Price on French drain too high?
I signed a contract for a french drain to be put in an empty clean 4-5 ft high crawlspace. I agreeded on a price of $4800.00 for 92ft. I don't know what more information you would need for someone to tel me if this price is too high. Any help will be appreciated. I guess I would have to ask why you signed on the dotted line before getting other estimates to make sure that the work to be done is fair. Pictures would help in your situation; there might be some substantial work needed to be done to complete the task. I am getting other estimates. I would incude pictures that is no problem but I dont know how. It would have been kinder as moderator to ask for these things so you could make a better judgement. Your response sounds like you are talking to an idiot. Now, I don't know a thing about the cost of french drains and I just wanted to know what a ball park figure was for 92ft. It is a cleaned up crawlspace I am in and out of there everyday. Even when it does not rain there are spots where you can see dampness on the wall and 2 other spots where water comes in in a heavy storm. I heard you can relieve pressure points and that mey do the trick for a good while if you are not getting water you can stand in. Is that true? I am sorry is Isounded harsh but I do need some advice and I don't know if I am in the right thread. I am getting other estimates today. I signed the contraact because of the 72hr clause. This way other people come right out. Originally Posted by laneiam It would have been kinder as moderator to ask for these things so you could make a better judgement. Your response sounds like you are talking to an idiot. No name calling coming from this side of the screen. It is extremely difficult to answer any question that originates from just 3 sentences. Your response though is what I needed to know to make a better asessment of your situation. That way I can better help you. I believe with new members the image loading feature is disabled. Go to www.photobucket.com and load pictures and provide the links back to this thread. A picture is worth a thousand words and I along with others can better understand your situation. I don't know the details of a 72hr clause. If it is legal and binding though you might be forced by contract to be financially obligated to go through with the stated work. You are describing hydropressure on the walls that are probably leaking where the floor locks to the walls. If these walls are block, I can see why the water is present more than a poured wall. Hopefully their idea to remedy the situation involves lowering the water table under the floor and the use of a sump pump. I'm here strictly for volunteering of my knowledge and of good intent. No pay and I try my best to offer what help I can. I can never understand why some don't appreciate my good intentions. We have some really great people on this site that make a conscious effort to help those in need. Having to pry for answers is very time consuming. I speak for others that contribute that this makes our job a great deal harder. Nonetheless, we will help you the best we can in deciding what is in your best interest on your water problem in your home. This is the time of the year when excessive water can cause all kinds of problems. Dunbar - I have a question about how perimeter drains operate. I have a wet basement nearly every spring. If it wasn't for an overworked sump pump I could have my own indoor swimming pool. When it's really wet the hydraulic force is awesome. I once drilled a 1 hole in my slab and as I broke through water shot up almost a foot. My soil is very heavy clay under 8-10 of loam. My footings are only 4-5' below grade. I've had a couple of pricey estimates for perimeter drains, but neither installer could explain to me what good drains could do when I can go anywhere in my yard (2 acres), dig down a foot and hit water (when it's wet). I don't think I have anywhere in my yard to drain the water to. It seems to me that I would have to lower the entire water table in my yard to ensure that my basement is dry. That's a tough one. In a situation like yours I would say that it would be best to lower that water table under the slab. Meaning, if you had that sump pump pit installed and still could drill a hole in the slab and water shoot out then the water table is too high. Drilling holes in the sidewalls of the pump pit or removing the pit and digging deeper would help. I live in an area where clay is the norm and you can dig a hole in the yard, fill it with water and two hours later the water will most likely still be there. If your downspouts are only leading out a few feet from the home then the pump is most likely recycling the water. It's not good to bring the water from the outside to the inside of the home but I've seen situations where they did just that, relying heavily on that pump to operate. Are you in a subdivision where they will allow a curb cut to allow your ground water to be pumped to the curb or otherwise stormwater sewer? I do know that in some subdivisions the lots are super flat and have no place for the water to go. I could be wrong, but I think that what she is saying about the 72 hour rule is that she has 72 hours to repudiate any contract she signs. It was originally designed for the vacuum cleaner salesman the husband that came home from work to find his wife had signed this contract to buy a vacuum cleaner. Or in other words.........Right of Recision? I did that once with a car my girlfriend bought......took it back the very next morning. Those salesmen were doing everything in their power to push that sale through at the bank. LOL! Luckily we beat them to the chase.......you talk about mad......sheesh! Of course, we never bought from there again. Originally Posted by laneiam I signed a contract for a french drain to be put in an empty clean 4-5 ft high crawlspace. I agreeded on a price of $4800.00 for 92ft. I don't know what more information you would need for someone to tel me if this price is too high. Any help will be appreciated. I had a perimeter drain installed last summer in my home. My linear footage installed was about the same as yours. My waterproofer charged me $2,000 to install my system (I already had a brand new sump, so you need to figure that in). I would definitely shop around. My first estimate was from MidAtlantic Waterproofing-their bid was $18,000, but it was amazing how quickly he got down to $9000 with special promos. Then I had Basement Systems and they were somewhere about $5,000. I called everyone in the phone book and went with my gut after I spoke to them. I normally dont go with the lowest bid, but this guy was refered to me by a concrete specialist that I know well. He's worked with him on many jobs and vouched for his work. I was really happy with the work. I would shop around if I were you-there are a lot of sheisters out there who just want your money and will prey on you in your time of need. Stavs I also had a big bill estimate. I decided to work from the inside out. 1. Chisled out old concrete patches and plugged holes in basement with putty that hardens under water 2. Drill pressure hole in foundation 1/4 wide to release water and caulk seams with rubberized concrete caulk 3. Painted inside walls with primer of 1/2 epoxy sealant(eagle brand) and 1/2 concrete paint 4. Second coat primer with Drylock 5. Dig outside clay perimater with power washer pick and shovel 18 wide 24 deep to the foundation 6. Paint outside wall down to foundation as in steps #3 and #4. 7. Lay down plastic sheeting vapor barrier on bottom of trench and up wall (I would like to find an adhesive for the wall side or maybe paint with the rubberized type of epoxy paint. 8. Put 3 of sand in trench 9. Lay 4 black corregated pipe with perferated hole pointing down 10. Put drainage sock over pipe to prevent sand from filtering in 11. Pour gravel on top of pipe to near top 12. Lay sod or mulch on top of gravel Cost is about $300-$500 and a lot of sweat equity Originally Posted by Cynthia Jones I also had a big bill estimate. I decided to work from the inside out. 1. Chisled out old concrete patches and plugged holes in basement with putty that hardens under water 2. Drill pressure hole in foundation 1/4 wide to release water and caulk seams with rubberized concrete caulk 3. Painted inside walls with primer of 1/2 epoxy sealant(eagle brand) and 1/2 concrete paint 4. Second coat primer with Drylock 5. Dig outside clay perimater with power washer pick and shovel 18 wide 24 deep to the foundation 6. Paint outside wall down to foundation as in steps #3 and #4. 7. Lay down plastic sheeting vapor barrier on bottom of trench and up wall (I would like to find an adhesive for the wall side or maybe paint with the rubberized type of epoxy paint. 8. Put 3 of sand in trench 9. Lay 4 black corregated pipe with perferated hole pointing down 10. Put drainage sock over pipe to prevent sand from filtering in 11. Pour gravel on top of pipe to near top 12. Lay sod or mulch on top of gravel Cost is about $300-$500 and a lot of sweat equity How many sides (and to what depth) did you do?
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