Expert: James Ball - 12/29/2008

Question
We were on vacation for Christmas and returned last night.  We live in Chicago and in our absence the area got 1 foot of snow and numerous days of rain. Our fireplace is in the basement and we think the large amount of ground water is seeping thru the fireplace.  The concrete hearth is wet and the bricks below are also.  It was so much it soaked thru a corner of our area rug. (the rest of the floor is concrete).  Is that possible?  Can ground water seep thru?  If not do we have a larger problem on our hands? Thanks for the help

Answer
Hello Carrie, yes it is possible to get ground water to seep into the foundation. are you sure the water didn't come down the chimney? is there a cap on top? start there I would have a local Certified Chimney Sweep (www.csia.org, there you can look up by zip code to find one near you) take a first hand look at what you have.
if it is not coming down the e chimney then it probably is seeping through. then you will need a drainage expert.
James