Looking to buy house which was built in 1998. During inspection we found almost 3" of water in the concrete raised crawl space which sits about 4 feet above the main basement. There is a 4" drain in the floor of the crawl space which is not piped but opens into gravel under the crawl space. The water appears to be pushing up through this hole after a couple of really big storms. There is no evidence of water coming in anywhere else and the basement itself remains dry. The basement sump piy is few feet from the wall of the raised crawl space and there is a pipe coming into the pit from that direction. But there is not any water coming into the pit from that pipe. I am trying to find out 1)if the crawl space might be designed to drain into the main sump pit and a clog could be resulting in the water backing up and 2)if the hole/drain in the crawl space floor is necessary. I really need to get an idea what might be going on so that we can decide whether to buy what would otherwise be a great house. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

number 1 would be my guess...

water / humidity under prospective home for sale

RUN

RUN FAST

RUN FAR

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638



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Have you considered going to a neighbor and ask about the level of water in the area and a history of flooding. You could crawl under the house and see for yourself... as someone will have to do that eventually. You should have a tangible answer from the seller, for all of your questions, otherwise pass on the sale.

Best Wishes

Walk away......It became a crawl space when the builder encountered a spring.He might have been able to deal with it before he built, but his profit for the lot would have been gone.

Sounds like a spring which flows when the water tables rise with local rain. yikes hard to make better. usually trench around house and install footing drains to light.

Thanks for all of your input. I'm checking with the city public works dept to try to get some info on area water table levels and flood history. Unfortunately this is a bank owned foreclosure so we don't have access to the previous owwner. Talked to a couple of neighbors and they claimed not to have any water issues. It'll be tough to do, but getting close to walking away if we can't getting any definitive answers. I had a waterproofing contractor suggest trenching around the crawl space and putting in drain system and sump pit and then replacing the concrete. Would this solve the problem or just be a band-aid.

you will still need a pump with a battery back-up

A natural gas generator or whole house generator to power any pump will assure you of a dry basement. Again, neighbors are a pretty good source of information, if you talk with them on the weekend.
In your original post, you did not mention Foreclosure. I have to wonder how long the building sat idle, before you saw it. I have to ask, what other issues may occur after the purchase. Be prepared.

Best Wishes