We had some crazy torrential downpours yesterday in Atlanta

[decocritter]

My basement, which usually floods, did not get a drop of water in it. This has been a very rainy spring and the ground is already saturated. We had big rains less than a week ago. No water in the basement. Streets even flooded, early yesterday afternoon, usually a sign that I will have water.

The only difference, is we got a new roof last year, and they discovered that the old roof had never been replaced over the years (like I paid for) just new layers put on over old layers of roof. When the new roof was put on, a major roof joist was broken and had to be replaced. Roofer could not believe the shoddy work on a flat roof building. Layer upon layer of old roof and it was all soaking wet and nasty. New roof is white sheeting not tar and shingle like the old one. Probably not heavy.

I also had developed some major wall cracks in the living room on the same wall that water came under in the basement. This is beyond the normal "settling cracks).

Could these things be related?

[Will Collier]

I would not presume to guess about the new roof, but you should check the grading on the uphill side of the house. It should slope away from the walls to carry away rainwater. Most of the grading on mine had washed away by the time I bought it (like me, the house was built in '68), and so water was going straight to the walls.

We wound up buying a (cubic) yard of fill dirt and renting a Kanga one Saturday to build the grading back up, and that made a huge difference. Saved us a ton of money over having a contractor come in and do the work (also didn't hurt any to have a wife with the work ethic of an Amish farm girl...).

[OWC Jamie]

If your flat roof had enough of a crown or dip to direct leaks to a wall it could have travelled down through that wall to the basement with little to no indication if there was no window or door in its path.

Soaking wet wood slowly ( or even rapidly ) drying back out , with major swelling and shrinking cycles would quite possibly cause some good sized drywall or plaster cracks.

There should be some staining left behind somewhere of some sort from water flow if it had been happening often.

[Racer X]

Should wash away some of your zombie gobbets though.