Less costly way of dealing with water issues
Question #1
I live in Canyon Country where there is subterranean parking and we’ve got water issues. We’ve had 3 contractors out which have all said that the whole side of the building has to come out, including walkway and stairs. All together it’s a lot of concrete that drops back about 125 feet and they’ll have to dig down about 6 feet deep to do some type of waterproofing. Then put the dirt back and compact it, and re-pour all of the concrete.
Here’s the bottom line, Robert – we don’t have that kind of money. Is there an alternative? If so, we are in dire need of help, otherwise we will have to do some sort of special assessment and I can guarantee that one half of the people are not going to be able to pay on that. David L.
Answer #1
David, that is called positive water proofing and let’s call that option #1, which is typically the best way to go to permanently solve water intrusion issues. Due to finances, if you need to take a more doable route to buy some time, then there is what we will call option #2, negative water proofing.
There is a product called Xypex that is used in this application and what you’ll do is go into your subterranean garage where you are seeing the mineral deposits that we call phosphorus, the white flaky stuff that I see in the photos you sent, and you’ll have a contractor sandblast the entire wall that is affected. This should cost about fifty cents per square foot.
Where the concrete floor and the wall meet, this is what we call the cold joint. Get a V wheel grinder and grind this joint out well, then blow it out, getting it good and clean.
Follow this with injecting a bead of single stage urethane such as Sikaflex that can be purchased at any box store. If the grind ends up deep you can use backer rod, but typically you wouldn’t need to. This area is where water will manifest itself if it can’t make it through the wall. It always takes the path of least resistance and if your wall is adequately protected, this cold joint is the next place the water will travel to, so you want this protected along the entire length of the wall, that technique will do the trick.
This is when you’ll have the Xypex applied. We typically use a big heavy brush for the application, but it can be troweled on also. It will leave a sort of rough, stucco look to it after the necessary minimum two applications.
I recommend using a contractor (licensed, of course) that has experience with Xypex whom you can count on, and be sure they follow the manufacturer’s directions. Once this step is complete and the product has dried to the manufacturer’s specs, you can apply paint to this if you wish. The product is nearly white and will take on stains such as from car exhaust, so know that if you ultimately need or want to change the color it is no problem to paint it. Good luck with this project.
Question #2
Hi Robert, I’m a widow that lives in Canyon Country and am on a fixed income so I have to choose my battles wisely, as money is very tight and I have to watch every penny. My doorbell went out, my son went out and bought a new one and installed it, but it still doesn’t work. We replaced the button and it doesn’t work. We see wires and know it’s not batteries, but where does this electricity come from? How do we figure this out? Martha R.
Answer #2
Martha, typically you’ll find this power source in a nearby closet or possibly in the attic space. Please be very careful, Martha, if your son is not proficient with electricity then I recommend using your money wisely to save him from possible danger by hiring an electrical contractor.
The voltage coming in to that is 120V and the voltage that typically goes out on a doorbell is 16V. He is not going to get hurt with the 16V but with the 120V could be very dangerous.
If there is no other option and if he is not well versed with electrical, have him turn the power to the entire house off while doing this work. I’ll send you a picture of what I’m talking about and I want you to have him find this item.
It’s a transformer that goes from 120V to 16V and has two wires. The bigger wire is the higher voltage coming in and he will disconnect that and then disconnect the two little wires.
He’ll need to go to a Big Box Store and purchase an exact replacement, and reverse the installation process, making sure that the wires are secured. Finally, turn the power back on and at this point you’ve replaced about everything on your doorbell system but you may be able to return the doorbell and button, as it seems like the true problem was your power supply. Best of luck to you and your son.
Robert Lamoureux has 38 years of experience as a general contractor, with separate licenses in electrical and plumbing contracting. He owns IMS Construction Inc. in Valencia. His opinions are his own, not necessarily those of The Signal. Opinions expressed in this column are not meant to replace the recommendations of a qualified contractor after that contractor has made a thorough visual inspection. Email questions to Robert at robert@imsconstruction.com.