Brooklyn STA.R

I just got home from an amazing dinner at Babbo (it has been 10 years since my last trip) and the first thing I did was run down to my basement. The basement has been somewhat of a challenge since we bought the place. All the tenants have used it for storage and use the washer and dryer. There is also the claim that it was once a speakeasy for the area. An area that was once a respite for the lonely sailor seeking a prostitute. The bar and cabinets were interesting, but too distressed to save. They also closed off the space.

When the water showed up (ready Reality), the wall under the steps started to come down, causing me some panic that the stairs would follow. So I decided this was priority one and pushed the asbestos removal back a few months. Asbestos removal is such a lame way to spend thousands!!! Anyway, this crumbling wall allowed me to open up the space, remove the speakeasy and create some additional under the steps storage, which is way more practical than a falling over bar.

In high heels I trekked downstairs to the basement I have come to love drying out and checked out my new cinder block wall, repaired brick and cleaned out storage space under the stairs. Best way to spend 2K….aaaahhhh, the satisfaction. Now the question becomes, how do I re-configure the basement for storage and laundry. At least now I have a clean slate. I guess I’ll call the asbestos guy soon :).

Real estate is not for the weak.  Irene has certainly proven that this week.  I feel I need to write about my recent experience with water in the basement of our Brooklyn Brownstone and what I am doing about it (or not doing about it).  It was a good lesson in “finding that leak”.

Two weeks ago the rain was intense and on Sunday morning my husband discovered about an inch of water covering the basement floor.  It ruined a few rugs and some other junk I needed to part with anyway.  But geez it was a pain to clean up.  We didn’t have a wet vac that was big enough or fans or anything someone needs when water arises.  I investigated the hell out of the basement, trying to find the point of entry and basically settled on the wall that adjoins the commercial/apartment building next door.  Water was seeping in and I could see it coming through the wall.  Buzz kill.  After hours of pumping about 200 gallons into my sump pump - husband bought a 16 gallon wet vac - the basement was finally getting somewhere.  Husband then returned to Lowes for 3 fans & a de-humidifier.  With all of the humming, the basement dried out pretty quickly.  So when Irene started to rear her ugly head, I WAS READY!

I spent a couple days trying to figure out where the water was coming from.  I had a trusty contractor over and we decided to repair the front by the old hatch to the basement.   It was definitely leaky, but not 200 gallons leaky….I didn’t think that was the cause.  We had recently installed pavers in the back garden and there was some pooling against the adjoining building, which I was concerned about.  However, he dismissed it….and didn’t think it was the cause.  Like all good water seekers….he thought it was the roof or the building next door.  Unfortunately he couldn’t do the work before Irene, so we hoisted everything up, cleaned up what we could and waited. 

I couldn’t sleep so at 4am I went to look and there is was, my lovely water.  The sump pump was running, but is installed by the boiler and hot water tanks.  This is smart, but NOT where the water was entering.  Once again the wall adjoining said commercial building was the cause.  I pumped, mopped and fanned…..it was a quick clean-up this time.  I was a pro.  My contractor showed up at 830am on Monday ready to fix the concrete in the front and a wall that was falling apart under my steps in the basement.  Yes, something else.  This time I made him evaluate the whole property.  The backyard, he pulled up the newly laid gravel in the side alley - only to conclude it was in great condition and didn’t need work.  He went into the crawl space - it was dry as a bone.  The backyard was not causing our water - PHEW

I decided before I did any work to the foundation that I needed to get into that commercial building.  So I called the management company and with flip flops and a dress, we trekked into a basement that NO ONE had seen for weeks.  And there it was - a foot of water had been there and BLACK MOLD.  The manager was definitely in denial and said to my contractor “where is the water coming from, you are the expert”.  Did this guy realize that water is tricky….I mean unless there is a burst pipe, it’s an investigation.  We spent a few minutes down there and started to suffocate, so we left.  He also took us to the basement below my backyard and I was pleasantly surprised to find that my backyard drainage issue was NOT an issue for this building….my water was finding it’s way into the ground.  SIGH. 

My contractor and I concluded that there must be a drainage issue from the roof - which is LARGE - to the sewer line.  It’s clearly clogged and not able to drain fast enough.  I am going to follow-up with the building in the next week and see what they have accomplished.  I will mention my conclusion that they need to get their sewer lines cleaned and see what they say.  I plan on telling them that if it doesn’t get fixed I will definitely be filing a complaint.  The amount of water this basement is getting is SHOCKING.   Well, I guess not as shocking as what people are dealing with in other locations, but it’s an annoying amount of water. 

Brownstone living can be tricky, sharing walls, roofs, and foundations.  Finding water problems can take awhile.  I’m just glad I know the source.  Not sure the building owners are, but they don’t really know what they have.  Real estate is NOT for the weak. 

Water solved, for the time being - signing off - CNR