How screwed am I?

We bought this house in November from my wife’s grandparents and found a wet spot this week. The carpet was soaked through and there was a bit of mold on the drywall. I don’t see any cracks on the cinder block wall but it is quite wet at the bottom in this one spot. The floor has some cracking but I’m not sure if that’s just from normal settling of the house (built in ‘85) or something more serious like foundation issues. The water appears to be seeping in from the bottom of the cinder block wall, not the floor crack. For more context, my house sits up pretty high on a hill with good drainage away from the house. I don’t normally have low points where water pools up by the house, or any clogged gutters. However, when I was looking around the area outside where the water is coming in I found a very large hole in the ground under my deck. And the other day I seen an absolutely massive cat scrambling around and running out from under my deck. So I’m thinking that hole is where it must have been burrowing for the winter (didn’t know cats did that?) and maybe it’s creating a spot for water to pool up and seep into the basement? I’m a new homeowner and am just looking for advice on if that crack is serious, or if it’s just the cat burrow? Should I just try to fill the hole in and block off the underside of the deck? Anything I should be concerned of with the cinderblock? Thanks in advance for any advice! submitted by /u/LordGooza [link] [comments]

Apr 27, 2025 - 00:46

We bought this house in November from my wife’s grandparents and found a wet spot this week. The carpet was soaked through and there was a bit of mold on the drywall. I don’t see any cracks on the cinder block wall but it is quite wet at the bottom in this one spot. The floor has some cracking but I’m not sure if that’s just from normal settling of the house (built in ‘85) or something more serious like foundation issues. The water appears to be seeping in from the bottom of the cinder block wall, not the floor crack.

For more context, my house sits up pretty high on a hill with good drainage away from the house. I don’t normally have low points where water pools up by the house, or any clogged gutters. However, when I was looking around the area outside where the water is coming in I found a very large hole in the ground under my deck. And the other day I seen an absolutely massive cat scrambling around and running out from under my deck. So I’m thinking that hole is where it must have been burrowing for the winter (didn’t know cats did that?) and maybe it’s creating a spot for water to pool up and seep into the basement?

I’m a new homeowner and am just looking for advice on if that crack is serious, or if it’s just the cat burrow? Should I just try to fill the hole in and block off the underside of the deck? Anything I should be concerned of with the cinderblock? Thanks in advance for any advice!

submitted by /u/LordGooza
[link] [comments]