Doug, I am going after a basement wall leak from the outside. When I find it, what is the best way to repair it? My guess at this point is that it is where the block wall meets the floor. Water never gets to the sump thru the plastic footer lines before it seeps under the block into the finished basement carpet. I thought I had it under control with re routed gutter drain lines, but a really hard rain will make it through whatever is cracked or unsealed. Thanks in advance for your comments.

 

Bill Locke,

Let's get some things answered first before guessing;

How old a home?
Was the drain tile and sump pump done at time of construction?
Are the leaks that you are seeing in one area or several?
Does this only happen during hard rains?
Are the downspout extensions discharging 8' out from the home?
Is there a landscape problem...sloping wrong way?
Any basement windows located in the areas that are showing leakage? Are they protected by a plastic well covers? If not, do they have any 1/2" rock bed installed?
Is the basement completely finished?
If you can see this, are there any cracks within the basement block? staggered or vertical?

I know these are alot of questions but you may be able to assess some answers in why I am asking.

When you say that you addressing this issue from the outside, are you digging down to the footings because the basement is finished inside?

Have you been looking at certain waterproof membranes or paintable sealers as a way to resolve the infiltration?

1. With what you describe, it sounds as though the water is getting through cracks in the block ABOVE your foundation footings and then slowly infiltrating at the floor/wall joint.

2. It may be possible that your drain tile has become clogged and is not operating properly and as such building up from below, hydrostatic pressure. Again, if the sump pump is dry, this may not be the issue. Have you ever seen water in the sump basket?

Let me know the answers on these before we make the wrong assumptions.

 

No problem with the questions.
House is 20 years old.
Sump and drain built at time of construction.
water coming in from one 2' wide area.
Only during hard rains.
I moved downspouts 40' out from the home.
Yes, there is a landscaping problem. There is a slope coming down toward the side of the house, The original downspout dumped onto this slope so I moved it to discharge 40' away and downhill away from the house. (This slope is probably still a contributor to the problem no doubt)
There is a basement window directly above the leaking area. Water was not coming in the window itself, and I have dug a well outside it now to look further down for cracks.
The window is not protected with anything.
There was no well in front of the window with a rock base as you mention. just sandy soil right up against the frame. (I have a two foot deep well dug in front of it now)
The basement is completely finished.
I cannot see if there are cracks in the walls due to the panelling
Yes, I am going at it from the outside because it is finished inside.
My thought was that there must be a foundation crack, or a poor seal at the footer. I wanted to know what to fix it with if I find it.
I get no water in the sump basket, and I am checking that possibility(plugged footer) tomorrow. There has never been water in the sump that I know of (ten years) but I am not the original owner of the house.

 

Bill,

Thanks for responding with the answers.

It is important to note that you are restricted to resolving the problem due to the finished basement and the amount of digging you care to do. The main problem is, even though water is coming in under the window, you are not sure if this is originating from a void near the window or far away, even if the water is forming on floor below it. The only sure way is to dig down along the entire side of the basement to the footings, clean the block, let it dry and apply a good waterproofing application. ALOT OF WORK!

Based on what you are doing, we have to assume that chemical type waterproofing application my be easier than a membrane. They will help block water movement through concrete, however they will not stop the hydrostatic pressure of groundwater, which is constantly pushing against the foundation wall. Installing addition perimeter drain lines relieves that pressure and possibly adding some innovative ideas to preventing the water from heavy rains that saturate the soils letting the grade.

Chemical applied products on the market like Laticrete, PhenoSeal, Hydro-Stop, EpoSeal and Radon Seal are all good but others are availabe and tend to be a more cementatious type product.

Membrane products like Tuff-n-dry, Dorken airgap membrane system) can help in restricting the water infiltration but we are talking about a section and not the whole wall where problems exist. This becomes a real issue. The industry standard is 60 mil rubberized asphalt peel and stick membranes. Bituthene- WR Grace, Carlisle- CCW 701, WR Meadows- Mel Rol. This can be fully adhered to clean, dry block or concrete.

Since the windows themeselves aren't leaking they should have a window well, dug down about 12 inches and apply about 6 - 8 inches of rock. It is important that the window well is sealed where it touches the block and anchored well. The well cover is a good idea but this isn't a permanent answer. The grade slope is essential and should be built up enough so water doesn't seep in and around the frame. It might be adviseable to install some type of drain catch under the stones and direct this out from the home at least 8 - 10 feet into a dry well below grade.

In addition to applying some type of waterproofing product to the area you suspect is the problem consider this. If you can dig down, the entire side of the basement, about 2 feet and 6 feet out from the home, apply 2 or more layers of 6 mil poly, SLOPE THIS OUT FROM HOME and running this up the side of the basement wall and backfill. This may asssist in keeping the ground water from getting back to the basement.

If there is a problem with your interior drain tile an option and I only say this as an option is if you have a floor drain in the basement, drill 1/4" holes through the lowest part of the drain bowl. This will relieve any water pressure within a 8' - 15' area of the drain, in some cases even larger areas.

As you mentioned, you will have to check your drain tiles to see if they are clogged and then decide what to do. These are usually not repairable to get them operable unless you have high water presssure to clear the lines.

Hope this helps!

 

Doug,

A while back, someone spammed this forum about Sani-Tred. It's a liquid rubber waterproofing product that's applied to the inside walls and floor. I bought the "sampler" for $60 or so and applied it to a problem section of a poured wall at my mother's house -- built in 1955 and leaking through a small crack since the early 70's. It's bone dry now. What's your opinion of this fix over the long term?

 

RickJ6956,

I do not have personal experience in the Sani-Tred product but from what I have read, it appears to do the job but isn't cheap. Did you like it and was the application easy? If you think the product is good, easy to apply do you think should try it?

My concern for Bill is that he has a block wall and not knowing where the problem is and that he is doing an outside application, he may have to apply this product or something similar to resolve it on the entire side of the problem area.

What do you think? Let Bill know!

 

Doug, you certainly covered everything! I really like the idea of the plastic placed against the block 2 feet down and 6 feet out. I could protect the whole corner of the house where the problem seems to be that way with a minimum of labor and materials. I could easily install some 4" PVC drains above the plastic and run them into the back yard from there as well.
Thank you very much for your comments!
Happy Holidays!

 

Bill,

You're very welcome and Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Merry Xmas!