Expert: Nazim Nice - 7/8/2009

Question
Hi Nazim

We are going to buy a brand new house in New York.  Actually it is still under contruction, it has the skeleton. For example, you can see the walls but not the details of the design, for example, you can see the room for the kitchen but no appliances there.

Before the house is built, it was a ranch without basement. According to the owner, when they build the basement, they dug out a lot of sand. I heard that building a house on sandy land is no good, as it may have settlement for the first 5 years and the brick may crack. This is my first question, so generally it is no good to build a house on sand land?

Secondly, I found the basement has some wet area(for 2 consecutive weeks and no windows around that areas).

I want to get someone to inspect the house before signing any contract, but a house inpector or an architect or an engineer will be appropriate? Should inspection done after rainy days or it is OK for sunny or rainy days? We have all sunny days for 2 weeks already. Professional can see the structural problems or water leakage whether or not it rained before. I concern mostly the foundation and the water leakage in the basement.


pls advise whether it is wise to buy the house or not? or an further investigation for example is needed? should we find an inspector / engineer or architect to inspect it first? should an inspector ok?

Thanks

Answer
Hi Mike,

Regarding the sandy soil, I'm not a structural engineer but I have dealt with poor soil conditions.  Typically we work with a geotechnical engineer if there is poor soil on a site.  The point of this is basically to get recommendations for the structural engineer.  For example, if the soil is found to have a lower load bearing capacity than typical, the structural engineer would need to know the value so he can size a wider footing to distribute the load over a larger area.  If the site is prone to settlement, then the engineer should know this too so that he can avoid large point loads that may settle at a different rate (differential settlement).  So really if you are concerned about the soil, then I would talk to a geotechnical engineer before a structural engineer.

Regarding the water in the basement, a geotechnical engineer would probably be able to help you identify the source of this too.  Then I would consult an architect if the geotech can't identify the problem.

In terms of waterproofing the basement, the product I usually use on the exterior of the wall is a dimpled drainage mat that is placed against the foundation before it is backfilled.  Some manufacturers say you can use this instead of a liquid applied waterproofing but typically I use both the waterproofing and the drainage mat.  This needs to drain to a footing drain preferably out of schedule 40 pvc pipe rather than that black corrugated pipe that can crash if a rock is backfilled against it.  I would look to see what waterproofing has been used and inquire about the drainage pipe that was installed.

Regarding whether to buy the house, all houses have problems, even new ones.  The drainage problem can likely be fixed.  The foundation problem may not be able to be fixed if it truly is bad soil and the house was not designed for this.  I would walk away if this is the case.

Hope this helps.  Good luck.

Nazim Nice
Principal / Architect
http://www.motion-space.com
--
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Read our blog at: http://seattlearchitects.blogspot.com/

See our completed projects at: http://www.motion-space.com/seattle-architects-projects.htm

Looking for an architect?: http://www.motion-space.com/seattle-architects.htm

What are the typical services of a design firm?: http://www.motion-space.com/seattle-architecture-firm.htm

Frequently asked questions of architects: http://www.motion-space.com/frequently-asked-architect-questions.htm

Sustainable and green design resources: http://www.motion-space.com/seattle-architects-green-design.htm

Choosing exterior colors and materials: http://www.motion-space.com/exterior-house-colors.htm

Read about remodeling your basement: http://www.motion-space.com/seattle-basement-remodel.htm

Need to add more space? Consider a second story addition: http://www.motion-space.com/seattle-second-story-additions.htm

Remodeling your entire house: http://www.motion-space.com/seattle-whole-house-remodel.htm

Check out our newest product - Custom Engraved switchplates: http://store.lumenid.com

See our gallery of products: http://store.lumenid.com/product-gallery.html

Send in your own switchplates: http://store.lumenid.com/mail-in.html

Uses for our custom engraved switchplates: http://store.lumenid.com/product-wheretouse.html