Patio slab issue

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I have a small 16x16 patio slab in our backyard that is pitched towards my home. I am not sure how it's graded underneath. I am getting a slow water leak in my finished Rec room where the wall meets the floor when it rains. *It gets wet next in a 1-1/2 x 4 ft wide area. The drywall is not wet. *I have mulch next to homes foundation for landscaping and limestone rocks for edging. *I taped a plastic sheet over the patio slab towards my home and guess what. No water. It has to be coming in from underneath the step or on the corners somewhere.*

Should I remove the mulch and limestone rocks an add brown, compacted soil instead? *Mudjack the slab or remove, regrade and repour. Or should I install pavers instead?

 

Use exterior caulking to seal where the patio meets the foundation. Try that first.

 

I already tried that.

What id I try this?
RadonSeal Do-It-Yourself Foundation Crack Repair Kits

 

Is the concrete pad poured against the starter strip/jchannel of the siding?

 

What about around the step?

 

I don't think I understand what you mean?

 

Caulk around the step? Patio is pitched towards the home. I believe that I will have to mudjack it at
least. The step is built on to the floor joist. What if I get a cement step?

 

Picture 4 shows concrete poured against siding. That leaves a gap between the concrete and the foundation. Yes, by all means, I would consider mud jacking the slab to solve the drainage problem. Sealing only dissuades water until it can find another avenue to fall in. I would also remove the wood step, see what issues are under it as well, and once the water problem is solved, install a concrete step.

 

I had 2 mudjackers come over today. Using their level it is mainly off on the right side towards my home and towards the middle by the spruce trees.

1 person said he would need for me to remove my step so he could mudjack it 2 inches. The other person said I should aso remove my step, but he would raise it 4 inches and cut 4-6 inches of the slab back from the home.

Yesterday 2 concrete contractors came and basically said I should rip it all out and repour it.

Al of them told me that I should completely remove the mulch away from my home. I should get lawn and garden topsoil and pitch it away from my home all around. 25% Black Topsoil, 75% Brown Topsoil. It is a premixed blend with a recommended use of no more than 4-5 inches. it is richer than regular brown topsoil.

I also showed them my basement drywall. Al basically agreed that I should start fro the outside and not do any epoxy injection yet since it's a small leak.

 

I'd go with the tearout and re-pour if I were you. Since your concrete is poured to the bottom of the siding, slabjacking it would destroy the bottom several rows of siding. If you cut it 4 to 6 inches away like the one guy said, it may work to shed the water, but you have a gap where water can still get in.
I'd remove the whole patio, pour it back with proper slope and regrade your yard as needed to keep water away from the house.

 

I fel its coming in from the ground. The wall are not wet. Drain tile or sump pump issue?
Problem is it could be so many things.

 

Here is what a local expert told me. My issue is that I'm looking for a needle in a haystack with this water leak.

" I would tear out the patio, dig out the foundation, tar & seal the wall, check the outside drain tile, flush system,repair or replace drain tile as needed and back fill the wall with washed stone, top it off with compacted brown topsoil and fix it right, then pavers,deck, or just steps. cost should be around $5000 not including what ever you decide to put there after patio is gone.That type of repair come with a guarantee."

 

I don't suppose this "expert" was an actual contractor bidding on the work was he? I don't see any possible way that all of that would only cost $5,000. And I'd love to read any guarantee that his solution would have. Funny!

 

If it were mine, that patio would get a concrete overlay, pitched at 1/4" per foot away from the house. All of the bird-baths and wrong pitch indicate it was poured by amateurs.

Would be a good idea to remove the siding to the elevation of the finished overlay at the foundation, and replaced with full-depth expansion joint filler. Seal the top after getting full cure on the concrete, using backer rod and a 2-part rapid-cure silicone. Pour a concrete step at the same time. And I'd also remove the mulch and put down some heavy plastic or even bentonite (pitched away from the house) and then replace the mulch.

Total cost less than $500.