water leakage in basement question?

Question

When we purchased this cute house two years ago the owner claimed they did not have knowledge of any water leakage whatso ever... well they lied. We get a lot of snow and as of late the snow has been melting and on top of all the snow melting, It has been raining so much and now there is water seeping in from the south wall along the back of the house. We caulked it really good form the inside but water is still seeping in last night we had our 52in TV sitting in about a inch deep large diameter puddle. There is no water leaking anywhere else in the basement just that back wall...Hubby added plastic sheeting along the ground up against the house to try to prevent some of the water comming in but we are hoping that maybe if we get the back yard graded by adding a slope of extra dirt so that the water wil run away from the house that it might help. I am hoping there wil be a professional sifting through these questions.. help?

Answer 1

Start from the top and go down.

1. Are the gutters clear? If not, water can overflow and enter the house from behind the gutter if there's any rot or penetrations. This allows water to enter the wall cavity.
2. If you've had snow, is there ice in the gutters? If so the ice can create a dam where water will actually work it's way under the roof material and trickle down inside the wall.
3. Is water escaping all the way down the downspouts?
4. Does the downspout drain 4-6 feet away from the house? 95% of most basement leaks are caused by soil saturation next to the foundation due to roof water emptying out too close to the house. Get it away from the house, and most water problems go away.
5. Does the ground slope away from the house on all areas? By your comment, it sounds like it doesn't. Grading will help but....
6. Are there any indications that the foundation (that back wall?) has shifted/cracked/failed in any way? Even tiny cracks will let in a lot of water. If you've got any bulges or cracks these are indications of problems, either current or past.
7. If your basement wall is "exposed" on the inside, that is, if you can see the concrete or block, are there any indications of "flaking"? This is called effloresence and is a clear sign of where water is exiting into the basement. The effloresence isn't really a problem, but what's causing it is. Water is getting inside the wall, and as it exits it brings with some of the mineral salts in the concrete/block. You have to find where the water is getting into the wall. If there's a door or window above this area, check those first. If you have a chimney stack, check it where it connects to the wall structure.
8. Is the wall seeping in at the bottom of the basement wall? If so, it could be entering between the foundation/footer/basement connections. This is a worse case scenario and will likely require some sort of perimeter drain system.

Go here for more info: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/knowhow/interiors/article/0,16417,220912,00.html

Good Luck!

Answer 2

To fix this problem, you will need to excavate the ground around the south wall to expose the basement wall. Clean it off with a good stiff brush, and let it air dry for a couple of days. Apply coal tar epoxy to the outside wall to seal it from the water seepage. When you fill the trench back up, consider putting in a french drain along the wall to help carry water away from the house. Also, the idea about sloping the ground away from the house is a great idea. Finally, if you still get water seepage along this wall, you may have to have a sump system installed inside the house to collect and pump off the water.

Answer 3

Improving your grade so it slopes away from the house is a great start, if your layout permits.
Another solution is to dig out a 3x3 ft trench along the entire length of the wall. Line it with Visqueen HDPE, place gravity sloping perferarted drainage pipe along the bottom. Sometimes this Flex Drain Pipe has to be run a long distance to find a good discharge spot like a collection basin or stream. Try to to maintain a constant down slope or flat drainage grade or you will get pooling in your drain piping. Backfill with 1" sized gravel (called a french drain) and sod on top.
Lastly, if your roof is pitched toward the problem wall, you will need to install rain gutter and channel the down spouts away from the house.

Answer 4

Water leakage is fun to deal with. Do you have rain gutters on your home? If so make sure that the down spout is directed away from the home and land scrapping will help some of the problem but not all. I would suggest you check into a beaver system. It is a baseboard waterproofing system that works very well. also you need to have a contractor come in a repair your cracked foundation. Not only will you get water coming in but also in time you may get some poison gas seeping in too if the cracks are underground. Good luck

Answer 5

There are some great products out now that acutally bond with the concrete and form a permanent seal. They don't work that well on cinderblock. I was reseaching exactly this for my own basement but the problem stopped. Search of the Internet for concrete sealers - the cheapest prodyuct seemed to be with WET.

You should look at your gutters and downpipes - are they draining or clogged up - you may want to rout them away from the upper side of the house.

If a lot of water is running towards the house, you can put in a french drain... dig down about a foot - put orangeburg pipe in it - it has holes all over - and lead the pipe to both sides of the house... cover the pipe with crushed rocks - and then cover that with dirt.

good luck,
Mike

Answer 6

Hate to tell you that grading won't be enough. The outside of the wall will have to be exposed,dried, and foundation coated to seal it! In the meantime while you wait for the Spring thaw, use a wet vac and dehumidifier to control water so as to prevent any more damage. Best of Luck with this! ;-)=

Answer 7

Well dont start blaming the old owners for water leaks. I assume you had a house inspection, which you should before a house is bought? There would be signs of previous water leaks.

As for the leak itself, incresing the grade in the yard may help, however, the leak needs to be fixed.

Answer 8

You can immediately hire a professional Because they handle all types of water leakage and basement waterproofing solutions, I know a company which handles with guaranteed all types of water problem solutions at reasonable rates that is http://www.americandrybasementsystems.com/.

Answer 9

Is this seapage coming in from the top of the wall?
If so, what kind of shape are your gutters in?

Answer 10

you could permit it dry out with the help of the summer season warmth yet that should take sometime. extra advantageous than 2days evaluate long sufficient. the threat is mildew probable developed from the dampness. extra effective to manually/immediately dry.