Water in the Basement, a House That Is Settling, or a Wall That Moved
Water comes in every hard rain and now there is a crack with a stain under it. The block wall in the basement has a horizontal crack and the top course looks pushed in. The garage floor dropped an inch at one corner. A door upstairs stopped latching and the trim over a window opened up. The porch pulled away from the house. The neighbor's trees are close and you have started to wonder.
I'm Travis Busch, a licensed Connecticut PE. I come out, look at what moved and what is under it and around it, and write you a sealed letter that says what has happened to the structure, whether it is still happening, and what to do next.
What I do, and what I do not
I do not find the leak. A waterproofing contractor does that, and if water is your only problem they are the right first call. What I do is answer the question they cannot: has the water, or the ground, or whatever moved, done anything to the house, and what should be done about it before anyone covers it up. I also do not design foundation repairs. When the fix is a braced wall, underpinning, or drainage, the letter says so and names the specialist. When the fix is framing, I write it.
What I actually look at
- The wall itself, measured. How far out of plumb it is, where the crack runs, whether the faces are offset, whether the top of the wall is still held where it should be.
- The pattern of what moved. Settlement at one corner looks different from a whole house that dropped evenly, and the difference is most of the diagnosis. Step cracks at the corners, cracks that open at the top or at the bottom, which side the floor leans toward.
- The framing that sits on it. The sill, the ends of the joists, the posts and the beam, for rot, insect damage, crushing, and for the gaps that open when something underneath drops.
- The floors upstairs, with a level, and the doors, windows and trim, which record movement better than the basement does.
- The slab and the floor of the garage: cracks, heave, a corner that dropped, where the water sits.
- Outside. Grading, downspouts, a driveway or patio pitched at the wall, a tree close to the foundation, where the water goes when it leaves the roof.
- In the towns the state has mapped for pyrrhotite, the pattern that aggregate problem leaves in a poured wall.
The one thing I cannot see is the soil. When the question is in the ground, the letter says so, says what a geotechnical engineer would do about it, and does not guess under my seal.
What you get
A signed and sealed letter from a Connecticut PE. It says what I saw and measured, what I think caused it and how confident I am, whether it is still moving or not, and what to do next, in order. The next step may be a waterproofing contractor, a geotechnical engineer, a framing repair I have written for your contractor to build, or a set of dated marks and a second look. When the repair needs a drawing, you get the drawing. The letter is written so you can hand it to a contractor, a buyer, an adjuster or the town.
What it costs
One fixed price, quoted on the first call before any work starts. Half is due at the visit, check, cash or card, and the rest when the letter is ready. The price covers the visit, the letter and your questions about it.
When you do not need an engineer
If the only thing wrong is water, and nothing has cracked, bowed or dropped, you need a waterproofing contractor, or in a lot of houses just longer downspout extensions and a regrade, not an engineer. If one hairline crack has been there for years and the house is otherwise quiet, watch it. Call me when a wall is bowing or leaning, when a crack is offset or growing, when something dropped, when doors and trim are telling you the house is moving, or when a buyer, a seller, a town or an insurer needs it in writing.
Questions homeowners ask
Can you find where the water is coming in?
Not on a dry day, and that is not what my letter is for. A waterproofing contractor finds and stops the water. I tell you whether the water has done anything to the structure, whether the wall or floor it has been running past is still sound, and what to do before or alongside the waterproofing. If the only problem is water, call them first and save my fee.
The basement wall is bowing in. How serious is that?
A wall that is leaning or bowing is carrying soil and water pressure it was not built for, and it is the kind of movement I take most seriously in a basement. How much it has moved, whether it is still moving, and what is holding the top of it decide what happens next. I measure it rather than eyeball it, and the letter says what I found and what the fix usually looks like.
Is my house settling, or did it settle a long time ago and stop?
That is usually the whole question, and one visit can often tell the difference from the cracks, the trim, the paint and the pattern of what is low. When it cannot, the letter sets a baseline, with measurements and dated marks, so a second look in a few months answers it for sure instead of guessing.
Do you do the repair design?
When the repair is framing, yes. When the repair is in the foundation or in the ground, a wall brace, underpinning, drainage, the letter names the right specialist and what to ask for. I do not design foundation repairs, and I will tell you that on the first call.
The town or my insurer wants an engineer's letter. Is this that?
Yes. The letter is signed and sealed by a Connecticut PE and written so a building official, an adjuster, a buyer or a contractor can read it. Tell me who it is for when you call, because that changes what I measure and photograph.
How to book
Call or text (860) 519-6009 and describe it in a sentence or two. Tell me the town, how long it has been going on, whether it is worse after rain, and who needs the letter. You get one price and a date on that call. Text me whatever photos you have before then and I will show up knowing your house.
Related: Foundation cracks · A sagging or humped floor · A whole-house structural assessment