Mysterious basement door leak
#1
04-04-16, 10:49 AM
Mysterious basement door leak
Hello all,
We're getting ready to sell our house and one of the things we need to fix is that our basement door leaks during heavy rainfall.
I initially thought it was because the drain at the bottom of the well was backing up and the water was flooding under the door. So I snaked the drain and sandbagged the exterior of the door for good measure. Then a heavy rain came and while water didn't get past the sandbags, it still somehow mysteriously appeared inside the door.
I'm wondering if this is a problem with the threshold or perhaps if the leak is starting somewhere else?
Here are some pictures. Hopefully they're helpful. Let me know if you need more pictures or information.
Thanks!
We're getting ready to sell our house and one of the things we need to fix is that our basement door leaks during heavy rainfall.
I initially thought it was because the drain at the bottom of the well was backing up and the water was flooding under the door. So I snaked the drain and sandbagged the exterior of the door for good measure. Then a heavy rain came and while water didn't get past the sandbags, it still somehow mysteriously appeared inside the door.
I'm wondering if this is a problem with the threshold or perhaps if the leak is starting somewhere else?
Here are some pictures. Hopefully they're helpful. Let me know if you need more pictures or information.
Thanks!
#2
04-04-16, 01:25 PM
Member
Door never should never have installed that close to grade.
I'd remove that top casing to see if it could be raised a couple of inches so you could add solid block under the the threshold to raise it.
I'd remove that top casing to see if it could be raised a couple of inches so you could add solid block under the the threshold to raise it.
#3
04-04-16, 02:28 PM
I don't think you will be able to raise the door casing, but your problem does lie with the grade being too alike. No physical separation from landing to door threshold. You may be able to get some satisfaction by changing the rubber seal in the threshold, as yours may have some age on it. Installing a right hand outswing door may also help as it tends to keep water at bay with a better threshold seal setup.
#4
04-04-16, 06:04 PM
Group Moderator
I doubt there is anything you can do with the door seal. It looks like the water is coming under the threshold. Sealing the threshold to the concrete may help or you'd need to build a little lip to keep the water from reaching the threshold.
#5
04-04-16, 07:08 PM
Thanks everyone for your comments.
The weird thing is that the water doesn't seem to be coming from the bottom of the well. As you can see, I blocked it with a sandbag barrier, which worked, but water appeared inside anyway. How is that possible?
The weird thing is that the water doesn't seem to be coming from the bottom of the well. As you can see, I blocked it with a sandbag barrier, which worked, but water appeared inside anyway. How is that possible?
#6
04-04-16, 09:16 PM
Group Moderator
In your picture..... if you look where you put the sandbag barrier..... how about at the ends ? The water could be going into the foundation from there or even a leak from your drain.
#7
04-05-16, 07:05 AM
Hi PJmax,
Thanks for your reply.
I forgot to mention that I also first put down a layer of plastic. I fastened it along door about 12" up and put the sandbags on top of the other end, so no water got anywhere closer to the door than where the "Sandbag Barrier" covers in the picture, including those corners. And every time I checked the drain during the rain, it was running fine with not nearly enough water buildup to get over the threshold even if the barrier hadn't been there.
It seems possible that the water could be getting into the foundation from somewhere else. Is it possible that water could be draining down from my yard and somehow leaking along the walls of the basement and down into the door frame or something?
Thanks for your reply.
I forgot to mention that I also first put down a layer of plastic. I fastened it along door about 12" up and put the sandbags on top of the other end, so no water got anywhere closer to the door than where the "Sandbag Barrier" covers in the picture, including those corners. And every time I checked the drain during the rain, it was running fine with not nearly enough water buildup to get over the threshold even if the barrier hadn't been there.
It seems possible that the water could be getting into the foundation from somewhere else. Is it possible that water could be draining down from my yard and somehow leaking along the walls of the basement and down into the door frame or something?
