5 Steps to a Dry Basement or Crawl Space :: Education by Design Store

Editorial Review
It's raining, water starts seeping into your home's basement; what can a homeowner do? Fortunately, a new comprehensive book from Welkin House can help fix that wet basement problem without expensive waterproofing methods.

The author, Ronald Gay, is a veteran in the field of residential construction and consulting for over twenty years, specializing in wet-basement consulting for over ten. In this ground-breaking guide for homeowner and professional, new lessons are taught that make all the difference in solving this stressful, home-maintenance nightmare. This is an easy-to-understand, hands-on approach. Finally, every homeowner with a wet-basement or crawl space has a true ally.
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Customer Reviews

Somewhat sparse

2008-04-09
Let me say up front that what I look for in a non-fiction book is simple and straight forward directions. This book (as the author admits) is very repetitive and could be edited down to about ten pages for me. What is presented seems to be accurate and makes sense, but I am uncomfortable that the author and his editors do not know a "ferrule" from "feral." ("Hanger types include nail and feral, screw and feral,...). What else is wrong that I don't recognize?

He does present some very good photos of correct gutter installations and explains how and why they are important. He also evaluates some of the gadgets sold for the bottom of downspouts.

He normally advises against gutter leaf screens, but sometimes recommends then. This is confusing.

I wish he included more specifics on installing drains around the house such as how the installation would change with soil types.

I am glad I purchased and read the book, but think it is priced a bit high for the amount of information it contains.

Practical advice and alternative methods to aftermarket waterproofing

2007-05-12
Written by Ronald K. Gay, a licensed residential building contractor of twenty years' experience, 5 Steps to a Dry Basement or Crawl Space is a no-nonsense, user-friendly guide to protecting one's basement from seepage, mildew, mold, and worse. Black-and-white photographs illustrate the practical advice and alternative methods to aftermarket waterproofing in this one-of-a-kind guide. From ensuring that one's home has the proper types of gutters and downspouts (which are not regulated by building codes!) to issues with slab foundations, specific problems with mold and bacteria, and much more, 5 Steps to a Dry Basement or Crawl Space is invaluable as a preventative as well as a restorative manual for readers of all backgrounds. Highly recommended.

Huge money saver.

2006-08-14
This book is great and saved me thousands of dollars. I was about to hire a company to dig out around my house to repair basement leaks, but luckily I read this book first. I was able to do a few simple repairs to my gutters (turns out my downspouts were not going away from my house) and make a few other easy landscaping changes and the leaking stopped.

I would strongly suggest making the small investment to educate yourself on what is causing the leaks (which this book will do with example photos) before having a company come in and dig up your yard for thousands of dollars (trust me, that was their only suggestion).

lots of good solid information

2005-12-17
This is the type a book any property owner will appreciate. Its not overwhelming, about a day's worth of reading,has lots of illustrations and is well organized. He starts with talking about foundations and concrete, goes into inspecting, case studies, bad repairs, bad landscaping and other issues, ends a number of appendices in the back on how to select reputable people, talking about codes, tips and a glossary. I really appreciate seeing how downspouts should be properly laid and gutters should be installed. An excellent reference book if you are buying a house, about to do repairs or for just general review, its well worth the money.