How worried should I be about signs of water in a basement?
Worried enough to price it. Surface causes like grading and downspouts cost hundreds to fix. A failed weeping tile system or a cracked foundation means interior or exterior waterproofing, which runs from several thousand to well over twenty thousand.
Water is the most expensive recurring problem in older Toronto housing, and the cost range is enormous depending on the cause.
Cheap causes: downspouts discharging beside the foundation, ground sloping toward the house, a window well with no drainage. Hundreds of dollars and a weekend.
Mid: a cracked foundation wall injected from inside, or a sump pump and backwater valve installed. Low thousands. Some municipalities run a subsidy for backwater valves and sump pumps, Toronto among them, and many do not. It is a municipal programme with its own budget and eligibility rules, so check your own municipality rather than assuming one exists.
Expensive: excavating the exterior, membrane and new weeping tile. Tens of thousands, and more with landscaping to restore.
So the diagnosis is what matters, not the stain. Bring in a waterproofing contractor during the condition period and get a written quote for the actual cause. Also ask the seller whether they have made a water claim, because a claims history follows the property and affects what you will pay to insure it.
What it depends on
- whether the cause is surface drainage or the foundation
- interior versus exterior waterproofing
- how much landscaping has to be restored
Answer it with your own numbers
You will need: municipality.
Find waterproofing contractorsNext questions
What are the red flags in an older Toronto house?
Knob-and-tube wiring, a sixty amp service, galvanized supply pipes, a clay drain line under mature trees, an underdug basement without proper underpinning, vermiculite insulation, and any unpermitted basement apartment.
City of Toronto
What makes a house hard or expensive to insure?
Knob-and-tube or aluminum wiring, galvanized or polybutylene plumbing, a sixty amp service, a roof past its life, an oil tank, and a history of water claims. Any of these can mean a surcharge, a condition to fix within thirty days, or a refusal.
Ontario