What's the best way to seal fine stress cracks in a cement wall from leaking water?

Question

I have a concrete wall with stress cracks that leak water inside when it rains. Over time, the inside paint gets wet and disintegrates. I want to seal the cracks.

Answer 1

The best way and proper way is to dig a 2 foot wide trench outside along the wall and down below the depth of the crack by about a foot. And then get some masonary tar and paint the cement wall. The tar, seals it from leaking. Next get some 1/2" crush gravel and dump that in the trench. Then your soil on the last6-8". Done.

Answer 2

Always fix the leak from outside the house!!! Never seal the cracks on the inside without reairing the outside first.

When I was younger, my grandfather had sealed the wall on the inside of his basement and the block filled with water causing part of his foundation to collapse. The other answers recomending you dig a trench are correct. My example is the extreme situation, but it does happen and is very expensive to fix.

Answer 3

Locate the leak from the inside...

Remove all moisture damaged sheetrock, drywall or wood... to avoid mold and mildew.

Wash with bleach and let dry.

Go outside and dig a trench the lenth of that wall, exposing the entire exterior of the foundation.

Clean off the stone or brick, or whatever the foundation is made of.

Apply water sealant. Let dry, repeat 2 more times, apply also to the inside wall.

Place a thick plastic sheet over the entire exterior wall.
Replace the dirt.

Replace all the drywall/sheetrock inside.


It should take about 2 days, allowing for digging and drying.

Have fun!

Answer 4

Depending on your abilities, you can apply a sealer yourself or pay to have your walls professionally sealed. They would patch the stress cracks first with concrete patch then apply the water proofing sealant over that. Unless you are very handy, I would pay someone who will guarantee their work to do this as a wet basement just keeps causing more and more problems such as mold and mildew. Plus, if the cracks aren't fixed properly, they will just keep getting bigger. Good Luck!!