BG Homeowner and DIY Thread - Out of the Basement Edition

[Boyiee]

LITERALLY as I sent that earlier I got a call we might be able to close today and do a use an occupancy until the 7th, letting the seller's live there until they can move out that day and pay us rent for the time there.

What a mad fucking scramble it was, my wife had to leave work early, we were signing papers as they were still being printed and arriving.

Anyway we closed and took possession just can't take keys do the walk-through or move in until the 7th. Holy fuck.

[Ksandra]

OMG that's horrible. I hope it works out for you.

We are sort of in the opposite situation where we might get fucked owning two homes, but not sure yet.


So to recap important background info:

We were contingent on the sale of our home.
Found a buyer in 4 days,
Couldn't get accepted on an offer for a new home this way.
Let Buyer continue with escrow and applied for a bridge loan in the process.
Got accepted on the bridge loan ONLY because we had a buyer for our home.
Was supposed to close on our current house today and new house on the 11th.

So how the shit hit the fan:
Found out two days ago there is an issue with our buyer's lender. Apparently our HOA needs a certain amount of reserves for him to get his particular loan.
Buyer really wants the house, but iirc this was some kind of special loan that he could afford.
Lender said they were going to try and bypass the requirement, but no word so far.
This put us in hot water. If he pulls out on the purchase we lose our bridge loan since it hasn't finished processing, which means we'd lose out on our future home purchase AND we would probably get fined/lose our 14k deposit on the home because we were no longer contingent on our house sale.

Thankfully, my realtor is smart and she was somehow able to get all lenders to agree to this:
We gave our buyer a 2 week extension to try and get his loan to approve.
We close on our house in 1 week as planned.
If the buyer's loan falls through then the bridge loan/house sale can't be cancelled since it would have been completely processed by then.


This does mean we'd end up paying two mortgages, which is kinda scary, but our house was under escrow in 4 days so I imagine it'll be fast to get another buyer. Plus we had reserve funds for upgrades as is that we can use for the mortgage. Worst case we'll look into renting out the home until it sells.

[Kirin]

Going to cut into my driveway cement this weekend to install the drain. Just a 6 inch square hole.

Whats the best sealant, if any, to place around where the plastic drain meets the cement? I was going to use clear bathroom silicone caulk since it is exposed to water frequently. Is there something better?

[archibaldcrane]

You'd want at least a construction adhesive, but best would be an epoxy glue.

[archibaldcrane]

You could try Liquid Nails but something like this would work really well.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/PC-Products...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[archibaldcrane]

But ask yourself if you want to be able to open the drain for any reason.

[Kirin]

But ask yourself if you want to be able to open the drain for any reason.

The drain has a screw cover than I can open and close. So that's not an issue.

I'll look into the epoxy, thanks.

[archibaldcrane]

Just, uh, be careful

Epoxy glue is legit dangerous, you can not get it onto your skin.

[Jaybar]

Whoa hold up lol. Are you just sealing it for waterproofing or trying to glue it in place? Definitely do not use retail grade bathroom sealant for exterior use. A silicone sealant is going to be the longest lasting, but you will not be able to paint it or use any other sealant (except silicone) in the future. Polyurethane is the next best with lower lifetime but more adaptable for painting or using other sealants in the future.

If trying to glue it in place assume it will be permanent and that removing it will require destroying the drain and likely the drain pipe or surrounding concrete (wherever you glue it to). The drain cover should be fastened into the drain pipe flange and not glued, but I'm not sure what your situation is. An epoxy glue will give you the best adhesion and durability, but if traffic will be driving over this then it might be too brittle/inelastic. Most construction adhesives suck when exposed so expect this to be re-glued every couple winter seasons (if it exists in your region).

[Drai]

I think generally when we do garage drains and the like, we just set it with the grills installed and seal over the grates with tape, the new concrete does the sealing for us, but not sure what kind of drain your installing.

Edit- actually based on your post are you doing a round drain? Most of the ones we use don’t need a sealant, but I dunno what kind of drain you got, we usually use ones to install in warehouses that are rated for being driven on by forklifts etc do you just want to seal it cause you’re worried about the plastic breaking?

[Kirin]

Not trying to get it to set in place per se. It's off to the side so I won't be driving over it or anything. I was just trying to prevent water from getting in around the edges and eroding the dirt underneath the cement as best as I could. I don't mind if it wiggle or moves a bit, just trying to get as much water to flow into the drain and not around the fitting as possible.

There are two small screws that attach the drain cover onto the drain itself. It's a 5 inch slatted cover that fits into the 6 inch drain piece.

This is the drain.

It sits in a raised concrete "lip" off to the side of the driveway graded for water to flow into it.

[Jaybar]

Ironic that the drain is raised up from the drainage grade but, hey, not gonna get into that! So you basically just need a waterproofing sealant. Since you're likely confined to just hardware store stock try to get a silicone sealant that is pure silicone. Do not settle for hybridized (most hybrids are ok but consumer versions are trash imo).

Alternatively if the bottom sits flush to the concrete with about 1" or more you can get a butyl tape to lay underneath. It's not great when exposed to UV but if it's concealed under the drain it will last a while.

[Kirin]

The top of the drain should be flush and level with the ground. Hoping to be able to chisel/cut the cement cleanly enough to do so.

[Jaybar]

The top of the drain should be flush and level with the ground. Hoping to be able to chisel/cut the cement cleanly enough to do so.

I meant the raised "lip" - not sure how water expects to get up there lol. Should be set in a "sump". Again not sure what this looks like so basing my opinion on your post, that's all.

If the entire thing sits flush into the concrete then you just need to seal the perimeter joint around it? I'd recommend making sure there is about a 1/4" to 3/8" gap so you can install a backer rod for the sealant. I think hardware stores call it caulk backing or something. It's basically flexible foam tube (typically packaging will tell you what size gap it covers, but generally get a size that is 1/4" bigger than the gap). Shove it in the crack so the depth matches the width of the gap then apply sealant around the perimeter being sure it fills up the full depth created. Strike it flush or concave, doesn't really matter, when you are done. Cleanup I believe requires mineral spirits or acetone - double check packaging. Putting a thin coat of sealant over the drain won't do any good.

[Kirin]

Maybe a crescent or half crater would be a better description? Its maybe a 1.5 foot size offshoot from the driveway right up against the grass. It's raised on the grass side and has a channel on the driveway side for water to flow into the drain.

Yeah, the only thing I was wanting to seal up was the edge of the hole that the drain would slide into.

[Jaybar]

Maybe a crescent or half crater would be a better description? Its maybe a 1.5 foot size offshoot from the driveway right up against the grass. It's raised on the grass side and has a channel on the driveway side for water to flow into the drain.

Yeah, the only thing I was wanting to seal up was the edge of the hole that the drain would slide into.

Oh I think I get it. I was picturing an ant hill design.

[Roranora]

yo PPE it up before cutting concrete

[Kirin]

yo PPE it up before cutting concrete

Yup. Got my 3M Respirator and p100 filters. Long gloves and safety mask for the angle grinder.

[Jaybar]

yo PPE it up before cutting concrete

This guy gets silica dangers.

[Kirin]

Not bad. More chiseling than I expected. Are there dremel like attachments for angle grinders to make square corners easier?

Secured the edges with lexel, which was recommended at my local Ace. Had to apply twice in some areas because of air bubbles separating and not sealing. Also should have smoothed the upper edge of the cut after the fact. Lesson learned for next time.

After cutting:

Spoiler: show

Comparison After vs. What was in there:

Spoiler: show