Sump pump powerless to stop the flow

Q. Thanks for your great advice columns! Two questions re: basements: 1. We have a poured concrete foundation and a sump hole into which flows endless water, under the concrete floor, almost endlessly when it rains or it snows. Sump pump runs and runs. We're in constant fear while away from home that there will be a power failure. It happened before and persisted long enough to exhaust the battery backup. The land is sloped away from the back and the only cause I can think of is that the builder didn't build up the soil enough under the planter beds in front between the concrete walkway and the house wall. What remedy would you suggest? 2. The same basement has a crack running up from the floor to the top. I have noticed what appears to be other hairline cracks. But this one has begun to very slightly seep water just above the floor. Is it possible to seal the crack and what would you recommend for the task?

A. Unless you have an underground spring, it is quite conceivable that the water problem you experience is due to flat or negative grade around the foundation, or maybe only in the front of your house, as you indicate. It is the cause of the great majority of such problems. When the weather permits, check carefully around the foundation and, if there is more than 6 inches of concrete above the present soil to raise the grade to slope away by approximately 2 inches per horizontal foot; do so with good loam. That would entail adding soil to the planter beds to achieve this slope. Mulched beds encourage the retention of moisture and encourage insects; that is why I am not fond of them against foundations. It is best to plant these beds a few feet away and have a healthy stand of grass or thick ground cover against the foundation.

If that does not solve the problem, you may have a subsurface water course. That will require a different strategy. Talk to an electrician; see whether he or she can add another battery in series to double the running time during a power outage.

Since your land slopes to the rear, a pipe should be able to be connected to the subslab through the foundation wall or under the footing, albeit at considerable expense, and drain to daylight. Hairline cracks are an inherent part of concrete curing and are nothing to be concerned about. The larger crack that admits water can be filled with Water Plug. You can buy it in hardware and building-supply stores.

Q. Last spring we had new triple pane windows installed. Since that time, we have had cardinal birds land on the window sills and thrust themselves against the windows. We never had that problem with our old windows. They hit the windows so hard that several windows must be replaced. They do not fly directly into the window, but land on the sill and then against the window. Any suggestion?

A. You've got some cardinals to be able to damage your new windows by throwing their light, feathered bodies against them! They must have gone through football blocking training! Kidding aside, they see their reflection on the glass and think it is a rival they need to chase away.

Why they didn't do that with your older window is not clear. Could the windows be defective to be so damaged that they need replacing?

The simplest solution, if acceptable to you, is to hang some special netting over the windows to encompass the sills so they can't land on them. The netting also gives birds a visual block that is said to prevent them from crashing into windows. You can get this black, discreet bird netting by Googling "bird netting."

Q. I have a playroom addition built around 1960, 20-by-30 feet on a slab with slate floor. It is very cold and I am trying to figure how to warm the floor without spending an arm and leg. Radiant heat is not an option unless I purchase a whole furnace. The main part of the house uses forced hot air. This is heated by a monitor. Would laying insulation and putting down flooring do much? Any ideas?

A. Even if you purchased a "whole furnace" - and you already have one since you heat with forced air - how would that help with slate on a concrete slab? More than likely, an addition built in 1960 does not have an insulated concrete slab, or even perimeter insulation. You can't do much about insulating under the slab, but you can insulate the perimeter of the slab next spring when the ground thaws out. This will need to be done carefully. A small trench should be dug down about 2 feet and, assuming that there is a full-depth frost wall, the foundation should be cleaned and 1-inch thick extruded polystyrene (XPS) applied with a compatible adhesive to the concrete. The insulation needs to be covered with pressure-treated plywood and the entire assembly properly flashed under the siding to keep dirt and water out.

No amount of insulation will make walking with bare feet comfortable on a slate or any other masonry floor. Dense materials expose more sensitive nerve endings to them than wood floors do since wood is cellular. Your immediate option for more comfort is to cover all or part of the floor with nonskid thick padding and carpeting.

As you suggest, laying down rigid insulation and installing new flooring - as long as it is wood - would help, but what about the increased height of the floor in relation to doorways?

Q. About four to five times a year the melting snow and/or rain causes the ground around my house to get saturated. When this occurs my sump pump will go on about every 10 seconds or so for several days. I would like to install the best sump pump and backup system available. What do you recommend? Thank you.

A. Go to www.zoeller.com. Click on Zoeller Pump Co., Products, and Backup Systems.

Q. I purchased a Gordon Wrench and I still cannot budge the turn off valve on the toilet; is there another suggestion? Enjoy your informative column.

A. Try squirting WD-40 on the valve's stem and waiting overnight. It may loosen the valve enough for the Gordon Wrench to work.

Q. The information you gave us about on-demand water heaters was very helpful and we have decided to install one. Now we need to decide on insulation for our new home and are trying to stay within our budget. The house is being built down the shore on a lagoon. The outside walls are framed with two-by-sixes, and the house has two floors with a high attic (10 feet to the ridge). The first floor has 9-foot ceilings and the house is about 2,400 square feet. The cost of foam insulation would be $12,000 more than if we were to use fiberglass insulation. We are trying to determine, how does the foam insulation compare to fiberglass insulation for things like R-value, moisture, mold and insects? One thing in particular that we are concerned about is the fact that we are on the water and if the foam might hold more moisture in the house and make it damp. We need to make our decision in about a week or two. This seems like a lot of extra money to spend on insulation and we were wondering if our money would be better spent on something else in the new house. My wife and I really appreciate your advice.

A. Closed-cell foam insulation is a very good product, albeit expensive. It does not absorb moisture - as open-cell foam, such as Icynene does - and is highly resistant to mold. It is ideal for cathedral ceilings that are so prone to serious problems. Closed-cell foam is also very good in any walls. Icynene is fine in walls that are built with an effective vapor retarder on the inside and allow moisture to permeate through the sheathing and siding to the outside. It is also fine on the floor of regular attics where any absorbed moisture can escape into the open and adequately vented attic. I would not recommend it in cathedral ceilings.

The R-factor of foam insulation is higher than fiberglass per inch of thickness, but the R-factor of a wall assembly will depend on how thickly the foam is applied. Fiberglass insulation does not hold moisture, but moisture can permeated through it to condense on the sheathing unless precautions are taken to provide an effective vapor retarder on the warm side of the wall. Be particularly attentive to how the space between the structural framing and the frames of doors and windows is chinked. Fiberglass in these spaces is a mistake; they should be foamed with low-expansion foam made for the purpose.

Insects in the form of termites and carpenter ants will not be deterred by either fiberglass or foam. The way to deal with them is to treat the soil yearly as needed by an independent pest-management professional.

If you have a careful builder who is attentive to these things, fiberglass should be fine, considering the tremendous difference in price. A smarter and less expensive way to increase the R-factor of your house walls is to use 1-inch-thick extruded polystyrene (XPS) rigid insulation as sheathing under the siding. This will be a better use of your funds. A competent builder will know how to make the house structurally sound using nonstructural sheathing.

• Henri de Marne's column appears Sundays. He was a remodeling contractor in Washington, D.C., for many years, and is now a consultant. Write to him in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006, or via e-mail at henridemarne@gmavt.net.

© 2009, United Feature Syndicate Inc.