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Building in Coupeville 4 - Ask everybody then verify !

Building in Coupeville 4 - Ask everybody then verify !
.Sunrise over Penn Cove

The next stage was to make sure that the basement would be dry . I decided on a belt and braces approach .
First measure was to coat the walls with " asphalt emulsion " I chose asphalt as it can be applied to whet concrete .
  • I initially broke off all the external protruding spring clips
  • The I hammered off all the washers - as these are potential points of failure
  • removed all loose concrete paying special attention to the footing
  • brushed away all dust and debris especially again from the "dry joint" between the footing and the wall
  • applied an initial coat by roller and brush where necessary into holes and crevices where the walls would e below ground level
  • Second coated the wall being careful to ensure no gaps again being especially generous to the top of the footing and also where the spring clip shafts went through the walls
Second task was to install insulation externally - I economised with a one inch layer as I was intending to insulate internally also eventually . This came in 8'x2' sheets which I simply placed into position and lightly secured with timber tied to the top mounting bolts . This would also give a second waterproof layer and protect the asphalt coating from damage during backfill .

Final task before backfill was the land drains . These are pipes that surround the footings to drain water away from them . I chose 4" flexible pipe and laid this on the ground all round the building . I also had a section in the low level void between the garage and the basement connected thru a "T" . I also placed a T to head down towards the lowest part of the site when it was excavated - probably when the services were to be connected .

Malcolm Bishop came to inspect the work . I got the impression that the key thing was that the pipe was level so I surrounded it with pea gravel , raised up its low points and called for a final inspection . Larry Smith was passing and he viewed what I had done . His view was that water would follow the newly excavated surface and might go on under the pipe and then under the footings . He said that the pipe should be placed into a shallow trench going deeper as it headed down the site . This would drain away water so it could not get to the footings at all . This made sence so I moved away all the pea gravel I then dug said trench , replaced the pipe ( which was in a sock of filter fabric ) and the pea gravel . I then placed filter fabric over the pea gravel to stop it becoming clogged with smaller particles . Together with the pipe there was a pretty huge channel for water and zero possibility of it saturating the ground around the building - ever !

I discussed the apparently different views with Len - the town building inspector and he told me the actual code only says that the water should be directed away from the building so he did not inspect the land drains at all . I also later talked with the excavator driver who had dug up many buildings and his view was that it was a good idea to do what I had done but that probably no significant water would ever reach the drains given the slope of the site and the depth of the hole . Shifting the pea gravel twice had been hard work and I wish the town had given me clear and similar instructions from the outset .
Perhaps they should get or produce a simple diagram of their unified view of best practice for footing drains !

Anyway at least I could now tidy up the site and backfill the excavation ! Pictures here !

Now the D.I.Y. stuff is out of the way the personal stuff !
My decision to live in my van gave me quite a few problems but was an adventure . Main points of note were :-

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