonioLopez-xp9ty]

How much per/sqft? Thanks.

[@jason-ge5nr]

i want more. i want to see videos about basement dewatering retrofit stuff.

[@peterbeyer5755]

In Australia we have a product called Dincel, designed in Australia by a civil engineer Mr Dincel, it is a stay in place formwork which when filled with concrete is %100 per cent waterproof. There is no requirement for rubberised coatings, drainage barriers etc. it is actually used to make water tanks and chemical holding tanks. This is a brilliant product.

[@joeyc.1854]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fYS3eGdvm62lnc0

[@changetocome100]

Anyone know where to get that non permeable black stuff on the wall???

[@BeardedBrad92]

What’s your favorite way to protect tubs during construction?? Would love to see a video on protecting tubs, windows, doors

[@showtimebabies]

jake crushed it

[@johnwhite2576]

This stuff is early expensive ;figure jake needs 1000 sq feet- at $600 per drum 5 gallons; 50 sq feet per gallon for 30 ml coat; so thats $12,000 PLUS another few hundred for the gun flashing of holes, divers etc.

[@johnwhite2576]

correction price now pushing $16,000 for that size job-JUST for material , no0 labor or shipping....

[@bulatdavlet5141]

Why they dont use special preforated pipes for drain systems? Its expensive to waste workers paid hours for pipe drilling.

[@augustreil]

They have them, not sure why they didn't use them ?

[@zaneturner4478]

That special pipe as you call it is thin wall and very easily collapsed after a short time from the weight of back fill settling. Use sechule 40 drain pipe drill holes and place them on the bottom with gravel and fabric back fill and no more problems.

[@ctg18158]

@@zaneturner4478 You can buy schedule 40 with holes.

[@iamthemoss]

Two kinds of basements, those that are leaking water and those that will leak water.

[@vprrealtor6244]

Why wasn't this the standard practice for houses with a basement?

[@JC-tc7uh]

Built 6 years ago and used a similar product called Rub-R-Wall with a dimple mat. The rubber is able to stretch slightly for small cracks. Came with a lifetime warranty. Hopefully I never need to find out if they honour it.

[@Mark-bh8zo]

any type of product for the interior side of you can't excavate?

[@connie9567]

This is wonderful for new homes but what about older homes?

[@FlankCobra]

And how it has to be done with insulated foundation where winter line is 1,5m ?

[@brandonv8721]

I may be blind but did I see no shoring up for pit collapse?

[@jasongannon7676]

I have fixed so many leaking basements. Y O Y does this still happen with to days tec.

[@augustreil]

No kidding right ? It's so easy with today's materials.