3 ms·

What other damp-preventing features went into your house?

• WalterBright 6y ago
  1. french drains around the foundation 2. gravel around the foundation walls 3. waterproof sealer paint on the exterior of the foundation 4. filter fabric against the waterproofing 5. basement slab sits on filter fabric then gravel 6. french drains under the slab 7. everything slopes away from the house 8. gutters and downspouts feeding into the storm drains 9. the windows sit in a one-piece sheet stainless steel insert that redirects all water that gets in around the edges back out (I love stainless steel!). 10. screens so leaves don't get into the underground drainpipes. It hasn't been perfect. The contractor didn't install gaskets where he put bolts through the flashing - water got in and rotted the wood out. One of the downspouts went through the structure of the house, I complained it would likely clog up and it could not be cleaned. I was told that wouldn't happen. It clogged up solid after a year, and another downspout had to be added outside. The roofing guy used galvanically incompatible metals for the flashing and the nails. I made him pull all the nails out and replace them. He was mad about that, but we had agreed in advance that he'd use galvanically compatible metals. (Incompatible metals, when wet, will form a battery which will rot away both metals. In around a year, there'd be nothing holding the flashing on and holes in the flashing. Fortunately for me, I learned about galvanic corrosion at Boeing and what a big no-no it is!) But all in all, I'm satisfied.