Been in this house for 3 yrs, never had water come in before. A couple months ago we were on vacation and came back to a wet floor in the basement. Today we had some heavy heavy rain, and I got home from work to find the same thing. I managed to find out where it's coming from though. It's coming in where the city water pipe comes in thru the floor. I've attached a video.



Please tell me there's a way to seal this up without digging up the floor.

 

Can't see much from the video but that looks like an awfully small gap to allow a lot of water to come in. Do you only get water from there when it rains ?

Having water come out there is telling you there is water under the floor. If you seal that off it may come out somewhere else.

Do you have a sump pit ?

 

you don't make a living shooting videos, do you unusual seeing city wtr supply thru floor rather than wall but there it is,,, pj's 'zactly right - stop it here & it'ill find another weak spot to enter your very fine home,,, understanding your basement's like a ship's hull below the wtr line makes it easier to understand,,, suggest the same as pj - sump & pump - sump & cover avail from zoro online, zoeller m-53 on ebay ( that's what we do & we do make a decent living at it ! )

 

Haha was the video that bad?

Anyways, it doesn't even happen when it rains, just very heavy rain.

How do sump pumps actually work? Where do they go? Now that I think about it, I have never seen one before. Do you have to dig a hole for them?

What confuses me is that I have a hole in the floor for the boiler drain, with a PVC pipe sticking out, and water has never appeared here. It's about 10' from the spot where the city pipe is.

That said, can you recommend a product I can try to seal this spot?

 

Maybe another voice will help. Sealing from the inside would most likely cause the leak to find another access point, usually around the perimeter of the slab where you might not see it so quickly. If basement walls are finished that moisture might soak up into the walls and present a mold issue.

In addition, a sump pump and pit is your first line of defense against a major flood, which doesn't always come from the outside.

Installation isn't terrible as you rent a tool to get through the floor, stadry can recommend the steps.

Once the hole is created there are quick drying cements that can be used to smooth out the opening. Personally, I like a monster hole with one of the plastic sump pits.

As you come up to speed for doing this, have you ever tested your basement for Radon? You might want to address two problems at the same time.

Bud

 

Well, sump pump or not, I'm definitely going to seal this leak, as there shouldn't be a leak there to begin with. I am fortunate enough to have my walls exposed, should the water want to find another spot. But isn't it possible that the water will not find another spot? Isn't it possible to just have one leak and the rest of the foundation has its integrity?

My basement is radon-free.

 

Glad you tested for radon, it is a pain that many have to deal with.

Not beating on you, but understanding what is under your basement floor might help you understand our concern. Most foundations will have a perimeter drain system, both inside your footings and outside. Those drain lines are buried on each side of the footing and connected together in a couple of places. So, any water on one side of the foundation will typically mean water all the way around, thus this is probably not just a single source/leak from outside causing the minor flood.

There are quick setting cements that cure even under water that would reduce the flow, but probably not stick well to the copper. In addition, I would be cautious gluing to the copper pipe as it needs some degree of flex as it expands and contracts with temperature. Admittedly, it is already secured by the concrete floor, but it has already adjusted to that.

I haven't patched a hole in the floor, but have addressed some through walls and rather than sealing just the narrow opening you are looking at, I have cut a piece of something rigid and waterproof to fit over the "pipe" in your case. Picture a 4" square of PT wood with a 1" hole in it. Then cut that in half to allow it to be sandwiched around the pipe without direct contact. Then I apply a large amount of some adhesive/sealant and squish it all together with a layer on the bottom. Best to do this after it is dry, but I have seen some of those 2-part epoxy products designed to cure under water. Add some weight to the top to hold this in place and wait a day or two, and cross your fingers.

Comes warmer weather, review your exterior surface drainage to be sure all rain is being directed well away from the foundation.

I hope that helps. We are not trying to be a pain, just been there for many of us.

Bud

 

Understood, and thank you.

In your 4" PT example, does the wood stay there afterwards, or come off when the sealant dries?

 

It would stay there. This approach increases the distance the water has to push through. Depending upon what you have for material, metal or plastic might work as well and if thinner, you could create two layers and rotate the cut 90° to better seal that gap.

I just went looking for my 2-part epoxy. It says sticks and holds under water. Called H2 Hold and most any hardware store should carry it.

Let us know how you make out.
Bud

 

How 'tall' of a piece of wood did you use? Typical 1.5" from a 2x6 or something?

 

I have access to a lot of materials. I once used aluminum and another time I used the synthetic deck material, 1" thick. Wood just happens to be easier to cut. If you used 2 1x3 pieces of pt wood and held them together to drill the hole, then they would already be in two pieces.

Get innovative and make the wood, narrow, wide, then narrow. On the two narrow ends you could put screws through to secure the two pieces together.

Bud

 

if you want to seal the hole, suggest hydrophyllic polyurethane - emecole's got good products, they listen to you, AND they're diy-friendly.

just don't expect the water issue to go away - if you think of your bsmt as a ship's hull below the wtrline, its easier to understand.. ALL ships of any size run bilge pumps constantly

impo, radon dangers are vastly overrated however, having said that, radon specialists do seem, in general, to have larger boats than wtrproofers on average,

i don't want to pee in anyone's wheaties but even the current code rqd exterior toe drains won't do much going forward,,, to the contrary, most homes do NOT have interior french drains ( or whatever you call 'em )