Dear Pat,
My neighbor is just putting her house on the market. She worked a long time getting it ready to sell, which it needed, but she did one thing I just don't understand: she actually had her basement drain tiled. My basement is often wet, too, but I'm not going to spend thousands extra when it's my turn to sell. I know you are always talking about fixing houses before they go on the market, but this seems too extreme. What do you think? I say she's…
---Going Too Far
Dear Going,
We'll get to the real estate aspects of your question in a minute, but first I want to share a dream with you: imagine a world where we all can laugh when the spring storms deluge our yards, where little girls and boys have dry rec room space to ride their trikes, where grandma can retrieve her fall canning without wearing hip boots…this is my dream, a drain-tiled world! OK, so it's not a lofty MLK dream, or even a John Lennon. But it's a dream shared by Realtors everywhere (except maybe in the desert Southwest), who suffer panic calls every April and May when their new listings start springing leaks!
For the dry-minded, here's a quick primer: drain-tile is not really tile at all, but is a perforated, 6-inch-wide plastic tube set around the base of the building foundation, collecting moisture and sending it to a sump pump, which pumps the water up and away from the house. All new construction and fully excavated additions are required by local codes to be drain-tiled, and it's a cheap and easy installation before the concrete floor is poured. Old-house dwellers will have to pay much more-typically $3000-$4000 for an average basement-to have a drain-tile contractor break out the existing floor around the perimeter, install the tile and sump pump, and re-pour the concrete needed. |
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 Too pricey, you say? Consider these dollar arguments for
drain-tiling:
1. What would you pay to add an extra room or two to your home, say an additional 500 square feet? A one-story addition, with crawlspace (no basement) would cost between $30,000-$50,000. For the cost of drain-tiling, you gain 500 feet of dry space in your basement, with additional interior finishing costs ranging from
$3000-$10,000.
2. When the roof is bad, virtually every sane person shrugs and shells out the $5000-
$7500 it takes to re-roof if a tearoff is required. Remember, half that amount could
bring the same peace of mind about water coming in from below, and create lifestyle
options for you (see #1).
3. While drain-tiling is a last-resort solution for water problems (after soil contouring and improved gutters and downspout extenders), in many cases it is the only way to a dry basement. Buyers are aware of this, too, and
will often factor a wet basement into their offering price.
| Pat
Rosaves is a full-time real estate
professional living in the Seward -
Longfellow area. She has more than 27
years experience in helping people with
their real estate needs. Questions may be
sent to her at River Realty, 2543 38th
Avenue South, Mpls, MN 55406. Or call her
at 612-724-1314 or email her at
pat@riverrealty.net
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