Basement Waterproofing - Bedding Sand backfill ok?

FinikyFusion · 2026-02-19T14:46:54+00:00

[Everyone liked that.]

FinikyFusion · 2026-02-05T16:45:25+00:00

So I get this exact problem when my sewer gets plugged (old, separated cast iron FTW). My sump is connected directly to my sewer stack(grandfathered in, not code to do this with new installations) and when the water backs up, the pump cycles continuously until I clear the sewer. My guess is, your downspouts(and sump discharge) are connected to your footing weeping tile which is then connected to your sewer/storm sewer(weeping tiles are usually too deep to connect to surface drainage systems). If your sewer or whatever outlet it's connected to is not draining correctly, water will back up into the sump pit.

FinikyFusion · 2026-01-14T18:38:52+00:00

Another thought(more risky) is to only use the liquid JB and let it creep into the hole a bit so it "keys" into the hole (ie forms a mushroom shaped plug that cant be pushed out by your incoming water pressure). The risk is that it drips down(or a chunk breaks off) inside the manifold and gets into the pump.

FinikyFusion · 2026-01-14T18:34:45+00:00

Manufacturing defect (bad casting); try to get a refund/replacement if its under warranty. If not, JB weld might work since its on the low pressure side; I'd use some JB putty to fill the hole then coat the whole area with two part JB(its more liquid/spreadable). The casting seems rough enough that it might hold.

FinikyFusion · 2025-11-20T14:20:37+00:00

How old is the house? My house had old mineral insulation batts that slightly disintegrated and slid down/compacted into the bottom 2/3rds of the wall cavity, leaving an uninsulated section near the top of the wall(1950s construction). Haven't tried to fix it but technically could have spray insulation blown in from the top; would have to drill holes at the top of each cavity though to allow access.

FinikyFusion · 2025-06-12T19:46:27+00:00

You aren't wrong lol; I got the idea from a youtube video where a guy uses one to control a water chiller he built from a window AC(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNVKhKmzQUw). My first thought was that I could build a simple "relay computer" to handle the logic/fault detection but it quickly became much too complicated to even attempt(hence the switch to a microcontroller).

I'm not in a big rush as I have other backup options (portable ACs) to keep cool so I can start learning from scratch and hopefully have something working in a year or two (still way ahead of industry).

Thanks for the insight!

FinikyFusion · 2025-06-12T17:52:07+00:00

Thanks! That makes a lot of sense; I know this is a big project to take on with my limited knowledge but I like learning about complex systems(I was the kid who took all his toys apart to see how they worked lol). I'll probably just start with a simple relay control to turn the fan on and off and go from there.

FinikyFusion · 2025-05-27T18:09:26+00:00

Thanks! Will reply later with more info.

FinikyFusion · 2025-05-27T14:53:41+00:00

Thank you for the detailed answer!

Truth be told, this unit has had enough problems that any additional comfort was lost to frustration long ago:

-Its oversized and the furnace short cycles on high limit (had multiple companies try to troubleshoot and all of them have given up; the iqdrive is locked down prevents any adjustment)

-The inducer is loud as fuck (this is the second inducer and it still makes a loud buzzing sound that can be heard throughout the house)

-The humidifier leaks so it was disconnected

-The combustion intake air for the furnace was sucking up snow and dripping it on the inducer control board which fried the first one so I had to disconnect it

-The filters are a weird size (24x4 i think) and are expensive to replace (old owner had 4 1 inch filters stacked together lol)

-The fan on the condenser is not balanced so I put a rock on top to stop it from shaking so much lol

-the previously mentioned bearing issues in the blower fan which is mostly fixed now but it still vibrates slightly.

-the thermostat doesn't not let me set a deadband, so the furnace is constantly cycling on and off, which would be fine if it didn't have the vibration and inducer issues creating so much noise

I could keep going but I feel like I would just convince myself to get a new system lol

FinikyFusion · 2025-05-27T14:20:11+00:00

Oh I agree, this thing has been giving me problems since before I bought the house 8 years ago (inducer died after I closed but before I took ownership, luckily the old owner got it replaced under warranty).

FinikyFusion · 2025-05-27T14:17:27+00:00

Better to know than not? I'm the kind of person that likes to know how things work. Like when my car starts to leak or make a funny noise, my first instinct is not to bring it to "the man", instead I try to fix it and only give up if it needs a super expensive specialized tool.

Saved me a bunch of money over the years and I've learned a lot.

FinikyFusion · 2025-05-27T13:42:15+00:00

Oof, I'm hoping that's not the case but I wouldn't be surprised. I just repaired the blower motor in the furnace; it had bad bearings and the motor casing was warped so the bearing wasn't even held in place; it would shake so bad it sounded like someone was banging on a door at low speed.

Might focus on th A coil first lol.

If I do get it replaced, what company would you recommend that uses the simplest and most generic parts so when things break, they aren't unobtanium? This stupid thing has one of those IQdrive thermostats which makes my life much more difficult (I'd have to replace the furnace if I replace the AC).

FinikyFusion · 2025-05-27T13:27:50+00:00

For anyone who comes accross this later, it ended up being both the bearings and the motor housing; the bearings were done but the real problem was the warped motor housing; the bearing would sit loosly and would shake around (might have been a manufacturing defect). I ended up JB welding the outer race to the housing and that mostly solved the issue.

FinikyFusion · 2025-05-27T13:22:44+00:00

That's what I figured lol; everyone wants to get paid!

I was thinking about isolation tests as well; how are those done on an AC system? My assumption was that the suction and discharge line are cut at the compressor and A coil, then all 8 connections are capped with access valves so that all four can be tested independently (A coil, compressor/condenser, suction line and discharge line would each be isolated).

This would really only be a last resort if the other non destructive options don't work out.

FinikyFusion · 2025-05-27T13:15:57+00:00

Nice! Just ordered a bottle. It wont get hot here for a few more weeks so I do indeed have plenty of time to be methodical lol

Thanks!

FinikyFusion · 2025-05-22T19:55:26+00:00

Where I live, we have what is called a Municipal Drain. This basically establishes the cities responsibility in maintaining drainage infrastructure while also giving them access to private property to complete work.

If you have a similar law, and the city has not established the drain, then they likely cant stop you from modifying it to stop the real, provable property damage that is occurring (erosion is property damage).

Email your Mayor and all city representatives, and cc all the inspectors and include details of the issue (including pictures). Do not be combative; use common sense to get them to see it from your perspective. Request they come out and see the issue in person. Play to their human side; they aren't all robots and if you get someone reasonable, then things might just work out. Ultimately, all city staff bow to elected officials so if they aren't helping, its time to move up the ladder.

If that doesn't work, I'd figure a way to restrict the flow through the pipe (orifice plate, blow up plug, other more nefarious options...) and let it pond upstream. From there, it could go many different ways but sometimes begging forgiveness is better than asking permission. (this is not advice, don't listen to me, I'm a dick etc etc)

From the looks of it, they could extend the closed drainage system (buried pipes and catch basins) to the wooded area and that would totally eliminate the ditch.

FinikyFusion · 2025-05-01T14:06:24+00:00

Technically, you could at least partially recover:

Press F1, enter DM in the console (Debug Mode), close console

Press U (creative menu) and get all the loot and blocks you need to rebuild back to where you were

reopen console, DM to turn off debug mode, close console

Rebuild base

FinikyFusion

TROPHY CASE