Duck Droppings, Damp Basement
I looked at a house that otherwise could use a nice rehab. Got nice wood floors, big sunroom, great neighborhood.
However, the last people in the house kept ducks -yes, DUCKS - in the master bedroom. They let the birds crap all over the wood floors in there. The drywall I can fix - but how could I get the droppings out of the wood floor without destroying the wood?
Also, the basement is a little damp. Not terrible, it just has a musty odor. Previous folks had worked on it some (putting in that ugly paneling crap - which of course warped from the moisture) Never having lived anywhere but Florida where basements are nearly nonexistent -- is there a sealer you can buy that will lock out the moisture? Is there a way to dry out the basement walls so it seals properly, if this is the case?
Thx 
"Is there a way to dry out the basement walls so it seals properly, if this is the case? "
Basements can be tough and expensive to dry out.
A musty basement with warped, rotting panelling would have a several many thousand dollar impact on any offer I would consider making.
It will be nearly impossible to diagnose an accurate final fix before really getting into it, tearing up, digging, etc.
Likewise giving accurate help in this forum for this issue. IMO.
Some properties just should not have basements. (Yankees moving South who don't think they can live without a basement often make serious mistakes forcing builders to put them in.)
Water management. If you manage rain and surface water, you have made the first step. There is nothing to put on the walls that is more effective than preventing water from getting to the foundation.
Gutters and downspouts should be sufficiently large and in good working order to direct water well away from foundation.
Also, surface grade around house should be sloped away to keep ground water from running to or accumulating around foundation.
If gutters and grading are right, and it appears to e minor moisture I would look at UGL DriLok, or similar coating for basement walls. Installation of a dehumidifer may help.
Might not be a good enough fix for a flip without liability......
In many cases the dampness is so pervasive to make one think the house slab is in close contact with the water table. I had one in PA that had water bubble up through the expansion joint in the middle of the basement floor everytime there was a heavy rainstorm.
Every house on the block had 4 to 6 steps up to the front porch. Mine had two steps up.
One of the local oldtimers told us about how they had to blast through a slab of bedrock bigger than a school bus to get the basement in. Coincidentally or not, and I think NOT, the neighbors who sat up on bedrock had no water issues.
Is the home built in a low spot? That is hard ($$$$$) to correct.
You may be able to install a french drain around the perimeter of the home to take water away. It will be better if there is ability to drain it to daylight, i.e., the lot has sufficient slope for drainage pipe slope.
This is not cheap, entailing excavating around the home to the foundation footer, laying in a drain tile and bed of stone, backfilling and landscaping. This is also a good time to treat the exterior of the basement wall with a waterproofing system.
"...DUCKS - in the master bedroom. They let the birds crap all over the wood floors in there."
(I'm telling you, they had mergansers in to refinish the floor.)
Sounds like a heavy sand and bleach job to me.
Good luck!
[addsig]
Thanks, Mike.
The house is actually up on a hill. The back half of the basement is above ground, as is half of the side walls (there is access from the outside. I don't think it;s hitting the water table, in that case.
I can check the downspouts. Didn't look like it had ever flooded or anything like that. They had started to finish it, gave it a bathroom and did a little drywalling to create 2 more bedrooms. I didn't see any mold.
Between the ducks and the basement, we intend to offer about 15,000 less on this house, should we decide to jump.
Landscape so water flows away from the house, make sure the guttering is not stopped up with drains aimed away from the house, then DRILOK the walls to seal them. They gotta be DRY for the DRILOK to work, keep that in mind.
Oh, you can get drying stuff for the musty smell, comes in little containers you sit around, dries the air out.
DUCKS? Sand the floors I betcha'd take all the crap offa them, then stain and seal.
Good luck with it...