Peachtree Corners basement and crawl space water damage

A finished lower level in a house here may date from a different decade than the rest of the home, and may have been built with less attention to water than a modern job would. Framing can sit directly on the slab, with paper-faced drywall running to the floor and insulation against block. All of that holds moisture when water arrives. Finding out what is behind the wall is part of the job, because it decides how much must come out.

The usual entry points are the floor-wall joint on the buried side, window wells, a door at the bottom of an outside stair, and the sump pit if you have one. Water may not come from the wall at all, because a failed water heater or a washer hose can produce much the same result. Before you assume anything about waterproofing, check the water meter with everything turned off.

Plenty of homes on slopes pair a lower level with a crawl space under the rest of the house. Moisture can pass between them through a framed wall or an access door, so drying one and ignoring the other is a common way to leave a lingering smell. Check that the ground in the crawl section is covered, that the insulation has stayed in place and that condensate lines from the air handler are not draining onto the soil. A dehumidifier in the lower level will not reach much beyond a closed door, so ask how the contractor plans to deal with both spaces.

The Chattahoochee runs along roughly seven miles of the city's border, and the 2009 flood put a Norcross-named gauge 2.51 feet above flood stage. ^{[1] [2]} If your home sits near the river or a tributary, look it up on FEMA's map and ask your agent about flood cover and its waiting period. ^{[5] [3]} NFIP basement limits can leave out much of a finished lower level, so read how your policy defines a basement, and keep valuables elsewhere. Sewer backup is usually a separate add-on, which is worth checking if your lowest fixtures sit beneath the level of the street.

If water came from outside, treat it as contaminated. Finishes that soaked it up generally come out, and it is sensible to keep vulnerable people away until cleaning is done. Report flooded streets and broken storm drains to the county's dispatch line rather than attempting to clear them yourself. ^[6]

Mature trees bring shade and leaf-filled gutters, and their roots can block drains or find their way into old sewer laterals. Where a French drain was installed years ago, roots and silt may have clogged it without anyone noticing. A camera check of a drain line is a modest step before anyone proposes new excavation. Grading work around tree roots can harm the tree, so consider asking an arborist about significant specimens before digging close to them.

Many lower levels house the furnace, air handler and water heater in a utility room that may be the first place to flood. If water has touched gas valves or controls, leave them off until a qualified technician has checked them. Ducts running under a slab or at floor level can hold water, and that water can then feed musty air into the whole house once the system restarts. Ask about this before turning on the system. A condensate drain that backs up in summer is a frequent cause of a mystery wet patch in a nearby room, so have it cleared as part of annual service. When a utility room is rebuilt, ask whether equipment can stand on a raised platform, and whether a pan and an alarm can be added. Those small changes can make the next event much less serious. Keep the area around the equipment clear of boxes, because stored items hide leaks until the damage has spread well beyond the closet.

After any flood, also replace the furnace filter and have the blower checked before running the system for long periods.

Ask the technician to note what was checked.