Leak in my basement (need ideas)

[LonelyBedouin]

So this past summer our furnace/AC was leaking and it soaked our downstairs living room. It was clear it was the furnace this time as we could see the trail of water from the furnace room to the spot where the water damage was.

We thought we had everything fixed, then last night we had the same problem although this time there is no trail from the furnace to the water damage spot. But small amounts of water underneath the furnace and a little water in its filter.

My thinking is the leak was minimal and the water dried quickly on the cement floor in the furnace room. Anyone have any ideas if Im not looking in the right place? Possible leak elsewhere?

[waderow]

So this past summer our furnace/AC was leaking and it soaked our downstairs living room. It was clear it was the furnace this time as we could see the trail of water from the furnace room to the spot where the water damage was.

We thought we had everything fixed, then last night we had the same problem although this time there is no trail from the furnace to the water damage spot. But small amounts of water underneath the furnace and a little water in its filter.

My thinking is the leak was minimal and the water dried quickly on the cement floor in the furnace room. Anyone have any ideas if Im not looking in the right place? Possible leak elsewhere?

sounds like its coming through the roof down the exhaust stack

[RagingRandy]

Both AC and High efficiency furnaces produce water in their respective processes. Check to see if you have a drain tube that is leaking. It could also be a cracked drain pan.

[LonelyBedouin]

I will check those things out, Ill report back in a little bit.

I have already pulled back the carpet and padding, I should be replacing the padding no matter what? Or can I try and salvage it?

[waderow]

I will check those things out, Ill report back in a little bit.

I have already pulled back the carpet and padding, I should be replacing the padding no matter what? Or can I try and salvage it?

depends how wet it got. At the least you have to pull the carpet and put fans on the pad. If you have mold you should pull the pad.

[RagingRandy]

Underpad is cheap. If there is even a question of mold, replace it. There is underpad specially designed for basements that is breathable as well as mold and mildew resistant.

[LonelyBedouin]

Its damp but definitely not soaked. There is no crack in the pipes or anything. But I might not be looking in the right spot, theres no leaking going on as of right now. But the enbridge dude is coming in a little while to check it out.

[waderow]

cheap but pain in the ass.
a little water wont hurt you.

A long standing mess that's molded you should put in the effort, pull the entire rooms carpet, rip up the pad and replace it, then re-stretch the carpet.

There is a sensible approach, and then there is a mike holmes on holmes approach. One is sensible, and one is not

[LonelyBedouin]

So to add to my headache, I had a friend pick up under padding as I am unable to leave my home because Im waiting for the repair guy to come. He comes back hands me the bill... Its 633 dollars for ****ing under padding... Ok Ill just do my entire basement since I have it, and I wouldnt mind replacing it. I go out to the truck to bring it in, and its 12' by 6' I crapped my pants, please dont tell me this is average price... if so Im going into the wrong profession. I cant even return it cause it was cut in store.

Thanks again guys, wade Ill hit you up with green as soon as I can (need to give it out to other people first)

[RagingRandy]

This is as close as I could find at short notice. http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?D=976687&Ntt=976687&catalogId=10051&langId=-15&storeId=10051&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntx=mode+matchall&recN=0&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber

It seems they may have charged you the per square yard $ but measured by the square foot.

[LonelyBedouin]

I dont think thats it. Its called Vitaguard. Thats what it says on the reciept priced at 6.50 per sq yard and I had 85 square yards unless my math is wrong. Which I think it is... I dont see how 12feet by 6feet is 85 square yards

[LonelyBedouin]

Wouldnt 12' by 6' be 72 sq ft so 8 sq yrds? No?

[RagingRandy]

Wouldnt 12' by 6' be 72 sq ft so 8 sq yrds? No?

yes

12 X 6 / 9 = 8

[z83]

I doubt the furnace is the problem. During summer, the coil is in cooling and will produce water. There is a drain to evacuate it. I don't know where you're from but at this time of the year, you're probably heating so there's not water (evaporator sweating) in the furnace. The coil act as a condensor in heating mode, it's dry.

[RagingRandy]

^^^^^ For your edification..
High-efficiency furnaces create a steady stream of condensation (water). If the drain tubes get disconnected, water leaks in and around the furnace. Since this condensate is also slightly acidic, it will corrode steel very fast.

A high-efficiency furnace can produce up to 10 gallons of water a day. The by-products of burning natural gas are C02 and water.

[LonelyBedouin]

Thanks boys, yea its 8 sq yrds, they ****ed that up but were cool about it I just called they said to jsut come in with receipt and they'd correct it. But still waiting on the technician to come in. And its a high efficiency furnace

[waderow]

Rr. No offence but its too intermittent to be the hose

[RagingRandy]

^^^^ Just throwing out another possibility. Without looking at it myself I would never give any definitive answer. No offense taken.

[z83]

^^^^^ For your edification..
High-efficiency furnaces create a steady stream of condensation (water). If the drain tubes get disconnected, water leaks in and around the furnace. Since this condensate is also slightly acidic, it will corrode steel very fast.

A high-efficiency furnace can produce up to 10 gallons of water a day. The by-products of burning natural gas are C02 and water.

maybe if he's on a gas heating furnace. With a standard furnace, it's either the condensator (if it's not too cold outside) or electric heater. In both cases, there shouldn't be any water in the furnace

[gsxr750]

Am I reading that correctly? They tried to charge you for *85* square yards instead of *8*?

That's quite the 'mistake' sounds like a very shady company to me. They should be able to look at the room and know that it shouldn't be costing you 10x their past experiences.. i'd be pissed.

[LonelyBedouin]

Am I reading that correctly? They tried to charge you for *85* square yards instead of *8*?

That's quite the 'mistake' sounds like a very shady company to me. They should be able to look at the room and know that it shouldn't be costing you 10x their past experiences.. i'd be pissed.

Yea, my friend actually asked why it was so expensive but it was pretty much his first time visiting home depot... Im sure it was just a error in the message sent from the flooring department to cash or something. I dont really care as I got my money back thank god. And ended up only paying for 8 sq yards

[LonelyBedouin]

so for a little update, the technician came last night, said it wasnt the furnace at all because its a mid-efficiency thus no water from it. He left, I hate these people...

But I did find the problem. One of my mother friends moved the knob on the humidity, thus having 40% humidity in the winter. I didnt think twice about checking it and didnt even notice the condensation around our front window until just today. So opened that up and pulled the filter and tubing checked to see if any tubing had a crack in it, and sure enough it did. It was a substantial crack too. Replaced everything today and its all good as new. *Hopefully knock on wood*