Thanks Iron Pony!
Highbeam, I do get defensive a bit, because while my dad was not the GC, (he finished house after framing basically) he was a jack of all trades and my hero.
(not bad for a high school graduate)
He taught me and my brother what work is, and how to "at least try to do something yourself." He worked his whole life to provide for us as a GM technician but only managed to pull no more than $9 his whole career. Unfortunately, he had two massive heart attacks and developed Cancer. We grew up at times with no power or heat in the middle of winter. I remember when I was 4/5, my mother tried to get some social assistance but was told that because she worked for the state(as a typing assistant -literally min. wage) that we were "rich" and therefore ineligible for aid. When my father passed away, we had no insurance and a my mother got the $150,000 mortgage. When your money is paying medical bills- you can't always make a mortgage.What's even funnier is that my mother does not get any of my fathers social security, because she was a state employee and therefore "rich". While $400 a month wouldn't be much, it could help. Ohio is one of a handfuls of states with this crazy law. I continue to live at home to take care of the property, and finish the house by reading and learning.
This is even hard for me to do because I took the "stupid route" by earning an M.A. and now thanks to Ohio's economy, get turned down at McDonald's because "I wouldn't most likely stick around." With my father's spirit, I started working in the pizza business at 14 (helped pay through college). That's pretty much my work experience along with 20 years of helping with fair concessions. On a recent interview with a V.P. for a bank in Columbus, I was told that my application could go no further because "they don't consider restaurant work to be real experience." I've maxed one credit card (due to food and gas to get to p/t low paying jobs (not buying x box games). I don't care what our V.P. Says--we have not turned the corner.
I do sometimes get offended when someone says you should of done this/that, or you screwed this up, or you need to do this , this , this, and that without understanding the situation or having ever had the joys of growing up "rich" like I did in Ohio. Sorry to hang out my "laundry", but I'm proud of what my father accomplished with his health. It's just situations like mine that make me frustrated that lottery winners in Michigan can continue to get food stamps and senior citizen volunteers on a school bus get sent $700,000 for getting yelled at by kids.
I always thought it would be cool for homes/situations like ours to get one of those "make overs" - instead of "some of the ones chosen" ...but alas...middle class Ohio, just doesn't make good T.V.
Overall, maybe there was just some misunderstanding, you said :"Vapors from moisture from the earth below should be blocked in all homes by an adequate vapor barrier." In some Ohio cases, I'm not just talking about vapor. 85% of the time, the barrier in our house works great (and a closed system would work).
Weather patterns have definitely changed over the years and we seem to get these weird freak winter snows/80 degrees the next day that creates floods mixed with several inch storms in spring and fall. The scene I was trying to explain is that the house is not built in a hole (we're just low/flat.) I was trying to explain that if we had a higher house (via block), this would do nothing but keep water from getting into the house. No amount of vapor barrier would be able to "hold down" the force of the water coming/shooting up through the ground.I've often wondered if pouring concrete under there would work a bit ...but at 2300 square feet, this wouldn't be cheap.
Some people in this region try basements and have to rebuild, because even though they are "on a hill" the water moves through the ground and collapses the wall. Some of these homes were built by a million dollar engineering firm. Sometimes mother nature will still win out......no matter the mitigation put into place.
I've often wondered if pouring concrete under there would work a bit ...but at 2300 square feet, this wouldn't be cheap.