Is this water damage?

mattmili

Hello,

I am currently in the process of finishing my basement.

While I was tracing out some existing electrical. I pulled off the existing insulation and noticed the fiberglass foam board was visibly damp. It's 20 years old. Is it supposed to be damp, water seepage?

Here are the pictures.

http://s1101.photobucket.com/albums/...li80/Basement/


Thanks

joed

Possibly. Can not see enough from those pictures.

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mattmili

Ok So i'll take some better pictures and post them.

Was I supposed to ask questions in a forum Vs. posting a new thread as I did?

Thanks,

TheCamper

You said that the foam board was visably wet when you pulled it off. Was this foam boards inside of the wall or was this the fiberglass panels that are the finished wall. In the photo the wall appears to be an interior partition, and it is unusual to have condensation in an interior partition. Provide a bit more information e.g. is the foundation below grade on three sides and open to grade at the rear; is that an interior partition where the same conditions, temperature and humidity, exist on both sides; what is above the partition; Provide some more information and you will find the visitors to this site very helpful.

joed

Your doing fine. I just can't tell from your pictures. Insulation should never be wet. If it is you have a problem with water leakage.

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mattmili

Thanks Joe for the reply!

Ok here are updated Pictures.

Yes, What I am taking pictures of is foam board/fiber glass and just behind it. The vinyl siding in the back

I am in Wilmington, DE near NJ. Hurricane Sandy is taking shape and today I did discover water leaking in. So hopefully you can see what's going on better in these pictures.

http://s1101.photobucket.com/albums/g424/mattmili80/

Thanks for everyones help

mattmili

I'm not a professional when it comes to trade work. I can't always explain with proper terminology.

So I uploaded a video to better explain my concern.

http://youtu.be/qHJduhfgYus

Thanks for the help.

joecaption

Let me make a guess, on the other side of that wall there's a pation, deck, stoop even with the threshold of that door and the wall.
That's 100% sure way to always have water coming in under the wall.
That's building 101 not to do that.
This will need to be addressed outside not inside.
Now we need a picture of the outside.
All door opening need to be at least 4" min. above and solid surface.
Siding and sheathing should not be within 6" of any grade.

mattmili

Hi Joe,

Thanks for the prompt reply and information. I am still trying to wrap my head around this and what I need to do to address this issue.

I recorded another reply video and did my best to video what I'm dealing with Outside, but with the weather. It's not the best time capture footage.

http://youtu.be/D7R_d_Yg_FE

See what you can make out of this video. It's obvious there is seapage coming from the deck to below.

Again, thanks to technology, the network were able to help each other out. I'll have to virtually send you a gift

Matt

joecaption

To late to fix it now but it sure looks like they did not take the time to install spacers to get the ledger board for the deck out away from the wall.
I'd be if you removed the siding where it meets the deck you would find they did not water proof the wall or use proper flashing to get the water to run down over the top of the ledger board.
http://www.decks.com/deckbuilding/Fl...e_Ledger_Board

mattmili

Ok thanks Joe! I'm thinking, maybe I can just buy more foam board to place over the existing and do my best to seal up anything before I proceed with the insulation and drywall.

Thank you

joecaption

Not sure why you think sealing up a leaking wall is the way to go?
Need to fix this on the outside first to stop the leaking.

mattmili

Duh! That is a valid point. However, you stated " It was too late"???

This is an attached townhome built 20 years ago. The basement has been unfinished for quite sometime.

My thought was I could take off that siding, install new board, seal it better and do what is necessary for this application??? Can I take that siding off? Do it right? Or do I have to start up on the deck and re-do that? Everything.

What would you do?

joecaption

Wait until the storm blows though, remove one row of siding and see what's behind it. Post a picture and we can talk you through it. Not going to be perfect but I'm sure we can get it to not leak again.

mattmili

Thanks Joe, Sounds like a plan. I will do that. Looking forward for "Sandy" to pass already, but it looks like it's creating work opportunity unfortunately.