French Drain issue with basement

[SiteSolutions]

You're talking about that 1" sheet of yellow fiberglass, right?

[SiteSolutions]

Originally Posted by tomscreek

well I believe it would be his bad then, so I reckon he'll need to pay for it

I'd agree. Architects should be set up to take responsibility for this stuff, anyhow, like liability insurance or bonding or something.

If he really is over a barrel maybe you could give him a good break on it, especially this time of year, but I would hate to do it for free. Sometimes keeping a good relationship can help out later, but being somebody's b1tc4 / fall guy is just as likely to let the other guy think he can always get away with treating you bad. Definitely need to think about it and size up the character of the architect.

I love to keep customers happy but some people want the moon for one dollar over cost...

[clyde]

well what happened was We spoke about it on Thurs 2weeks b4 xmas
then the next Weds i got started !!! thats an entire week for him to think about it. And then what happened was when i put the soil up to the top of the CMU wall where the brick ledge is ( bricks have not been layed at this point) It rained a lot and poured over into the cells of the CMU and came in to the house. It was just bad BAD timing for the most part ... BUT !!!! this doesn't mean my french drain is at fault... adn they are fixing to put the bricks up this week and JUST NOW this week the architect is telling me we need to do this drainsheet or waterproofing membrane and need to dig out that by the wall ... The architect is going to call me today from what the contractor and i just talked about .. the contractor is saying its not my fault either. That the architect should have suggested this to begin with. and then there is the rain that poured into the cells. The contractor actually was there at the time it was raining and looked out and saw it going in there and started to do something about it. But it was a little to late and then the water oozed in ...

might lay the bricks and never have anymore trouble out of it ...
i told the contractor to fill the cells with motar b4 the bricks went in.
to make sure.

[chris638]

[QUOTE=SiteSolutions;2082486]1.

So I was supposed to backfill with 15' of gravel on that basement I did last summer? And the owner is just supposed to have gravel instead of grass all against his house? The guy said he used the perf pipe with a sock on it, so it's not going to clog.

There is a layer of seperation in between the gravel and the soil. Either filter fabric or straw. If you have ever seen a house being backfilled they are required by building code to seperate the soil and the gravel. Most of the time they use straw, because by the time the straw decomposes, the dirt has completely settled. Plus straw is cheaper than filter fabric. In Ohio, they must have this inspected before the house is backfilled with soil.

2.

You're right. Architects have to get a lot more schooling and experience than engineers.

Where did you get this information? This doesn't even make sense.

[chris638]

I'm still not sure where the architect comes into play. Why is he recommending the ways to backfill the house?

[LindblomRJ]

An architect handles design and other features of the structure.

The engineer makes sure the structure is sound and will withstand the enviroment it is to rest in.

[AGLA]

Write a change order to dig up and place the new materials with an hourly rate plus materials. Have it signed by the person paying you and then do the work.

What do you usually do when there is a change? Eat it? or bill for it?

[turfquip]

Originally Posted by clyde

6" perforated drain pipe.
sand around pipe and then washed gravel on top, backfill with
soil.

Why sand? That is not common practice around here. Sand would slow down migrating water getting into the pipe??

[SiteSolutions]

Originally Posted by chris638

Where did you get this information? This doesn't even make sense.

Have you ever looked into architecture or engineering programs at a major university? Engineering students are graduated in 4 years, maybe 5 if they take their time. You can't call yourself an architect for eight years plus. An architect has to study engineering and art, has to know codes, has to make it all work. Not that it is easy to be a PE, but I come from a place populated mostly by engineers. You can't spit without hitting an engineer in this town. Hell, my previous employer called me an "engineer" even though I don't have the degree. Engineers are great and all, but an architect should know his stuff.

[SiteSolutions]

Originally Posted by chris638

There is a layer of seperation in between the gravel and the soil. Either filter fabric or straw. If you have ever seen a house being backfilled they are required by building code to seperate the soil and the gravel. Most of the time they use straw, because by the time the straw decomposes, the dirt has completely settled. Plus straw is cheaper than filter fabric. In Ohio, they must have this inspected before the house is backfilled with soil.

Must have misunderstood what you said originally. To me, it read as though you were impying that no earth could be placed atop the gravel. My apologies.

Soil down here must be different from Ohio; we don't have to use fabric or straw between the crushed stone and fill material. In fact, if fabric is used on the drain itself, gravel isn't always used. Probably another reason is there's a lot fewer houses with real basements down here. All the "drained" houses I've worked on have been poured slab walls, with the basement being cut into the side of a hill.