Water in Crawlspace

[Joel NA]

There's water in the crawlspace of a prospective investment property at which we're looking.

It looks like the heavy clay soils are holding the water under the house and it can't "leak" back out through the crawl foundation and footers (which look surprisingly good). BTW the joists look good but a lot of the subflooring has been ruined by the moisture.

I was thinking of a plan, if we can "buy right", that would entail pumping out the water, digging an exterior perimeter drain and installing a sump. Obviously we'd check plumbing and gutters.

Any suggestions on logical steps if we end up buying this place?

[Jason Davis]

I work for a waterproofing company in Virginia. Never use Drylock, it creates a barrier so that the water can not get out of the cinder block. The water is there it's seeks the path of least resistance, give it a way out. Did a trench around the perimeter of the crawlspace, place a drain tile (corrugated pipe) inside the footer area, cover with stone (we use 57) then either a daylight drain, or a sump pump to pump it out. Then place a vapor barrier on the soil. We use a 15 mil white vapor barrier. This gives a nice clean appearance for the home inspectors. If mold exits find a contractor who uses a shockwave treatment. This is a penetrating chemical that not only kills surface mold but penetrates.