Basement Water Issue

The following is the response from Basement Technologies to our walk through regarding basement moisture.  I suggest that Archia and the homeowner meet with them again to go through the options as suggested below.

"Thank you for the opportunity to allow Boston Basement Technologies (BBT) to review this project for you and the home owners.  BBT is based right in Canton, MA.  and is the leading basement water proofing company in the United States if not the World. In New England alone we have successfully completed over 300,000 residential and commercial waterproofing projects using our patented systems. In addition we have over 110 dealers throughout the US, Canada and Europe. I know that you have chosen the right company for this particular project.

   My findings at 1431 Brush Hill Rd. are that throughout the majority of the basement there are evident signs of water seepage at the floor and wall joint from a light to moderate nature that have occurred over a lengthy duration. In some areas this has likely been heavy in nature during specific weather events. The areas that have been most effected are the lowest sections of the basement, the racquet ball court and stairway, the media room and the boiler room pit.    The entire basement has a severe humidity issue even with the HVAC type dehumidification unit running. Ideal Relative Humidity levels are 40% and not greater than 50% RH. My readings where between 62% and 69% RH throughout and over 80% at the entry of the crawl space under the breakfast nook.    Access pits in the floor suggest severe dampness under the slab which is very common and an issue that BBT treats regularly with our Humid Evac system. Eighty percent of the dampness in a basement comes from under the slab, and forty percent of the air in a home comes from the basement. These issues should certainly be handled in a permanent manor using a combination of BBT’s systems to assure a worry free and healthy basement and home environment.    This project has multiple issues that BBT can certainly solve. This project warrants a follow up visit with our project manager and engineer along with the decision makers of the project. The objective of such visit would be to determine the proper plan to assure the outcome that would be most beneficial to the home owners and what they wish to achieve. At this follow up BBT can also outline the solutions for this project and then develop a sound quotation to provide the right solutions that will make the most economical sense."

Meeting Notes - 6/15/12

Attendees: Peter Millington, Peter Stames

Change Orders - Change Orders for Basement demolition (#8), Asbestos Abatement (#7) and Garage door openers (#9) were signed.  Peter asked that we add on to the garage door project the replacement of the second torsion spring.

We discussed the basement and that after demolition we will have the abatement companies revisit for tightened quotes on the mold remediation and then we will discuss what parts of the basement will be quoted to be put back together.

Archia will provide a couple of hydrometers to keep track of humidity in the basement.  We need to confirm that the basement is always kept below 50% humidity to avoid future mold cultivation.

Archia will drain pool and set up saw horses and caution tape for safety.  This will be done on a T&M basis.

Archia submitted the proposal for the Guest House Renovation.  Waiting for client to review.

PJM would like to know if there is any way to connect the guest house to the sewer.  Chris will follow up next week.

Archia sent out email connecting Laura Lee Willard and the client for initial design meeting.

This week thru 6/15/12

Continuing on removal of the chimney.  It has been a bear so far with steel rods holding the cap together.  Should move better today.  Need to keep in mind impending weather.

Guest bath demo will be done as well.  Will get plumbing costs for re-plumbing that bath

Expect to have numbers for mold remediation and demo in the main house basement by Tuesday.  Numbers warrant getting one more remediation number.

Notes 6/6/12

Today we will be meeting Kim Cleary from Cleary and Sons Window Restoration company to go over the window issues and get an estimate for repairs.

Change Order #4 for Extra Kitchen Demo has been submitted and verbally agreed to by PJM.  Need signed copy.  Work started 6/5 and will be finished 6/7.

Change Order #5 for Guest Bath Demo was submitted 6/6.  Waiting on signed approval and will get started.

Guest house renovation estimate is coming together.  Should have early next week.

Basement mold remediation estimate is in the works.  Should have early next week.

Chimney Demolition - Applying for permit today.  Will take down when weather is clear.

Design question:  The ceilings in the different parts of the kitchen are at different heights.  Can we get a determination on ultimate ceiling height so that we can prepare for that?

Notes 5/31/12

Demolition - We are about done with the demo that has been approved so far i.e. the master bath and the kitchen.  The basement is on hold at the moment pending a conversation regarding mold remediation. (Please see previous post regarding mold).


We would like to continue on with bathrooms that are to be redone. If we could get a go ahead on any or all fo them that would be enough to keep us all busy for tomorrow 6/1.


Garage - Currently the left garage door takes 2-3 guys to open and the door opener is shot.  The other garage door opener works and we have purchased openers for our guys to use.  We would like to replace the other garage door opener so that we can use that garage efficiently.  Please let us know if this is OK.


Guest House (GH) - Peter Stames spoke with Anne today regarding renovation of the GH.  They walked through and came up with a game plan for pricing.  I will try to have a number back for these items by mid week next week.

• The plumbers have already gone through the house and have made concessions to allow the GH to have water turned on since it runs through from the main house which is being shut off tomorrow.
• While air pressurizing the GH today they found the plumbing to have some issues.  The initial thought is that where the fixtures are tied into the plumbing they are letting loose.  He is working up a proposal for all necessary plumbing in this area.
• We will need to take care of relaying the back patio and install a railing there as well.
• There are some areas of water damage around a couple of windows.  We will look into the cause and remedy.
• The kitchen cabinets will be made to all work smoothly in their existing condition and be painted.
• We will remove the Formica countertop only and replace with same.  We will look into finding a pre owned electric range or inexpensive new unit to replace the existing which will be thrown out.
• We will look into cleaning up the existing refrigerator and reusing it.
• We will remove all existing carpet.  Carpet will be replaced in lower section of the house.  The hardwood floor above will be refinished if necessary or left as is.
• Replace bath floor with new vinyl.
• Consider changing bath plumbing fixtures.
• Electricians will walk through.  We believe that all of the baseboard heat will need to be replaced but will confirm.
• Replace screen door at front door.
• Full paint job.

Basement Mold Issues

       Humidity - 

• Humidity levels in the basement range from 65-77% with the higher levels in the finished space, mold actively grows above 50% humidity.  There is condensation on the basement bathroom mirrors; it looks like someone just took a shower.  
• The dehumidification unit that is in the basement has a failed condensate pump which is not pumping out the water generated by the unit.  
• The HVAC crew is replacing the pump tomorrow (6/1/12), once it is on it will bring down the humidity levels in the basement. We have left the exhaust fan in the basketball court on to aid in removing moisture.

      Mold - 

• There are significant mold issues in the basement, the two years of vacancy allowed the mold to grow unabated.  
• There are three types of mold currently growing in the basement including the more toxic black mold, Stachybotrys, on or behind almost every surface in the basement with the exception of the ceilings.  
• The walls in the finished portion of the basement currently are saturated with moisture and the mold is rooted to a depth of 3/16".  
• The basketball court seems to have only surface mold that can be remediated by a surface cleaning.  
• There is significant mold behind the vinyl wallpaper, there are some spots that look OK but the area where the washer and dryer were located needs to be completely removed.   
• We have been advised to have workmen use masks when working in the basement for extended periods as the mold gives off volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and mycotoxins.

       Remediation - 

• To remediate this situation we have been advised to remove the walls in the basement that are saturated or where mold is visibly rooted.  These areas include the media room, the finished hallway, the kitchen area, the boiler room, the area outside the sauna, the sauna bathroom and the room across from the kitchen. 
• The ceilings seem salvageable for most of the basement.  
• The areas outside of the finished space have issues mostly localized in the exterior walls which will need to be removed, from our investigation the interior walls look like a surface clean will suffice.  
• There are other areas that can have the surface cleaned such as tile and glass.  
• Once the wall surfaces are removed we will need to treat the framing and concrete walls to eliminate the mold.  Once we treat the framing we can put up new mold resistant sheet rock and new trim.    

Notes 5/30/12

Windows - Started working on windows.   Will get estimates for replacing just the sash in the storm windows.  That seems to be the biggest time sync.

Need to talk to the clients about water damage repair in other areas of the house.

Mold Remediation - Met with Servpro regarding the mold remediation in the basement today.  They suggested we bring in our hygienist to do air-quality and surface quality tests.  They will make recommendations of appropriate companies for this service.

• We will also be meeting with two other mold remediation and water damage companies.
• They recommend staying out of the basketball court due to the amount of mold in there and the current lack of ventilation.

Stone Walls - Met with Jaime Cordeiro to discuss stone wall repairs and alterations.  He had already generated estimates and will pass on to us.  

• He recommended leaving the pool patio and pouring an new layer of mortar over and laying bluestone over that.  Then cutting back existing coping and installing new bluestone coping.  The brick walkway coming from the guest house would need to be relayed in part due to the new height of the pool surround.
• We will need to talk to the town to determine what the constraints are for building and/ or rebuilding the wall adjacent to the street.
• Slate patios to the back yard need attention.  Repointing at the least and resurfacing would make them more in keeping with the style of the house.  
• Concerns about the length of the large stone wall moving include:
• Bringing utilities underneath due to the depth of footing needed.  We can locate these in the space designated for a gate.  Need to determine size of gate desired.
• Depending on which direction the wall goes in its new location we may need more stone.  There is a shorter wall at the back of the property that could be salvaged for this if necessary.
• The stone retaining wall at the back of the property is leaning precariously toward the guest house end.  We suggest taking it down in this area and rebuilding.  Jaime is pricing. 
• Patio behind Guest House (GH) would be rebuilt with bluestone over compacted stone dust.  This area would also need a railing.  The stairs are salvageable.

Pest Control - We had a pest control company come through and take care of the be hive at the right chimney and then go over the property for all other types of pests.  Waiting on report.

Chimney - As requested we will wait on taking down the main structure of the chimney until further notice.