My House is Leaking | AMERICAN HOUSING

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In today's video, I discover that my new American house is leaking.
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[@Fridge56Vet]

I wouldn't mess around, I'd get a basement guy out there. Also, it may help to put in window wells outside the basement windows. And definitely extend that downspout - either on the surface or buried (French drain) - to dump the rain water further away from your foundation.

[@brandondavis7777]

Yeah, if you don't do this professionally or regularly, don't "wing it".

[@hstteacher]

You might want to consider glass block windows in the basement. Best of luck!

[@josephcote6120]

Agree. The whole idea is to make the water move away. Longer extensions on the downspouts. Modify landscaping to encourage the water to move away from the house; or maybe a French drain system (worth reading about at least.) As great as basements are, they are also a nuisance.

[@marklar7551]

You could try collection barrels if you plan to garden or water your lawn in July/August if it is dry. Easiest place to start is making sure the grade level at the structure is higher than anyplace else, but get the pros on the phone, get estimates. I suggest you act like you aren't getting estimates and say you need to check with the wife, or vice versa if she is talking to them.

[@commodoresixfour7478]

How about clean the gutters!

[@mendyviola]

Priority #1 - make sure your gutters and downspouts are clean, and divert the water as far away from your foundation as possible (down spout extenders, French drains, etc). The ground should grade away from the house. If drywall gets wet, cut it out above the waterline so it doesn’t get black mold.

[@markholm7050]

Gutter screens are a good idea if leaves accumulate in the gutters. Beats cleaning them all the time, especially with a two story house where cleaning gutters is literally a death defying job..

[@penihavir1777]

I did this when I bought my house. No more water issues, and I did it myself. For every 12” horizontal, you should have a 1” drop in unpacked areas, preferably up to 5 feet from the foundation (or to the lot line, whichever comes first). If it’s paved and it’s sealed between pavement and foundation, you can go with 1” drop every 5 feet. Remember that in places like the “narrow area,”, you’ll want to have that same ratio of drop along the path to whichever end of the yard is lower, so after the water gets 2 feet from the house, it doesn’t just sit there. It’s a lot of digging, and figuring out where you’ll put the dirt you dug out, but well worth the effort. And, as stated elsewhere, you can’t seal the inside to fix the problem. You could invest in having a “drain tile” installed, but start with fixing the outside to see whether more is needed. Bonus: aside from hard labor, exercise, a good wheelbarrow and a couple shovels, it doesn’t cost anything. Note: Get 2 shovels - a flat-ended one and a “spade” (pointy). Shovel for removing sod, etc; spade for digging deeper in dirt, digging out gravel, etc.

[@AnnieWarbux]

All those colors of muck can actually be fungus growing as the mold matures.. fungus Can look like spider webs as it networks, out!! next there'll come mushrooms!! Deadly deadly stuff!!

[@vote4carp]

I can't echo this suggestion enough. We had a leaky basement corner and by simply extending our downspout a bit farther away, all leaks stopped.

[@bushpilot223]

Lawrence, unfortunately there is a lot more damage than meets the eye here. That moisture that’s coming into your “boiler room” and laundry room is also coming in other areas around the footing of your basement. Since you have a “finished basement”, meaning you have Sheetrock, wood paneling on the walls, baseboard, trim and wood framing behind all of that, it is hiding this. But it is also absorbing and holding that moisture and it will and most certainly has already started to mold, which is actually quite dangerous. I would highly recommend getting a reputable local contractor in there to give you a recommendation on what to do. Ignoring the issue will cause vast amounts of damage and possibly cost you tens of thousands dollars. Tackling the issue now might be as simple as ripping off a few pieces of Sheetrock and baseboard and doing some minor repairs, mold remediation, or maybe resin injections into foundation wall At the very least, like some other commenters have stated, try to sort out your gutter drainage. Those "green boards" are called splash blocks and are supposed to be running away from the foundation, they prevent the water coming from the gutter downspouts from draining directly against your foundation and help push it away and prevent erosion and seepage

[@SlimThrull]

Also, a good dehumidifier will help with excess water in the basement. This is only a stop gap measure, though.

[@ixchelkali]

And it's not just the potential expense of ignoring it, it's also the potential for very serious and chronic health problems from exposure to the mold.

[@becpennington7470]

Agreed. The baseboards are certainly hiding moisture. I would have to find out if there are french drains at the foundation and if they are actually still functioning. The gutters need to be assessed and drainage diverted much farther away from the foundation. The soil around the foundation is not graded properly either.

[@Tsunamidragon17]

I live in the Midwest and we had to get our basement sealed by a contractor where they came and dug up around the house to put a coat of a tar like substance on the basement walls and then redid the drainage around the house. We also had a sump pump in our laundry room that we had to plug in during heavy rain to help drain the water table under our home so it wouldn't flood. Mold is defiantly something you want to tackle now and not leave, the long term effects of it are hazardous. We had to gut our basement and get it redone cause we had mold start to grow in the walls before we had the walls sealed. The sooner you handle something like this the less it will cost you in the long run. Good luck.

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

That old there is no footing. More than likely it's brick on hard pack sand or on stone rubble.

[@amyfisher6380]

Laurence, you’re lucky you have viewers who have experience with American houses and can give you lots of advice. 👍

[@amyfisher6380]

@Nicky L I don’t think so, this is their first house.

[@Augrills]

@@amyfisher6380 Everyone is giving him different advice and half of it is bad, lol. Honestly, this ain’t a pretty problem. You need to figure out the situation with the gutters first and get water flowing away from the house. Then you’re going to have to go the basement and pull up the baseboards and knock down drywall to really know the extent of the damage. And god forbid there is so much damage you need foundation work done on this very old house.

[@giraffesinc.2193]

Agreed!

[@mariejustme]

Welcome to the untold joys and misery’s of home ownership. My motto is “It’s always something.” 😂

[@evan-edstrom]

I'm fairly familiar with this stuff. A few things: 1: That is a sump pump, but not installed correctly. What is usually done is to cut a hole in the floor, dig down a couple feet, install a plastic perforated basin, preferably surrounded with rock, and put the pump inside. It pumps out as the water fills up, and gives somewhere for ground water to go before getting to your floor. 2: One option would be to put a groove all the way around the inside perimeter so that water runs around and collects in this basin. 3: The most important first step is to reduce water that falls on the soil near your house. This means sloping soil so it doesn't tilt towards your house. Then digging a trench, putting a pipe in, and piping the downspouts so they come out where they can run away from your house. The pipes must slope the correct way. 4: Window wells may help. This is a way of recessing basement windows so that the soil around them can still slope the proper way, while providing a lip to keep water from falling in. 5: Foundation waterproofing products exist, but are best installed on the outside of the foundation walls. This is not practical for existing houses generally. 6: Sealing leaks from inside can sometimes work, but usually when you patch one the water just finds another way in. 7: Roof looks good from what you showed. Have a roofer come give you an opinion on venting. It is important and something that many older homes lack in. Feel free to message for further help if you want. I'm also knowledgeable with furnaces and water heaters.

[@elkevera]

You are either a home constructor/builder or underground utility/pipe layer. I hope Laurence gets in contact with you.

[@GregoryLindsey1979]

I was going to mention the sump pump; I’ve never seen one without a proper sump pit.

[@evan-edstrom]

@@elkevera Builder indeed!

[@elkevera]

@@evan-edstrom I am married to a veteran pipe layer for 30 yrs and I was self employed in WA State doing new construction cleaning. Watch, listen and learn 😂

[@brrjohnson8131]

This is good advice! evan. Commenting for the algorithm.

[@alschroeder1724]

First things first….downspout extend further from house wall (green things are splash blocks; these are to face away from wall), second check gutters, clean them and downspouts, add dirt to slope ground from walls, fill in low spots….typical thing for Midwest houses, ground settles and water is sneaky…it finds ways in. Welcome to home ownership!

[@kristinehoya7396]

This is excellent advice, Laurence. I hope you see his comment. !!!!

[@joeblow812]

This is exactly what you need to do 👍🏼

[@drewcasani2212]

You may also put plastic window well covers over the basement window wells.

[@authenticpoppy]

This is the best advice. Most of the stuff is DIY that should be done on the regular. Even if you miss a year, it's not going to be a disaster. Sometimes the house even settles again and corrects itself. I wouldn't count on that, but it happens.

[@elaineskurski6555]

I agree. I had water in my basement cause I needed the green extension. To make sure it did not fall off I got it screwed to the downspout. If not long enough you can connect 2 together. I also bought a water alarm that connects to app on my phone

[@michaelsherck5099]

A "sump" is a pit in the floor of the basement, often with a wooden or plastic cover so the dog or a child can't fall in. The "sump pump" is a pump in the bottom of the sump. Should the basement accumulate a quantity of water (washing machine overflow, water heater leak, etc.) it will flow into the sump and the pump will evacuate it into the sewer or into a separate well out in your yard.

[@DrRChandra]

I thought sumps were for water draining from under and around the foundation. Any washing machine overflow would typically go into that floor drain that we saw. That's the way it is in my basement; the concrete was poured and finished such that it slopes gently towards my floor drain.

[@AnnieWarbux]

My parent's sump pump still had a little hole of an opening in its sewer cap thing/lid. My brother dropped Lincoln Logs in there, back in the 70s. They had issues with the pump but, I never ratted on my brother until years later when my dad was about to get it replaced. He laughed, thinking that the Lincoln Logs would've broke down, long ago. The men replacing the sump, did indeed pull out Lincoln Logs!! 40 years and they survived! What the hell were we playing with, in those days???😳

[@blutorlz3]

The child falling in part is quite a real risk. Known a home where a boy did perish in a sump pit.

[@Brynnthebookworm]

My childhood home had a sump pump. They didn't tell us before we moved in, but it was necessary because the house was built on top of a natural spring. The basement was absolutely never fully dry even with the pump running most of the time.

[@word42069]

@@DrRChandraThat’s true to a certain extent but it also serves to drain anything on the floor of the basement… and that drain in your basement you described may very well just drain into the sump… to be expelled via the sump pump which is a fantastic name.

[@lioninwinter9316]

Step one you can do yourself. Get all the roof drains away from the house. Extend away with additional spouts. Part 2 is to install drainage tile/pipe around the house to move any additional water away. Some digging and DIY from you tube could do it. After that you'll need a pro.

[@Unsensitive]

French drains are relatively easy to do, if you are good with a shovel, or not and have a couple weekends. Either way, if you're taking the time to grade it, I'd just do the drains too.

[@drewcasani2212]

Be sure to keep your gutters clear, too!

[@GregoryLindsey1979]

Installing drainage tile as a DIY project might be a major pain if his soil is as clay-filled as ours is… last time I did anything requiring major digging my back was screaming in agony the next day!

[@nilus2k]

All good points but the other thing you has to realize for the area he is in is that you are still maybe gonna get a little seepage in your basement so just plan for it. Don’t put expensive floor down and make sure nothing you can’t replace is on the floor of the basement. Installing carpeting in your basement is just asking for record rain fall.

[@nilus2k]

@Richard Cranium I’m my experience with these old Chicago burb houses, they likely don’t have a French drain system. There isn’t a an actual sump in the house, the pump he points out in the video is just sitting on the floor.

[@robertharper5859]

Welcome to the world of home ownership! The general idea with wet basements is to direct rainwater away from the foundation. All your downspouts should have extenders to move the water well away from the house. The ground around the perimeter should be graded away from the house. If the problem is persistent, look into perimeter drains (sometimes called French drains). There is a product called Dry-Loc that can be painted on cement walls that helps stop water penetration. I hope this helps! Robert from New York

[@susanwillingham2295]

Definitely get a professional to check the basement for water tightness and install the sump pump correctly. A dehumidifier is also a good idea. Better to spend a little on fixing things up now rather than wait and risk a bigger mess later.

[@briandugger9402]

I don’t know how to stop the water, but noticed you had one or two window air conditioners laying on their backs, those should be kept stored in the same orientation as they would be in the window, oil in the compressors can go places it shouldn’t and cause trouble when you try to turn them back on. Love your channel, I wish you all the best!

[@ballisonfargo]

You'll want to extend those downspouts so the rainwater doesn't go right into the foundation.

[@tomblanar2592]

You do indeed have a sump pump but from the appearance I does not appear to be installed correctly. A submersible pump is typically placed at the bottom of a "crock" recessed into the floor at a low point to collect any water. Once the water gets deep enough in the crock (maybe 12" or so) the pump turns on and discharges out the attached hose. Hopefully that hose is routed somewhere outside and away from the foundation. You don't want it just seeping back into the basement only to be pumped out again, route it to where it will flow away from the house naturally. The fact that your washer and dryer are built up off the floor is a red flag to me. I suspect the previous owner has had issues with the basement flooding and the wooden platform is their attempt to keep the appliances high enough that they won't get flooded (again?). Welcome to the wonderful world of home ownership.

[@lindaosterritter7742]

Coming from Pittsburgh I can tell you that is NOT a proper Pittsburgh potty. If it was it would be in middle of the basement with no walls. LOL

[@juzoli]

It is pretty much impossible to seal basement floors/walls after it is built. It needs to be sealed from the outside, which would require digging. The second best option is to divert the water outside, so it doesn’t pool and soak around the wall. Also keep the wet wall open, to get some airflow, to avoid mold.

[@ritabroils6190]

Didn't you all get a home inspection before purchase? Maybe have someone come and educate you on the sumpump.

[@dianayount2122]

they can be a buddy of the realtor so they get the house sold.

[@ritabroils6190]

@@dianayount2122 hopefully he can find an honest one.

[@Unsensitive]

​@@dianayount2122 they can Also have their pants sued off for that. Either way, hire your own inspector, not through your realtor.

[@lindaedwards6683]

At the end of your downspout there were two splash blocks. Put one under that downspout so that it directs the water away from the house. Right now the water from the downspout is landing on the ground next to your house, and the water is finding its way into your basement. Put the other splash block under any other downspout that currently doesn't have one. But you still should get your foundation checked. Also, regarding the leaves, I'd just ignore them another month and they'll get mulched up when you mow your lawn the first time. Welcome to Chicagoland springs! Ain't homeownership fun?!

[@cherriberri8373]

I second all of this. Idk why more people didnt mention cleaning the gutters and fixing the splash blocks. More people talking about leveling the soil around the house, as if there is enough space around the house for him to do that all that effectively.

[@DarkandStormyNight01]

Those green things stacked under your down spout are splash guards/blocks. Their sole purpose is to direct water AWAY from the house. Right now they're directing rain along side/to the foundation. You only need one (not the 2 stacked) under your downspout, open end pointing away from your house & foundation to direct the rain away from the house.

[@kristinesharp6286]

Put some small rocks under to slightly elevate the end by the house so the water goes away from the house. It’s going to rain a couple days.

[@geebrewer8186]

I noticed that, they need to be pointed out, away from the house, really strange the way they are just directing the water towards the window

[@elfrog98]

This. My basement floods really only when my downspouts fall off. You also would want to add the extra straight part at the bottom, those were short.

[@geebrewer8186]

@@elfrog98 on a house I owned once, I went to HD and picked up those black accordion like hoses, found a size that would fit over the bottom of the gutters, purchased enough to extend them about 4' away from the house on each gutter. Worked fine, didn't look as nice, but compared to wet, moldy area under the house, looks aren't everything.

[@elfrog98]

@@geebrewer8186 definitely. Now that you mention it, one corner of my house has two of those (it's an awkward spot where the enclosed porch roof almost meets the corner of the house, so they're right next to each other) except mine are white. Can always put in some hostas/peonies/etc depending how much room there is, if the resident doesn't like them!

[@milesparris4045]

A quick, cheap, and easy start to addressing that downspout issue would be to rake away all the leaves and stones and bring in a little topsoil to slope water away from the wall, and move the downspout somewhere that the water runs well away from the house. Same with anywhere water stands, either lower the ground so water will run off somewhere else or add soil near the house (or both if needed).

[@sage0925]

You could do with a french drain around your house.

[@kristinehoya7396]

We had to put a french trench around the house. Combined with the sump pump it did a good job keeping out the water. Not sure Laurence has the same situation though. We lived in a "trough" where all the neighborhood's water ran down and across our property.

[@sage0925]

@@kristinehoya7396 I live in high desert with tons of snow in winter. If you don't have a french drain in this area, you're asking for trouble. Every spring (before we put in the drain), we'd have a lake in the side yard from thaw runoff, and it threatened the foundation of the house. We got a Ditch Witch, some geo-cloth, and a couple dumps of drain rock, and built some "burritos" (poor man's french drain) to drain off in the side yard. Not a bit of problems since. Every time we build something (woodshed, root cellar, etc), we put in a "burrito" french drain. I'm a big fan of overkill. I'm not sure we could go with a sump anyway. Temps really cold in winter.

[@soulsurvivor3067]

Watching this video, I couldn't help but think that you are just like your old man (sorry for your loss) with a house and a garden in the back and how proud he must have been of you and your success.

[@nolongeramused8135]

For a remodel consider putting in a set of stairs to the attic space, replacing the insulation with some manufactured in the last 40 years, and put a floor over it. That will give you storage space and even a hobby room if you want to finish the space up.

[@johnhaller5851]

One of the interesting systems for that actually comes from the UK, called loftzone. It raises floor with enough space for proper insulation under it. If you order it in the US, it comes air freight from the UK. It's mostly plastic, so not too expensive to ship.

[@diannt9583]

I think that room is his wife's office. There may not be room for stairs plus the office, especially considering code for stairs requires a lot of space. (Moving the office into the attic would be not conducive to any ambient light). My old house had a pull-down ladder in the ceiling of the hallway. It folded out to a stable ladder for going up and down - and folded up and out of the way when not in use.

[@nolongeramused8135]

@@diannt9583 Perhaps, but I've seen contractors find way to put stairs in for basement and crawlspaces that met code. Another option would be to run the stairs up the side of the house, preserving the existing internal layout. I personally wouldn't move an office to the attic unless it was remodeled with some dormers. I'd also want to put in a powder room (maybe a shower if it was large enough).

[@cindystrachan8566]

The downspout drains would possibly work better if the channeled the water away from the house. Whoever put them down put them in sideways. Rotate them so the wide part is away from the house. And something like this, like others have said, needs to be done professionally to prevent damage to your foundation. Good luck!

[@GalaxyFur]

A good service is *Perma-Seal* from what I often hear. They are experts who deal with all things in wet basements. They service the Chicago area. They also have very good reviews. WGN Radio out of downtown Chicago often advertises the service as well. I believe they also give free estimates. 🙂

[@fugithegreat]

Even before you showed the exterior, I figured that you really need to extend the drain pipe further away from the foundation so heavy rains won't seep down directly inside. Also check to make sure there are no clogs and leaks in the gutters.

[@lynngordon5901]

Get yourself a leaf blower. WAY easier to clean up those leaves. Blow them into piles and then rake into the leaf bags. You’ll find lots of reasons to use it- for basic yard clean-ups, it’s fantastic. They have electric ones - cheap, easy, no maintenance. You may need a sump pump for the basement. Just sealing it may not be enough. Get a few bids, quotes and options from a few good dry basement companies and go from there. You’ll want to do this before the Spring rains and Summer thunderstorms begin.

[@bob_._.]

THOSE leaves aren't just going to blow away; they're last Fall's crop, now very wet and well on their path of decay here in early Spring. Laurence would have to spend two or three days with a leaf blower to dry them enough to blow into piles and I'm not sure how his neighbors might respond to that.

[@Unsensitive]

​@@bob_._. the obvious answer is to use a shovel and toss onto your neighbors property.

[@joshuagenes]

Stupid Leaf Blowers Noisy as Fuck! Lessons on how to tick off your neighbors!

[@LindaC616]

Actually, there were notices in the fall to leave them if possible for wildlife

[@GregoryLindsey1979]

I can’t stress the importance of a properly-installed sump pump enough; it seriously relieves the pressure of waterlogged soil against the foundation, and getting a pit professionally dug and the pump installed is pretty inexpensive. (Although if you can spend the extra cash for one with a battery backup, definitely do that; it saved my Mom’s basement from flooding during a power outage a few years back!)

[@virginiapudelko6280]

French drains are your friend for moving water away from your foundation. The window wells are a fantastic idea as well. After you get the water issue taken care of you should also seal the inside of the basement AND get a dehumidifier to keep the moisture down. You do NOT want to be dealing with black mold. You could also get some plywood boards cut to fit through that attic opening and lay them atop the insulation to create some extra storage.

[@lynngordon5901]

You can place plywood across those beams in the attic and store stuff up there. Just remember, it will get really hot up there in the summer. So don’t store anything that might melt like holiday candles, fragile plastics etc.

[@marklar7551]

Don't overload the trusses. They are made and designed to hold snow weight on top, not thousands of pounds of lumber. Decorations, lightweight lawn stuff for summer, just don't put tons and tons of weight up there, but good for getting things off the floor

[@GrandDuchessAniya]

You also could have a pull-down ladder installed to make access easier.

[@whopops9760]

bad idea if you can do that without smashing the insulation (which you should not do) in your attic your attic needs more insulation you should not be able to see the joists in the attic

[@nolongeramused8135]

That can helped out with the installation of an automatic attic vent fan. You can get something really quiet that will move 1500 cubic feet per minute for about $500. They also help in winter by keeping the humidity down.

[@brianmccarthy5557]

Your attic always needs proper ventilation. If it gets hot enough to melt things you have a major problem. Get proper vents and fans. In the north you need good roof insulation. The last thing you need is a thick snow accumulation on the roof and a hot attic. That will cause an ice dam on the roof. The snow won't shed off and a layer of water will develop under the snow layer. Really bad for the roof. I never liked to see an attic get hotter than about 100°F unless the outside temperature was above that for an extended period. Very unlikely in Chicago. The heat and humidity in the attic should be at a comfortable level. It's not a bad idea to monitor those in your attic. Just have enough vents and fans which are appropriate for your climate. All the heat generated in your house that's not vented outside will go up to ypur attic. In addition you have the heat from the sun on the roof.

[@DH-xw6jp]

1: yes, that is a sump pump . . . but it is missing the "sump" part of the equation. The sump is a lowered basin (or hole) in the floor that the water can flow into to be pumped out. 2: your washer and drier looks lifted off the floor, this is a good hint that the previous owners did indeed have problems with flooding. 3: contouring the ground to slope away from the house will help prevent the puddles that seep into the basement. (this applies to the garage too) 4: extending the gutter drain pipes futher from the house will help too. (so will french drains, they are more expensive but can look really nice.) 5: if you want to use your attic for storage, you can lay plywood sheet across the ceiling beams as a floor, just like the previous owners used that door in the garage.

[@bobbykaralfa]

water in the basement very common thing. concrete itself is pourus and moisture can get thru. sometimes a basement may only be humid. my former house had a partial basement with a drain hole in the lowest corner. and sometimes the basement had water in it but eventually would drain out thru the hole. sure there is a few physical things that can be done but unless the concrete is treated with waterproofing on the inside and out. cant really stop it.

[@lindaedwards6683]

Heh, I've lived in this house for 35 years, and last week was the first time I'd ever gotten up on the ladder, poked up the ceiling tile and looked into the attic. SCARY!

[@flyonthewall8122]

I've been in my house for 15 years & actually would have to be a small child to access my attic space. It's in the roof of my closet & is about 1' square. 🤔

[@malagastehlaate230]

I've lived in this place (rent)... it's a house... for over 10 years... I KNOW there are bats in the attic... so you couldn't pay me enough to go up there! NO not ever.... Now I don't know if they "winter over" or fly south... but my guess is they winter over...

[@harrybryan9633]

Welcome to the joys of home ownership.

[@ASMRPeople]

It's pretty common for midwest basement to have a little seepage on the walls. It's mostly a problem if you have a finished basement. Check your rain utters. It's best if they carry water a few feet away from the foundation or down hill from the foundation. Also next time it start raining heavy look at your utters to make sure none are leaking.

[@Unsensitive]

Maybe need a French drain installed, or grade the land a bit. Also getting the gutter water away is vital. On surface or under if you're already digging for a french drain.

[@suem6004]

We got a in ground sump pump for our basement. Do check with foundation people. Important. I always swore to house hunt on a rainy day.

[@micheledeetlefs6041]

Just out of curiosity, did you have a home inspection before you purchased your house? It's really something you should have before you buy. Homeowners can easily disguise things they don't want to do. In fact, the people from him we bought our house tried to put moving boxes in front of the water heater so that the guy wouldn't inspect it and realize they needed to replace it. Unfortunately for them, it was caught and had to be replaced before we'd purchase the home. Definitely don't try and do the stuff yourself. Go ahead and hire a professional to inspect your house for leeks and make recommendations for improvements. Let the big stuff be done by someone who's a professional. Then you just do the maintenance. You'll save yourself a lot of money in the long run.

[@MsRedsphere]

Michele, Did you mean "should have" rather than "shouldn't have" ? It sadly looks like the previous owner tried to hide that long term leaking behind that cabinet. Some inspectors or homeowners can be held responsible if these problems were not revealed in the sales contract.

[@kristinesharp6286]

@@MsRedsphere when we last sold a home with the realtor came a home warranty for the buyers. I doubt the basement in all areas used by the former homeowners. They may not have known especially with a desk there. The house is fairly ginormous by Chicagoland standards. If they didn’t know they can’t disclose. But honestly water issues are quite common. It really is not a terrible idea to house hunt in the rain. It really depends how much and the time frame of the water to see something in the basement. The ground is quite clay like here. The soil if that was soil is more concerning that just being wet. Maybe just wet dust for years?

[@Road_Rash]

You're considering some type of legal action? You've truly become a real American! Lol! 🤣🤣🤣

[@johnhelwig8745]

Hi Laurence. Congrats on 450K subscribers. Putting in a shower room would be a great addition where that cabinet resided in the laundry room. I too had water coming in my basement. I resolved it simply by extending the downspout 4 feet away from the foundation and adding dirt to divert any water from pooling against the wall. These fixes can be something you could do in an afternoon. There are drain tiles along the footing of the foundation meant to move water, but only so much. If they get saturated, water will find its way into the basement. I also noticed a concrete slab by the back porch. Make sure that it is not sloping towards the house. You can also hire a contractor to solve the water issue by reconfiguring your downspouts, put in a French drain or even replacing the basement windows with glass blocks.

[@TheFoxfirelight]

First. I had this issue. Turned out to be 3 layers of shingles on the roof >_

[@ToniaElkins]

I’m in Illinois too and that storm created a swamp in my backyard. First time in 20 years that’s happened.

[@thenickstrikebetter]

It isn't a true american house unless it's falling apart at the seams

[@jasonwhitley6432]

Nick - not that it really matters but it seems as though you spelled a word wrong.

[@balaam_7087]

I had to tear myself away from the seamy soap opera I’m watching to chime in and say yeah, you’re right about the misspelling.

[@thenickstrikebetter]

I hate when words just change for no reason. I am now starting a petition to change the offical spelling to seems.

[@gea257]

Lawrence, I love your channel. I've lived in the midwest my whole life and have been a homeowner for 30 years. As others have commented, you have a drainage problem, not a leakage problem. It doesn't look like a huge problem, but the previous owners either ignored it or put in ineffective fixes like the stacked downspout splashblocks. Here's what I would do, in order: 1. Get some flexible downspout extensions, one for every downspout in every corner of the house. Use them to divert rainwater as far from the house as you can, preferably onto ground that slopes away from the house, but without creating trip hazards or encroaching on your neighbor's property. Do this before the next major rainfall. This is a temporary fix. 2. Get a landscape or drainage guy to walk around your property and recommend a permanent solution. It may be as simple as a yard or two of backfill, it might involve one or more window wells, or possibly a more expensive drainage system. But you'll get the best advice from someone who can see the situation in person. They can't dig until the snow melts, so schedule that for the spring. 3. Figure out how to clean the basement floor. I'd try blue dish soap, warm water, and a stiff bristle brush for the first pass. You'll also need a wet-vac and a floor squeegee. While you're cleaning you'll want to open the basement windows, which probably haven't been opened in years and might be painted shut. So set aside time to get them operable. Obviously, remove that cabinet and anything else that isn't fastened down or plumbed in. For the second pass, I'd use concrete floor cleaner/degreaser, following instructions on the label. Sounds like a summer job to me. 4. After that you'll know which way the basement floor slopes, so you'll know the best place for a sump pump basin. Decide whether the annoyance of having an 18 inch wide hole in the floor (plus installation cost) balances the benefit of a dry basement. 5. By next fall, the grass seed or sod (turf) that was part of the landscaping will be established, because you dutifully watered it all summer, so it's time to remove the flexible extensions from step 1 and replace them with something nicer looking. Like lengths of downspout or maybe just the splashblocks that you saved in the garage. Other thoughts: I would treat the wet back yard as a separate drainage problem, because the solution for it will be more expensive. Water on the garage floor is no big deal. After all, you wouldn't hesitate to park a wet car there. But water running down the driveway into the garage means the house is downhill from the street, which complicates the drainage situation. A little water on the basement floor is also NBD, though you're right to check it isn't coming from a ceiling or wall. A puddle standing a foot away from a floor drain suggests the floor doesn't slope toward that drain, which is less than ideal, but there's not much you can do about it. But water regularly coming into contact with wood or the inside of a finished wall is a serious problem. I didn't see any of that (other than the cabinet, which has to go) but it seems some other commenters did. Like other commenters I was suprised to see a sump pump sitting on the floor instead of in a sump basin. That would be unusual in other parts of the midwest, but I guess not unusual in Chicago. It's only going to turn on if there's inches of water on the floor; i.e. it's there to mitigate a serious flood. (There's a little float dangling from the side; by lifting it gently you can see how high it will let the water get.)

[@barbaralavoie1045]

Water leaks in homes can be very frustrating, but at least you are on the right track, getting to the root of the cause. Good luck, Laurence❤️👍

[@geofftimm2291]

Didn't you have a full house inspection done before you closed??

[@cachecow]

That didn't look bad at all. It's not like you have to throw a blue tarp over the roof resulting in the devaluation of the homes in your area. You could install French drains, but that's a lot. Look at "Frost King DE300 Standard Plastic Drain Away Downspout Extender" (tm) And for the basement a good elastomeric paint after the place dries out.

[@melissatrick9324]

I've owned a home in Minneapolis and Cincinnati and both had basements. Heavy downpours always resulted in a wet basement. Landscaping and extenders on the downspouts took care of it.

[@patriciaearling1939]

The joys of home ownership.

[@marklar7551]

There are companies that waterproof your basement. What I saw is fairly standard seepage, but you do need to pay to have it stopped or over time your foundation will fail

[@marxmaiale9981]

Another point to add to the list. After cleaning up around the house, start putting down more dirt you want to grade it away from the house. Water should most definitely not pool up outside the house. Your gutters should also have extensions moving the water 6ft from the house (your city will have a specific distance in its housing code)

[@bigred9428]

First, Lawrence, you are driving me crazy! (Well you, and practically all the British). It is "different FROM" not "different TO" -- UGH! Second, vents and fans in the roof can leak like crazy when the rain comes down just right, so you might want to put some big (in surface area) plastic boxes or cheap aluminum pans up there. We have 2 vents and a fan, and the water leaks right through the attic opening all the time. No, of course I haven't taken my own advice.

[@Jeff_Lichtman]

There are things called downspout extenders that you can attach to the downspouts from your gutters to divert the water away from your house. They have them at Home Depot.

[@LeeBerache]

I must say, Laurence, you are surprisingly cool headed about the whole thing. If it were me, I would be panicking!!! Of course, I have a panic attack just opening up mail from an address that I don't recognize. Especially those annoying pieces that are blank one the outside, with only your name and address listed, and NO return address listed. I always expect bad news like "The IRS is auditing you" or "you owe us $5.000.000,000 and we expect payment three days ago!"

[@stephgreen3070]

Definitely you need to extend the drain pipes away from the house. And bank a bit of soil around the foundation to help the rain water run off. Also, if your ground is still frozen, a really hard rain will not sink into the greater lawn but will sit on the soil and eventually find the lowest place to run which is your basement. You may not have many problems once the soil thaws. Our basement in MN always leaks just a bit in the one corner right before the ground thaws but doesn’t leak the rest of the year.

[@markallen3293]

Welcome to American home ownership. You will always be fixing/Maintenace/improvement for the rest of your ownership of your home. Good luck mate. m

[@506363]

A "sump pump" is short for a submersible pump and usually rest in a small well/ hole in your basement floor. It helps keep your basement dry as they have a float that actives the pump.

[@annfrost3323]

Thank you. We bought an 8- year old house up north with a semi-finished basement and I heard about the sump pump but never saw it. People would point to a corner in the basement but I couldn't figure where. I learned now for the first time why is called sump and that it is buried below ground. Amazing. We sold that house 10 years later because we moved out of state. There are no basements in Florida. 👌

[@506363]

@@annfrost3323 I wouldn't say buried more like sitting in a shallow open pit. It's designed to move water away from your lowest point of the house/ basement.

[@annfrost3323]

Yes, I meant is placed below ground not buried.

[@codewarrior007]

Unrelated to the leaking. I think you might have some electrical boxes/equipment in you basement that, if I am right( I might be seeing things) should be replaced. They are behind you at the 7:42 mark. They are kind of blurry but they look like they could be FPE or Federal Pacific breaker box. You can search them up but TL;DR the were sold for a long time, be eventually people found out they had a nasty habit of causing electrical fires or not actually "breaking" the circuit.....like a circuit breaker should do.

[@kristinesharp6286]

Nothing worse or scary than finding water where you don’t expect in the house. Some home issues can be resolved for $20, some for hundreds and some for thousands. It’s so fun to just never know until it happens!

[@biggiejohn3360]

you dont seal basement issues from the inside, you prevent the water from getting there from the OUTSIDE

[@lolacorinne5384]

Ooh Laurence-I’m so excited you talked about Beyond Paradise! I watched episode #1 as soon as your video was over. As a die-hard fan of Death in Paradise, this is a good filler until the next series comes on. Thank you!

[@christaverduren690]

I can't remember (from previous videos) if you said whether or not you had a home inspection done... If you did, then you're like me and you got a really lousy one! Perhaps find a reputable home inspector to do a once over twice on the entire house for everything!! Beyond that, can I just say how fun it was the way you introduced us to the attic by doing old videos introducing you past self over and over!!! And the music of you going up the hall steps to the attic with the ladder was like creepy carnival music setting the stage for a spooky trepidation as you opened the "door" to the attic. SO COOL... *shivers * creepy cool!!

[@gt5228z]

Lawrence, don't let everybody else scare you. These things happen, it's not a huge deal. My advice is to not seal it up. Start outside, do you have gutters? If so, how/where are they draining? Make sure the roof water is being carried to a low spot min 15-20' from the house. This can be done either by using a downspout extension or by trenching a pipe. Next, check for any low spots in your yard that might collect water. If possible, bring soil in to build up your yard as to get water to flow away from the house. If water is still an issue, you can hand trench some drain tyle around the wet areas. Essentially your just giving the water an alternative path to flow rather than inside your foundation. If all else fails, you could have a sump pump and basin installed on the inside. This, with perimeter drain tyle, is only to be used if the other stuff I mentioned is not practical. This will work but can get expensive and requires the constant use of electricity.

[@boggy7665]

Agreed. With the huge rain we had during an already-wet winter/spring season, with that relatively little bit of water in the basement, with the downspouts outside draining right against the house... I'd guess all they need to do is make sure the gutters are clear and to extend the downspout outfalls with plastic pipe. A small amount of water is not something to panic over given the downspout issues & anyway is not unusual in basements of this age.

[@boggy7665]

Watch for structural problems -- cracks that are getting wider or that flex with the moisture content of the soil. Those should be dealt with before they become serious enough to require an exterior excavation. The sights I saw in the video don't worry me much. I'd first and probably only need to deal with the water from the roof in a better way.

[@halfkinrainbolt7041]

I lived in a house for 15 years that had a sump pump. It was in a tube 10 feet down outside my basement. Never heard it, didn't even know if it worked...until it didn't. The year that places that never flooded, did, in my town. We got that fixed RIGHT AWAY. Water seeped in the drain field under the wall. What a mess. We got up up every 2 hours all night long to suction the water up to keep it out of the other two rooms until we could fix it the next day.

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

This isn't too terrible as the area goes, in which I once had a house whose basement would turn into a pond during severe rain. There are various services for dealing with it, depending on the severity of the trouble. In a mild case like this, a system of water channeling baseboards to a suitably located drain may work. As far as easier approaches are concened, channeling external water away from house foundations will be helpful. In extreme cases, external drainage trenches filled with gravel and perforated pipe may be called for. It was a good idea to put the laundry machines up on platforms like yours are. This protects them not only from rain leakage but plumbing leakage including the machines themselves. Getting a dehumidifier appliance if you don't already have one will be helpful in keeping the basement drier. It should be placed so that its condensate water will go into a drain. Excessive humidity in a basement can lead to mold which will form spores that can aggravate allergies or create worse health problems for some people.

[@brianmccarthy5557]

Black mold can actually cause serious problems like premature senility. I've seen it happen. Fix it ASAP.

[@raisinette35]

The dehumidifier is very good advice in addition to the remaining suggestions to divert the water away from the house and definitely consult with professionals. This is not worth being penny-rich and pound-foolish. The consequences of making amateur mistakes on such an issue can be quite serious. If you secure a dehumidifier with a catch bucket that you empty, the water is distilled and is great for use in irons, steamers, and watering plants.

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

@@raisinette35 Watering plants yes, but it'll capture dust as it condenses. Not in irons or other appliances please. On another note, America hasn't gained a reputation as a land of capitalism for no reason. Anything helpful can be hustled to excess. Laurence has a house with a slight leak. Mitigate the leak and it may never become a major headache. Such is life on this mortal coil. Houses generally aren't built like stone fortresses here. That makes them easier to buy, but more prone to faults.

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

@@raisinette35 Do shop around for answers. Some firms will try to sell very expensive answers involving internal trenches. Only very bad cases actually require this.

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

@@brianmccarthy5557 Bad enough health can make you wish you were dying even if you aren't. Both Great Britain and America have different health risks.

[@ianisles2537]

You're doing exactly what most American guys would, troubleshooting until you reach either a solution or an impasse. If you can fix it yourself do it, but don't drive yourself crazy.

[@Platypi007]

I love that every dad has responded with practical advice. Good luck with the repairs!

[@carolynhotchkiss4760]

I believe your heavy rain was our heavy rain before the weekend. The night we had two 60+foot tall pine trees try to crush our house. They both missed. We were on national TV though, because it looked impressive and a neighbor's car was pancaked. You are definitely going to need professional help for that basement, however. I'm afraid you have a general drainage problem outside. Not to mention those green things under the downspout are pointing wrong ways and you need a longer exit for the water anyway. Welcome to the joys of home ownership, especially an older home.

[@chrisbosley7095]

Sloping the earth away from the window will do wonders to route water away. On that downspout with the green plastic below, you can get a flexible tube that connects to the downspout. You want to direct that water at least 3 feet away from the wall.

[@LydiaKnudsen]

^^^ this solves a lot of what's going on... that and what all the others have said about the drain pipes and gutter releases... Your flooded path could be on a slight slope that would cause the sitting water to not sit close to your house... you need to do this before sealing the basement

[@cherriberri8373]

Those tubes always seem to come off if the gutters are actually clean and it rains at all hard. And you still need a splash block at the end of them

[@unconventionalideas5683]

You probably should have the water damage inspected. However, with some minor modification disaster should be avoidable in future. Modifying the drainpipe so it drains further away will largely if not wholly fix the problem.

[@GregoryLindsey1979]

It is very odd to think that, depending on where exactly in the Chicago suburbs you are, I could conceivably run across you in some random place and never even realize it. Anyways, it looks like any suggestions I could’ve made have already been pointed out a dozen times by more knowledgeable folks, so I’ll just say I’m glad you didn’t get anything worse than that!

[@johnw8578]

Any kind of water issues, immediately check the grading outside the house (water should flow away from the house), and also check the downspouts which should have water exiting at least 3 feet from the house so as not to seep into the basement or foundation. Seriously, I had some water issues and a company wanted to charge $50k to fix it by chopping up my basement. All it took it to extend the downspouts.

[@Bbbuddy]

Many Chicago homes are connected to a storm drain system that will back up in heavy storms. Ours used to shoot water as high as the first floor and fill the basement with 12 to 18 inches of water. The water was clean storm water until some neighbors began illegally connecting toilets to the storm drains. That’s when we moved outta there.

[@johnhaller5851]

Some parts of the Chicago area, particularly Chicago itself, have unified storm and sanitary sewers. When it rains, the sewers back up through floor drains. The Deep Tunnel is supposed to help this problem, but it has its own issues. Mostly the problems with separate storm and sanitary sewers is when people connect their sump pumps to the sanitary sewer, which doesn't have enough capacity to handle storm water. But the real problem is that the Chicago area is very flat, and there is nowhere to dump all the water when there is a big rain. We disconnected our floor drain, and put in an ejector pit to send that water to a drain at the top of the basement.

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

Have you ever seen old house with just one cistern? Usually gutters where connected to cisterns then later as cities grew to storm drain which some places is sewer too.

[@gwillis01]

Warning: a dysfunctional broken down sump pump gives a person a false FALSE sense of security. You, Laurence, need to get expert advice on how to remove the old, dodgy one and replace it with a new pump in good working order.

[@mikeg.4211]

Lawrence, I suggest you get a shop vac for times when water is coming up or in in the basement, which will happen from time to time. The water in your case is very likely coming up through the ground as it gets saturated, and it finds a way to come up through a crack in the floor foundation. Getting it sealed would likely be very expensive, but you can probably get buy with just a shop vac and being watchful. I've lived in this area for 62 years, and I've seen this quite a lot. You should be fine as long as you get a shop vac and start calling it a furnace room instead of a boiler room, since there is no boiler, and most US houses stopped using boilers 60 years ago.

[@amyroos]

😂😂

[@diannt9583]

I'm thinking "boiler room" must be a Brit term?

[@mikeg.4211]

@@diannt9583 , I think yes, taken from an obsolete era.

[@MDAdams72668]

If your Sump-pump was actually in a Sump(hole in the ground) it would work far better at keeping the basement water-free You also might need more than one as large as your basement is. Please get hoses attached to your drain spouts(gutters) and lead them at least 10(better yet 20+) ft away from your foundation that will help a lot and is cheap and easy

[@kokomo9764]

You have very minor problems that are easily corrected. The key to keeping your basement dry is to make sure that the ground slopes away from the house and that leaves and other debris do not accumulate around the foundation. Extend your downspouts at least 6 feet from the foundation, and make sure they do not leak and slope downward away from the house. For areas under basement windows, the ideal solution is to dig out a semi-circle of dirt about 3 feet deep and install a drain. Put a preformed window well ( Home Depot) to line the hole you dug, then fill the hole with about 1 foot of large-sized gravel. If you want you can install a plastic cover over the hole, but if you have done everything right, it isn't necessary. You may want to pay someone to do this because there is a lot of digging involved. This can all be done easily on a weekend.

[@evangelicalcatholics]

A sump pump will be in a "sump" or a hole that is about 2' in diameter and dug down 2 to 3 feet. The pump pumps up and out any water that runs into the basement and into basement drains that aren't connected to the city sewer. Gray water is safe to run outside; black water is NOT. That...thing...on your floor is likely some sort of pump, but I'm not sure it's a sump pump.

[@alhollywood6486]

Living in LA, we get some rain and the whole hell falls apart. This is what is being American is all about.

[@rosameryrojas-delcerro1059]

Same here, the minute we get an abnormal weather patterns the population goes Orwellian.

[@almostfm]

After all the years of dry weather, I discovered this winter that I've got a leak in my roof. I discovered it when about 1/3 of the master bedroom ceiling came down (luckily not when I was in there). The roofing people are so backed up that I'm on a waiting list, but until things dry out for a while, I'm behind the folks who have actual holes that you can see through. In the interim, I've got a tarp and a bunch of kitty litter to soak up whatever the tarp doesn't catch.

[@nathanlawrence2484]

I love the fact that Laurence asks for help in his channel since he has a sizable community now. I would suggest potentially using dirt to fill in those areas where the water accumulated. I often use lawn clippings for areas on the lawn itself (if there are bald patches or deeper holes).

[@idoc-2]

Laurence, now that you're an American, you're going to have to stop referring to the yard around your house as "the garden." If you plant flowers or vegetables in a plot, then you have a "garden." Otherwise, it's a "yard" or the "lawn."

[@bluegreenglue6565]

You don't need to rake up your leaves. It's good for the grass and earth underneath to let them lie. : )

[@mercster]

I used to think this too. But what happens is, the leaves take a long time to decompose, and in the meantime the grass underneath doesn't get any sunlight and dies. So you end up with a dirt lot that turns to mud when it rains. Noone wants a mudlot. That's why people rake leaves.

[@LaurieBednar]

@@mercster Agree.

[@bluegreenglue6565]

@@mercster Oops. I rescind my advice! : D

[@mercster]

@@bluegreenglue6565 Don't feel bad, I only recently got schooled by a friend of mine when I tried to deride the popular activity of raking leaves. I guess there's a reason. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@kristinesharp6286]

@@mercster sometimes fungus circles as well.

[@margaretkees9365]

Really hope you had a home inspection before your due diligence ended on the purchase of the house. They would have certainly spotted some of these issues with water. Nevertheless, there are probably several things that have to be done in order to keep water intrusion away from your house. And I also would have thought that the homeowners would have had a disclosure statement and should have mentioned the yucky wet stuff behind that desk cabinet thing you pulled away from the wall. Anyway it can be fixed--it's only time and $$$.

[@gwillis01]

Many female crime and detective novelists of the British type specialize in stories set in postcard pretty small British towns. Everything is so calm, restrained, and polite on the outside. However, emotions strong enough to inspire theft and/or murder are churning and swirling just below the surface. Agatha Christie is an excellent example of this type of author.

[@jamesburton1050]

Fascinated by both your videos and the comments. Some of this is actually quite informative! Even just for an American from another region.

[@Robin3615]

The level of the ground outside next to your house should be the highest ground spot and yours is the lowest spot. All the water is seeping right down the outside basement walls looking for the smallest crack. Bring in dirt to lay against your house right away and some carpet grass next month. Get the water down spout drain to bring the water at least 6 ft from your home. The sump pump is to keep water from intruding from below your home but your issue seems to be coming form the walls. Get the water outside draining away from your home. Basement waterproofing works wonders and cost as much as a car or you can do this yourself. I too live in Chicago. Vote for mayor next week!

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

I would dig under gutter down spout and look for a storm drain. It's likely broke underground and allowing water to flood in. Most old houses had 2 cisterns. We seen the one capped off in previous video that he called a coal shout. So the other should be inside by the other cistern. They may have used other cistern as sump pump. Seen it before.

[@stacy4530]

Don't bother raking your leaves, just go over them with a lawn mower and mulch them. It's good for the grass. Takes less work and less trash.

[@glazdarklee1683]

That is very much the sump-pump. You should probably look into a battery-powered back-up.

[@HH_The_Great]

Is there any chance the sellers provided a home warranty? Then you could have that insurance pay for the water remediation. Is it universal that sellers have to provide a written disclosure about anything they're aware of that is wrong with the house? I only know it's required in MO.

[@garryferrington811]

Alright! You've got some projects to do. I wonder if that old insulation could be asbestos.

[@jackflash9735]

Sump Pumps are generally placed in a depressed hole not directly on the floor, and the green down spout diverter is facing the wrong way. I would also recommend installing a french drain in your yard to help drain away the excess water.

[@elizabethhyland5188]

I would consider having your basement windows replaces with glass block. It will make your home more secure and make a huge difference in not allowing as much heat to escape. I wish I had done mine right away when I moved in.

[@donjackson9608]

Before I would get a basement man I would find the sump which will have a pump in it. Sump pump. The floor of a basement is not level. There is a small slope to it to drain water. The sump will be in the lowest part of the basement floor. The slump is like a 18 inch round hole that is about one to two foot deep. Ground water will come up in the sump during heavy rain because the water table is rising. A pump is put into the sump so as the water rises it's pumped out through a pipe that goes outside and into a storm drain. When you find the sump there will be a pump in it with a plastic pipe that will go out of the basement. As a Church custodian retired I had a few sump to care for. It could be as easy as putting a new pump in but if you do not have experience get someone who is. Your washer is a good place to look because they are usually place there. I see it is up off the floor. That means your basement has a history of flooding. The sump may in that area. Get a marble and put it on the floor. It will round towards the low spot where the sump is.

[@magsstewart5488]

No Laurence, I have never been to an amusement park where you stick your hand in a “mystery hole.” Are you sure that was an amusement park?

[@acwright]

BTW: check with your tax pro. The repair may be a business expense for your channel 🙂

[@davidbenner2289]

I don't go into the basement anymore. I send down my ducks. If they stay, it's wet. If they don't stay, it's dry.

[@timschommer8548]

6:30 For one thing, those "green boards" are not correctly in place. There should only be one and it should be running in parallel to the exit to the drain pipe, acting as a ramp away from the house.

[@acwright]

Get a dehumidifier in the basement until you get the water fixed. Seems like those windows and the area around them could be the issue. And like others said, extend the downspouts away from the house.

[@schwartz2287]

Add soil on the exterior so that it slopes away from the foundation and keep your gutters clean. Maintain that and monitor for further moisture entry.

[@kenknerr7226]

I'll tell you from experience that baseboards will not stop water.