John McEwen: Basement Crusader

Jeff Green | Mar 14, 2013

John McEwen knows a thing or two about water-proofing foundations and ensuring that basements are warm and dry.

He has spent twenty years doing remediation on over 500 leaky foundations, mainly in the City of Kingston and in Loyalist and South Frontenac townships. He literally wrote the book on the subject – “A guide to fixing your Damp basement” - which s available through the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

He has been making the rounds of the local councils in recent weeks trying to convince them to instruct their building departments to insist on proper waterproofing of all foundations when new homes are built.

According to Macewen, building departments have only insisted that builders “damp-proof” foundations with a coat of tar, and this not sufficient because the National Building Code says that buildings that are “under hydrostatic pressure” must be “waterproofed” and this is done through the use of a waterproof membrane.

Hydrostatic pressure, for those of us who are wondering, simply refers to water pushing against, in this case, the foundation of a house.

In a letter to South Frontenac Council which he presented at a Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday night, McEwen wrote that proper waterproofing a new home requires proper drainage and a membrane. It carries an “approximate material cost of $4,000, which will keep the home completely dry and insulated for all time; as opposed to the $1,500 that is spent today on tar which will have no effect whatsoever.”

He is requesting that “Council instruct its building department to waterproof and drain new structures as per code.”

Since John McEwen sent the contents of his presentation to the township in advance, Brian Gass, the Chief Building Officer for the township, prepared a written response for Council’s benefit.

Gasses report states that not all new buildings require waterproofing.

“During the course of a footing inspection a Building Inspector will look in the excavation for evidence of a highwater table or hydrostatic conditions. If none are observed, in accordance with subsection 9.13.2 of the Ontario Building Code, damproofing of basement foundation walls is permitted,” Gass said.

McEwen replied that hydrostatic conditions can develop as the result of surface water through winter runoff or storms that may not be apparent during a footing inspection.

“It makes a difference if you look in the hole in the middle of August after a six week drought or of you look in the hole on March 12th,” he said. “It’s very simple, when you have a leaky basement, you have hydrostatic pressure. If there had been a membrane, there would be no water.”

Gass’s report says that the $4,000 cost estimate submitted by Macewen is “likely low”.

Gass concluded that “building codes are only meant to establish a “minimum standard’ of construction … the courts have strongly reprimanded municipalities for attempting to enforce standards above those that are prescribed in the building code.”

“Show me an example of a court reprimanding a township for enforcing the building code,” McEwen asked in response.