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EXTERIORS of BUILDINGS INTERIORS of BUILDINGS AIR BYPASS LEAKS AIR LEAK DETECTION TOOLS AIR LEAK MINIMIZATION AIR SEALING STRATEGIES BATHROOM VENTILATION BASEMENT HEAT LOSS BASEMENT LEAKS Moisture or Mold BASEMENT WATERPROOFING BLOWER DOORS & AIR INFILTRATION BRICK LINED WALLS BUCKLED FOUNDATIONS due to INSULATION? CATHEDRAL CEILING INSULATION FREEZE-PROOF A BUILDING ATTIC CONDENSATION CAUSE & CURE CATHEDRAL CEILING INSULATION Heat Tapes: Use on Roofs for Ice HEAT LOSS: How to Calculate Heat Loss in a Building HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS HUMIDITY LEVEL TARGET ICE DAM PREVENTION INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT Inspect Attics for Moisture or Mold Inspect Basements for Moisture or Mold Inspect Building Exterior Inspect the Ridge Vent System from the Attic Inspect the Soffit Vent System from the Attic ROOF VENTILATION SPECIFICATIONS HEAT LOSS: How to Calculate Heat Loss in a Building HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS HUMIDITY LEVEL TARGET ICE DAM PREVENTION INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT MOISTURE CONTROL in BUILDINGS THERMAL TRACKING & HEAT LOSS VAPOR BARRIERS & AIR SEALING at BAND JOISTS VAPOR BARRIERS & CONDENSATION in BUILDINGS VAPOR BARRIERS & HOUSEWRAP VAPOR CONDENSATION & BUILDING SHEATHING VENTILATION in BUILDINGS WATER ENTRY in BUILDINGS ATTIC LEAKS Moisture or Mold BASEMENT De-Watering Systems BASEMENT HEAT LOSS BASEMENT LEAKS Moisture or Mold Cold Pour Joint Leaks Form Tie Leaks Wall Crack Leaks Floor-Wall Joint Leaks BASEMENT WATERPROOFING BASEMENT DE-WATERING SYSTEMS EXTERIOR WATER SOURCE ELIMINATION FOUNDATION DRAINS & FRENCH DRAINS FOUNDATION WATERPROOFING GEOTEXTILES & DRAINAGE MATS SEALERS, Basement Floor & Wall Moisture SITE DRAINAGE SUMP PUMPS GUIDE WET BASEMENT PREVENTION WET BASEMENT PREVENTION CRAWL SPACE Dryout Proc Chimney Leaks CRAWL SPACE Dryout Procedures DEW POINT CALCULATION for WALLS DEW POINT TABLE - CONDENSATION POINT GUIDE EFFLORESCENCE, Salts & White / Brown Deposits FLOOD Damage Assessment & Repairs FLOOD DAMAGED FOUNDATIONS FLOOD VENTS FLOODS IN BUILDINGS-priorities FOUNDATION WATERPROOFING HUMIDITY CONTROL & TARGETS INDOORS HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS LOG HOME Leak Diagnosis & Cure LOG HOME Condensation &Moisture MOISTURE CALCULATIONS MOISTURE PROBLEMS: CAUSE & CURE MOLD in BUILDINGS SEWAGE CONTAMINATION SUMP PUMPS GUIDE WIND TURBINES WINDOWS & DOORS SKYLIGHT LEAK DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR SITE BUILT DOUBLE GLAZED WINDOWS SLOPED GLAZING DETAILS VERTICAL GLAZING DETAILS WINDOW / DOOR ENERGY EFFICIENT, DOE WINDOW LEAKS INTO BASEMENT WINTERIZE A BUILDING More Information  InspectAPedia ® Home & Site Map InspectAPedia Blog - News Updates Air Conditioning & Heat Pumps Bookstore Electrical Environment Exteriors Heating Home Inspection Insulate Ventilate Interiors Mold Inspect/Test Plumbing Water Septic Roofing Structure Accuracy & Bias Pledge Contact Us |
Inspecting in the Basement for Sources of Building Moisture Appearing as Attic Condensation and building mold describes common water entry or leak points in basements and crawl spaces as part of our discussion of both ATTIC LEAKS Moisture or Mold (where did that moisture originate?) and also WATER ENTRY in BUILDINGS (how to keep a building dry and at proper moisture levels). The photograph at page top shows a very wet basement with water stains high on the foundation walls - telling us that the cause of this water entry is obviously not "rising damp" nor "construction over an underground stream". This article describes inspection methods and clues to detect roof venting deficiencies, insulation defects, and attic condensation problems in buildings. It describes proper roof ventilation placement, amounts, and other details. These recommendations are based on 35 years of building inspections, on the observation of the locations of moisture, mold, ice dams, condensation stains, and other clues in buildings, and on the correlation of these clues with the roof venting conditions at those properties as well as frequent literature review and discussion among professionals. Readers should also see WET BASEMENT PREVENTION where we discuss the basics of preventing basement or crawl space water entry, report a foundation collapse case study, and describe some simple steps that may cure a wet basement without major expense. Moisture from a wet building basement or crawl space travels up through the building where it can often condense in an attic, causing mold, frost, and even rot in a building if proper under-roof ventilation is missing. In the case of this home, we also need to correct the cause of basement water entry - in this case almost certainly it's a roof spillage or gutter problem since we see water stains so high on the foundation walls. © Copyright 2010 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website. Inspecting in the Basement for Sources of Building Moisture Appearing as Attic Condensation
List of Basement Water Entry & Moisture SourcesConcrete Foundation Wall Leak Points - Leaks at Cold Pour Joints
At Cold Pour Joints we discuss the cause and possible significance of cold pour joints on a poured concrete foundation wall. Usually a cold pour joint in a concrete wall is only of cosmetic import. But if sufficient time elapsed between successive concrete pours into an individual foundation wall, the lower wall concrete "sets up" enough that there is a poor bond between that layer and the next pour of concrete into the wall forms. The result can be not only a visible "crack" in the poured concrete wall, but this cold pour joint may leak surface water or ground water into the building. Our photo (above left) shows white efflorescence stains left by a long history of building foundation leaks at a cold pour joint on this building. Also notice that in the corner there was some efflorescence above the cold pour joint, while at the second photo (above right) there was efflorescence and leakage only below the cold pour joint. At both of these locations a roof drainage downspout had spilled water against the building wall for many years.
Concrete Foundation Leak Points - at Form Ties
Concrete Foundation Leak Points - at Wall Cracks
Concrete Foundation Leak Points - at Floor Slab Shrinkage Gaps
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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website. INTERIORS of BUILDINGS
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
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INTERIORS of BUILDINGS INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT MOISTURE CONTROL in BUILDINGS More Information InspectAPedia ® Home & Site Map InspectAPedia Blog - News Updates Air Conditioning & Heat Pumps Bookstore Electrical Environment Exteriors Heating Home Inspection Insulate Ventilate Interiors Plumbing Water Septic Roofing Structure Accuracy & Privacy Policies Contact Us |
More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and RepairsMore Reading about Dealing with Attic Mold, Identifying, Removing, and Preventing Mold in AtticsBe sure to review HOW TO FIND MOLD: How to Inspect Homes and Other Buildings for Mold - the Basics of How to Find Problem Mold Indoors in our Mold Action Guide. Here are other articles that will be helpful in evaluating attic mold presence, causes, and cures:
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01/28/2010 - 06/02/1990 - InspectAPedia.com/interiors/Basement_Water.htm - © 2010 - 1988 Copyright Daniel Friedman All Rights Reserved - InspectAPedia® is a Registered U.S. Trademark
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