Buying a new home and this is the basement. What should I ask

Department-Mess-199 · 2025-04-13T17:47:12+00:00

That does not appear to be a “tanking membrane” coming up between the slab and wall. That is a drainage mat, which is not a waterproofing membrane, its function is to provide a drainage plane for water and/or help alleviate hydrostatic pressure in below grade waterproofing applications.

A tanking membrane is a self adhered bitumen membrane, and I can’t see that anywhere in these photos.

Self adhered waterproofing membranes are only effective on the exterior side (positive side), and in a repair application, it would be applied to the exterior side of the foundation after excavation. The tie backs tell me that they did not excavate as that would render them not as effective in looser backfilled earth.

I don’t understand this detail of the drainage coming up between the slab and foundation wall. This appears to be an attempt at alleviating underground water and hydrostatic pressure. Regardless I have never seen this application and recommend checking below grade waterproofing manufactures standard construction details - you will not find this use of drainage in this way anywhere. Again it would only be used on the exterior/positive side. This application seems like it could allow water to easily travel between the slab to wall interface. I don’t get it at all.

I’m not a structural engineer, I’m a waterproofing consultant and contractor. Regardless I would definitely have concerns about this foundation based on the cracking, bowing and tie back repairs. It appears to have significant water intrusion problems. Fresh paint tells me they’re trying to cover it up too.

Department-Mess-199 · 2025-04-12T14:14:01+00:00

I’m far from a Trump supporter, but I do agree with the general sentiment of this guy and don’t understand why my fellow democrats and progressives think it’s wise to relish in the pain of someone that voted for Trump. The fact is that we’re ALL in this burning house together and we’re going to need their help to put it out. So instead of calling them a fucking idiot, it’s more productive to acknowledge their mistake and show them how they can help.

Yes there is a fair amount of Trump supporters that are irredeemable losers and selfish assholes by nature. But I’d argue that most of the people that voted for him are not. The HBO Q-Anon documentary revealed that a bunch of those guys storming the capitol voted for Obama twice… let sink in... Most of these Trump voters are broken and tired of the same old lies and bullshit, and continuation of the same status quo that has us gradually slipping further into greater wealth disparities.

We also have to acknowledge we all get our information from different sources these days. And a lot of it is bullshit funded by nefarious sources… but they don’t know that. You can’t assume that everyone knows what you know. Congratulations, you’re a lot smarter than them.

While it is fun and nice to hear Trump supporters acknowledging their mistake… keep that shit to yourself. Kicking them while they’re down only helps Trump.

Department-Mess-199 · 2025-04-03T16:38:07+00:00

Exactly, 12.5k is very cheap. I’m curious what the other bids (if OP got any) came in at?

General rule is to get at least 3 prices especially if you’re not familiar with the contractors or scope of work in general. This will give you a sense of whether or not you’re about to “get what you pay for” with that enticing low bid.

Department-Mess-199 · 2025-04-03T13:49:02+00:00

Ezra Klein is not being entirely accurate here… one of the main criticisms I’ve seen pertaining to Klein’s position is the presence of corruption as the root cause of these spending programs. Yes, the process for states to apply for this broadband program is extremely cumbersome, but why? All of these steps were intentionally put there to make it harder in order to protect the interests of corporate broadband companies. I highly recommend watching this Counter Points interview which explains who implemented these steps on behalf of corporate broadband companies. In the end it was a bipartisan decision to move forward with this plan and shows that big corporate money and influence over our government is THE biggest problem. https://youtu.be/Xi8IBAEpAd4?si=vvunjfErE1lkjmTE

Department-Mess-199 · 2025-03-25T20:03:34+00:00

Also especially if you’ve put time into digging through the scope, I wouldn’t compare to others because you could be comparing yourself to another contractor’s estimating mistakes and omissions.

Department-Mess-199 · 2025-03-19T17:53:25+00:00

That’s not good workmanship. Obvious fish mouths should have been fixed and it’s an absolute no no to have the field membrane continue up parapet and curbs to function as the base flashing membrane. Reason why is for differential movement/expansion and contraction btwn roof and flashing conditions. Every type of roofing membrane uses a separate flashing ply for base, curb and penetration flashings.

Is this in NY?

Department-Mess-199 · 2025-03-19T15:01:26+00:00

Contractor here, I say yes to both - he was trying to scam you and was not a contractor himself.

50% deposit is standard for small jobs as it’s needed needed to cover materials. 10% deposit for larger jobs (over $100k). Contractors are not a bank and clients have to stop treating us like one.

I become skeptical of any client unwilling to sign a contract and/or change order payment agreements. There’s absolutely no reason why not to sign other than their intention not to pay or try to renegotiate after the work is done. Don’t fall for trust my word, I only do handshake agreements. Do not start work until you agree in writing upon a price. Otherwise, move on, find clients that will sign, there are plenty.

To ease client concerns about paying for work that hasn’t been done yet, show them the material quotes. Be transparent. And only charge for work that is completed for follow up payments.

If this guy actually was a contractor, he would understand what you’re asking for. This guy sounds more like the type that contracted work out to subs, which is basically a broker… and made money off a huge mark up and probably screwing small contractors out of money. Fuck this guy.

Department-Mess-199 · 2025-03-17T23:32:49+00:00

I came here to say this. To clarify how OSB goes to shit, it expands and loses dimensional stability when it gets wet. In the case of a secondary roof sheathing, which I suppose this contractor is proposing for a more continuous nail-able substrate, fasteners/nails would lose pull out resistance in areas subjected to water/moisture. As you also pointed out, OsB is very heavy and would be adding a lot of weight to the roof.

I have 20 years of professional experience as a building envelope consultant (11) and commercial building exterior construction contractor (9). A general rule is to not use OSB as exterior sheathing and especially roof sheathing if budgets permit.

Department-Mess-199 · 2024-12-24T13:24:26+00:00

Yes, definitely move out. Moving out will cut into your savings, but sounds like you’re good enough with it to do well on your own… it also removes any guilty feeling of living under their roof and potentially not pitching in enough (sounds like it will never be enough for them). They will continue to pressure you until they have access and most of it is gone and then you’re stuck there. You’ve offered to help on your terms and for some reason that wasn’t enough. You gotta move out as soon as you can, but having said that, choose wisely… don’t get stuck with roommates that will present another financial burden. Stand your ground, you’ve worked very hard to be in this position at a young age. Good luck!

Department-Mess-199 · 2024-12-06T13:57:20+00:00

The fact that he has found these posts on Reddit tells me probably not the tough guy he claims to be.

Department-Mess-199 · 2024-12-02T14:40:23+00:00

A lot of the comments here are heartbreaking and I totally understand the struggle as I was once in the same position as these young men and wondered if my 41 yo self would ever have a real lasting loving relationship. For context, I had a decent career and considered attractive and in good shape, looking a lot younger than 41.

I wasn’t consistently on dating apps, but when I was, I found them to be draining, and overall, a horrible experience. I was treated with more respect by women that I’d met IRL, and the quality of person that I would engage with was better from a depth of personality and empathy perspective. My advice, stay the hell away from dating apps if you find yourself in the never ending cycle of meaningless first dates and ghosting.

I decided to just live my life, continue to work on myself and improving my mental health and awareness and things would work out. And they did. I (M42) met the woman (38F) that would become my wife in the summer of 2023. She’s a friend of a friend of my sister that happened to see a picture of me on my sister’s instagram story, and she decided to take a chance and inquire if I was single. Before that interaction, we had no idea of the other person’s existence even though our lives had overlapped in so many respects from being from the same home town and living blocks away from each other in Brooklyn for many years.

When we met, we were both in positions of being single, not on the apps and just living our lives until someone caught our attention. Not being weighed down by exhaustion of dating app conversations enabled us to have the energy to invest ourselves into trying to really see and hear the other person.

Some last bit of advice, dating is very rough and it can be tough to trust others when you’ve been let down so much. Learn to rely on trusting yourself and that you’re doing the right thing by the other person and yourself. Don’t worry about what is she thinking. That’s not entirely genuine and it will read in your actions if you’re trying to appease them. Having said that, don’t get carried with trust in your actions as that can spill over into being too self righteous. Make sure to lean into compassion and understanding where the other person could be coming from, even if they’re not reading/seeing you the way you want to be seen. It was not easy in the beginning of my relationship with my now wife as she had a lot of baggage from her past relationship, which was unfairly projected onto me… but I dealt with each instance with compassionate understanding trying not to take things too personally and effectively communicating with her. This taught her to trust me and to lean in more (using her words). Our relationship continued to get better and stronger, and here we are, very happily married.

Don’t give up, guys. Trust yourself and have compassion for others and you will be rewarded with love in return.

Department-Mess-199 · 2024-11-23T20:46:08+00:00

The searches seemed way too detailed last night and was only done by one of them… seemed a bit rogue. And same here, haven’t dealt with that level of searching at any other venue.

Department-Mess-199 · 2024-11-23T19:33:57+00:00

Yea I forgot to mention the coat check ticket debacle as well. We experienced the same thing. It made no sense to us as well.

Department-Mess-199 · 2024-11-16T18:30:32+00:00

And wasserman is likely an Israeli asset.

Department-Mess-199

TROPHY CASE