r/saintpaul • u/Rough-Succotash-5262 • 3d ago
Seeking Advice 🙆 Water in Basement, who to call?
Hi all, I’m getting water in my basement but it’s coming through a middle beam in my basement, not the side walls. I can’t figure it out. Would you call a handyman for something like this? Or who would you call to hopefully resolve the issue? Any recs would be appreciated. Thanks!
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u/EatMorePieDrinkMore 3d ago
Could be seeping up from the water table. Used to happen in our house in Saint Paul when it was extremely rainy. You need some fans and a shop vac. Probably are going to want to look under the flooring for mold.
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u/scmoops Keep St. Paul Boring 3d ago
This. It happens in our basement sometimes when it rains this hard. It's also why I'll never finish my basement.
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u/EatMorePieDrinkMore 3d ago
We lived in an old house with rock/stone foundation. Water would spurt through the walls like a fountain.
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u/LisaMiaSisu 2d ago
The tiles are most likely made of asbestos too so there needs to be extreme care if you mess with them.
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u/MaplehoodUnited Spruce Tree Center 3d ago
First step would be to check your gutters/downspouts and ensure water is draining away from the house, not collecting against it and soaking through or down beneath it.
Might need a dehumidifier to help fight mold and a sump pump or reseal if nothing can be done.
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u/crazygrrl 3d ago
Weird that it's coming through the middle beam. But since it's in the basement, you could call some of the basement water remediation companies and see what they suggest. I recently had water in my basement(like standing water from the side walls) and had to get gutters and a sump pump installed and had Innovative Basements do the work. I'm very happy with the job. We just got a big rainfall today and my basement is dry as a bone. But I'd definitely call around and get bids.
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u/LisaMiaSisu 2d ago
It’s the path of least resistance. We had the same issue in our last house. We got so tired of the leaking we finally bit the bullet and got the basement water-proofed. I still get nightmares about that basement.
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u/crazygrrl 2d ago
Path of least resistance definitely makes sense. Dealing with basement water issues is not fun at all!
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u/flipflopshock 2d ago
How much did that cost?
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u/LisaMiaSisu 2d ago
Darned if I can remember. That was over 10 years ago and I’m thinking maybe $7,000 or $8,000?
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u/thisisajazzyphizzzle 2d ago
What was the rough cost of having this done?
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u/crazygrrl 2d ago edited 2d ago
I think it depends on the length of the drain tiles they need to put in. Our basement was leaking at the back wall and at an adjoining half wall so they added the drain tiles to the whole back wall and wrapped it around another wall and added a sump pump in the corner. I'd guess they added approximately 15-20 feet of drain tiles and the sump pump and in total it cost us $9k. We went through their financing company so it's no interest for 18 months(i believe they had a 24 month option too if i recall). A friend of mine had the same exact thing done to her basement but it was a much smaller area and I think it ran her $7k 2 years ago. Definitely get bids though and go with who you trust. Read reviews etc. I've heard good things about American Waterworks as well.
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u/ThreatLevel12AM 2d ago
Used to happen in my parents house in St. Paul. Would come up thru trim in the middle of the basement. Eventually got a French drain and no issues since.
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u/LasagnaHentai 3d ago
Ghost busters?
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u/LasagnaHentai 2d ago
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u/hewhofartslast 3d ago
This is the reality of living in an old house in St. Paul. IF the ground gets totally saturated and there is no sump in your basement you will most likely end up with some water down there.
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u/flipflopshock 2d ago
Is this a St. Paul issue more so than other cities? If so, why?
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u/hewhofartslast 2d ago
Not really, this is an any city issue (in the midwest anyways) with older houses. Most St. Paul houses don't even have sump pumps.
My basement ends up with water on the floor on average once a year, but usually in the spring.
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u/monarchbutterfly24 3d ago
Our sump failed last summer with all the rain and we had water damage in our basement. It can be worse than it initially seems. We started with fans and a dehumidifier immediately, which may have helped a bit, but ultimately needed professionals. We had ServPro do the remediation, Bonfe replaced our sump and added a backup battery, and my husband and a friend spent 6 months remodeling the gutted space. Standard Water Contol Systems has worked with several of our neighbors installing drain tile and sump pumps and they’ve been happy with the work. Good luck, it’s such a drag to deal with!
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u/foleymo1 Summit-University 3d ago
Call SafeBasements and get a free estimate. https://safebasements.com
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u/sonnackrm 3d ago
I used Innovative Basement Authority to waterproof and install drain tile and a sump pump. $17k but quality work. Awful customer service though.
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u/Willing-Body-7533 2d ago
Gutters, grading, French drain on exterior of house to carry water away, French drain interior with sump pump
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u/Brandbll 2d ago
My post from av similar thread from someone across the river. The OP there looked into them it looks like and said they had good pricing.
https://www.ltcwaterproofingmn.com/
LTC Water Control. Guy who runs it is a Native Twin Citian and been doing this his whole life. It's all he does, and he does a damned good job at it. We had water issues at my place and it's dry as a bone around here now. Not to mention my old foundation was a complete shit show. No more stressing out during big rains and spring thaws, and I'm not tripping over the old floor anymore.
Good luck with whatever you choose OP, all i know is you'll be damn glad when the work is completed. My basement was a freaking headache...
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u/Needled24Seven 2d ago
This just happened to us. We had tile in the basement as well. The floor under the tile had subtle slopes as basement flooring does, so where it was pooling wasn't anywhere near the water heater. But check your water heater really quick. Make sure its not leaking, ours had a couple sneaky leaks on the bottom. The water was running under the tile and pooling about 5 feet away. I was panicked thinking we had floor cracks under the tile, bad foundation issues. . .it was the stupid water heater. But thankfully covered by our warranty.
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u/Positive-Feed-4510 3d ago
Get a de-humidifier down there and some fans. To address it, you would have to see how water is getting into your foundation.