Stucco exterior and water lines


  #41  
Old 05-19-16, 06:56 AM
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We have sump systems around these parts. The weeping tile surrounds the house and drains into a pit with a pulp in the basement. When the pit fills the pump kicks in and expels the water. I'm going to check the pit tonight. It's a very long shot but maybe the drain into the pit is plugged keeping the water in the weep.
 
  #42  
Old 05-19-16, 11:25 AM
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In the last picture you posted right below the window in the grey part of the wall right above the white line there is a spot that looks wetter than the rest. Poke a small hole near the bottom of that wet spot. See if water drips out. My thinking is it water is wicking upward water will not come out. If water is coming from above it MIGHT come out. I am thinking a ~1/4" hole. Now since this is under a window if water comes out I would guess a window problem. But I am just thinking of other things to investigate to figure it out.
Take off your shoes and walk barefoot on the basement floor in the area you think the water pipes might be. If you feel a warm spot mark it. If you feel a spot cooler than the surrounding mark it. If you have a plumbing leak the water has to go somewhere and maybe it is finding its way to the outside. I would be surprised if you find a leak this way but it does not cost anything to walk around the floor.
By tapping try to find the bottom of the wood framing and the top of the foundation or slab.
If you have water wicking up from the water around the perimeter drain it seems like it is wicking up a long way by capillary action. I have a solution and a test for this theory but it is hard and just a little damaging. You could saw cut a groove where the sill rests on the foundation. You would have to go all the way through the stucco. This would break the route of the water if the water is coming from the bottom up. you could seal the cut with some kind of good water proof sealant after a while but it is an item that would forever have to be maintained.

I am not exactly recommending this but it is a suggestion. It might let you learn something. I guess if water runs out a cut like this it would tell you the water is coming from above. BUT YOU ARE OPENING A WAY FOR WATER TO GET INSIDE THE WALL CAVITY IF IT IS NOT ALREADY.
 
  #43  
Old 05-19-16, 11:52 AM
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Caulking should do a decent job of sealing up a 1/4" hole, just make sure there aren't any voids in it.
 
  #44  
Old 05-19-16, 08:20 PM
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I'm really open to any suggestions at this point. Before drilling/cutting into the stucco I have further aggravation to share. Things were definitely drying until this evening. We had our first dump of rain this spring and literally minutes into the rain you could almost see the colour change. Here are two pictures, first before the rain then after, both of the same position on the wall. Third picture is above said location showing the underside of the deck. There is no visible moisture. This was a solid rain; drops bouncing of the pavement mixed with hail. Worth noting that the deeper hole in the trench filled slightly. if I didn't know any better its almost as if the area hasn't completely dried yet and when there is moisture in the air it's attracting it. I see the same light to dark patter those mornings where the due level is very high.

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  #45  
Old 05-19-16, 09:05 PM
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Now would be a good time to poke that 1/4" hole.
 
  #46  
Old 05-19-16, 09:23 PM
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Well, I strongly believe this is the result of either a backed up drain tile (possibly clogged with sediment), an inoperative sump pump, or something closely related. Open up and inspect your sump basin. Was it even running during the rain?

The water spots are showing up along the entire length of the wall, so it's not limited to the just the side with the deck ledger. The deck is actually stopping most of the water from hitting the ground under the deck, correct? So it should be dry under there... Your downspouts don't go into the weep tile, do they? I also doubt it's related to the windows or any other leak from above... if it was you would have wet spots above the windows or along the sides of windows near the top of the window... around the junction box for the wall light... top of the door... and it's bone dry there. Since this is occurring all along the bottom, all along that entire side of the house, logic dictates that it's coming up from the ground water in your weep tile. And since the recent rain has made it dramatically worse, this isn't being caused by any sort of leaking pipe under your slab, either hot or cold. My money is on the clogged drain tile. Probably filled with soil if they didn't install it properly, covering it with filter fabric.
 
  #47  
Old 05-20-16, 05:48 AM
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The weeping tile is the direction that I am headed. I took a couple of hours last night to service my pulp and clean out my basin. I'm guessing this has never been done based on the 5 gallon pail I filled with sandy sludge. What is very odd to me is there is no pipe or weeping tile entering my sump basin. I cleaned everything out right down to the plastic bottom and no tile. Perhaps my weeping drains into the sewer?
 
  #48  
Old 05-20-16, 06:13 AM
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It would be odd if the tile drained directly to the sump... but we were taking your word for it. It would be more likely for it to simply leach into the gravel base. French drains usually head downhill and have an outlet.... or at least they head away from the house to a drain field, but thst could easily get clogged with tree roots. Do we even know for a fact that there *is* a perforated pipe buried there?

I would hate to have you dig all this up and be wrong, but the fact that you hit water is too much of a coincidence.

Do your downspouts drain into this same foundation drain? I hope not!
 
  #49  
Old 05-20-16, 08:39 AM
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Good reasoning on the drain. I just have trouble with that dark spot under the window right above th white line that looks like it got wetter and it looks like water wants to run out of it. Water runs down because of gravity. It can only go up by capillary action. That seems like a way too tremendous amount of water to wick up. If there is some entry for water behind th stucco and if the building papa rid doing its job the water has to come out th stucco. Of course I think that much water should not get behind th stucco either. Keep learning.
 
  #50  
Old 05-20-16, 08:46 AM
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Now that you spell it out it feeding the tile into the sump pit would be a bad idea. If the pump ever quit during a reasonable rain the basement would flood in minutes. Still curious how water makes it's way into the sump but it does over time. Guess I'll stop worrying about that.

There are no downspouts running into the perimeter of the foundation and honestly, I don't know if there is weeping tile there. I can only assume that it is code. I did hit gravel about 18" down so that would support weeping tile.

The intent is to clear 12" deep to prep for a concrete pad anyway so I have no problem digging a little further at the perimeter to validate tile exists. I have no experience here so I am a little nervous about pulling the tile up and cleaning it out but I suppose it shouldn't be too complicated. I fully expect not to see the tile in a sock.
 
  #51  
Old 05-20-16, 09:08 AM
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Good reasoning on the drain. I just have trouble with that dark spot under the window right above th white line that looks like it got wetter and it looks like water wants to run out of it. Water runs down because of gravity. It can only go up by capillary action. That seems like a way too tremendous amount of water to wick up. If there is some entry for water behind th stucco and if the building papa rid doing its job the water has to come out th stucco. Of course I think that much water should not get behind th stucco either. Keep learning.
That is what has me so confused. The water penetration isn't consistent, very blotchy. I have no problem drilling a small 1/2" hole if that would help rule some things out. It is very odd to me that after a few minutes of rain the shade of the problem area started to darken. It might be tough to tell in the pictures but the grey stucco below the white line looks dry. I guess it could be that the grey area is a little thicker than the salmon and needs more water to show a stain. Quite frustrating and with a forecast calling for 5 solid days of rain there is little I can do but watch.
 
  #52  
Old 05-20-16, 09:24 AM
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Do this. Take pictures and report back. Squirt water on the wall starting about eight feet up and get it wet all th way to he ground. Not the whole wall just a strip a couple feet wide. Maybe squirt it for about a couple minutes. Just get it good and wet. You won't hurt anything by doing this. Time how long it takes to dry back to the original color and notice if. The existing wet area changes in appearance in anyway. Especially notice if anything changes at the boundary of where the wet area is now and a few minutes afterward. Notice if he water spreads out differently when it hits the existing wet spot. Is there any beading of the water when it first hits the stucco?

Have you ever noticed anything similar to what you have in other buildings? Any chance some repairs have been made around the house?
 
  #53  
Old 05-20-16, 09:37 AM
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Will do, sounds like a good test.

I have started to pay attention to other homes in the area. There are very few in the neighborhood with stucco but known of them have this problem. I don't believe there have been any repairs but that's tough to know for sure. The color is pretty consistent throughout. I do know that the previous owner had a flood but I was told it originated to the left of the problem area by the hot tub (don't recall if any of the previous pictures show the tub). They did not elaborate on the cause of the flood but I suspect the hot tub pump quite and blew a hose after it froze in the winter.

Now, having said that, anything is possible based on what I have been uncovering as I renovate both my basement and the yard.
 
  #54  
Old 05-24-16, 07:46 AM
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Update:

It was a very wet weekend so I was unable to run through the soak the wall test. We received about a foot of rain in 3 days. The problem area has remained basically confined to the same pattern, not stretching any higher on the wall but it is very dark and saturated. It is roughly the same shade as the front of the house; the front of the house was hit all weekend with the driving rain.

I have called around and found a couple of companies that will come out to assess the effectiveness of my weeping tile. This sounds like a good idea before digging it up but I wanted to float the idea by you all first. If the weeping tile is a closed loop tied into the storm drain or fed into the back property somewhere, how are they going to test to see if it is functioning? Perhaps they dig down into it and scope it somehow?
 
  #55  
Old 06-09-16, 09:12 AM
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We have been in suspense for a couple weeks. What have you done and what have you learned?
Have you done the tap tests? One on either side of the expansion joint and one from top down or bottom up to find the bottom of the sill/top of the foundation.?
How about that hole in th darkest stained area under th window in the grey finish? How about the function of the drain tile? During your rains did theses areaincrease in size or onlly in the appearance of wetness?

And can anyone else following this thread find some data on the capillary capacity of Portland cement plaster? It still seems that this is too high to be coming from the ground.

Do you know for sure if you do or do not have thin stucco over foam or conventional three coat stucco about 3/4" thick over black paper and wire lath?

Is there any chance that some of he wall has been treated with smoking of water
Roofing like Thompsons Water Seal? You test to see if water runs off as opposed to ring absorbed by running water from a hose from th top down would tell yup that. In fact try this test and take a picture immediately and one say a half hour later. Especially notice if some of the areas just let the water run off like it would run off of paint.
 
  #56  
Old 06-10-16, 04:06 PM
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Seems like I'm doing a lot of apologizing lately. I am sorry for the delay, life has been nothing short of a tornado the past few months. First, some answers to your questions:

1.) Have you done the tap tests? One on either side of the expansion joint and one from top down or bottom up to find the bottom of the sill/top of the foundation.?

Yes, I have finally run through the series of tap tests. I will admit, not having heard what I am supposed to hear before I believe I have some answers. Along the back side of the house i.e., the problem wall, the top of the foundation wall is below the floor slab. Before the expansion joint the concrete wall is much higher. This is evidence through tapping and the jut that the interior wall makes. I have also looked through the house plans again and although I am not an engineer, I am pretty confident that my findings are correct. The foundation wall is 4+ feet down then the slab sits on top of that.

2.) Do you know for sure if you do or do not have thin stucco over foam or conventional three coat stucco about 3/4" thick over black paper and wire lath?

I can say with certainty that I have the conventional three coat stucco, black paper and wire lath.

3.) Is there any chance that some of he wall has been treated with smoking of water
Roofing like Thompsons Water Seal?

Possibly. I have done some further excavation that I will share further down; there appears to be a black substance on the foundation wall below the point that the stucco begins.

4.) You test to see if water runs off as opposed to ring absorbed by running water from a hose from th top down would tell yup that. In fact try this test and take a picture immediately and one say a half hour later. Especially notice if some of the areas just let the water run off like it would run off of paint.

I have not run this test yet but will do so this weekend. I know, I've said that before but things have gotten much more serious.

5.) How about that hole in th darkest stained area under th window in the grey finish?

I have not drilled a hole just yet.

6.) During your rains did theses areaincrease in size or onlly in the appearance of wetness?

This is the bizarre thing. During the rains, of which there have been many and heavy, the line does not move but the saturated area gets MUCH darker and almost immediately; roughly 20 minutes after the rain starts.

7.) How about the function of the drain tile?

I have not tested the function of the drain tile, keep reading.

let me explain what else I have done. Frustrated with the situation and knowing that the eventual plan is to excavate to pour a concrete pad, I rented an excavator and began digging. The pictures are not great, I will take much better, closer shots this weekend and post. I have essentially dug down 12" at the wall and roughly 12 feet out. This was done last weekend with the thought/hope that the wall would dry out by now. That is not the case, no noticeable change.

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I also had a company come out to assess my weeping tile. Although he didn't dig into the tile he recognized what he was seeing and spent a lot of time inspecting the surrounding area and my sump. He basically said that the fact there is so much moisture around the foundation and the cracks in the basement slab that he observed, I have a drainage problem plain and simple. He even questioned whether or not the back of the house even had weeping tile. I will be digging into the rocks that I found to answer that question.

Apparently it is not code to require tile along the rear of a walk out. Ultimately water is getting under the slab and even putting pressure on the slab causing cracks. He opened the drainage cleanout in the basement and commented on just how wet the soil was. He commented that with walkouts they put the sump pump in the wrong location due to the change in depth that the foundation wall takes. Up to the expansion joint the foundation is one depth, and after the joint the depth is different. The sump hole has to be roughly 2 feet below the foundation wall. In it's current position it is 2 feet under the foundation wall before the expansion. The foundation wall after the expansion joint is deeper than the sump hole leaving no place for the water to go.

His recommendation is to excavate along the back wall, put in rock and tile if it is not present and drain the tile into a 6 ft deep hole just on the outside of the perimeter wall. He is then recommending that a second sump hole be dug just on the interior wall down 6 ft. The idea being that the tile will drain into the first exterior hole then into the second sump and be pumped away. That raised an alarm as logic would suggest you want to move water away from the house, not pour it into an interior hole and rely on a pump to send it away. He suggested there are really only two options, the one described above or re-landscape to draw all water away from the house. His solution, 15k, re-landscaping I know for a fact will run closer to 40k. I will definitely be getting a second opinion but things are not looking great.
 
  #57  
Old 06-10-16, 06:27 PM
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I don't know about drainage and weeping and sumps. And I am thinking out loud about what I am about to say. Maybe for some reason the stucco was sealed with a sealer like Thmpsons. I don't know if that brand is a penetrating sealer or not but there are penetrating sealers. Maybe part of the wall was sealed and part not and maybe the unsealed bottom is absorbing moisture from the air. I have seen this happen but it was with new stucco finish and happened overnight. This was not sealed stucco. The area shaded by the eave was a different shade the next morning and it never changed even after the wall cured a few days. Resprayng th whole wall on a hot day made it all cure the same shade. This is not your situation but might be analogous

I can't explain what is happening but I just don't think moisture is migrating as high as you see by capillarity. I stuck some stucco n a bucket of water overnight and it was wet maybe a half inch above the surface f the water.
 
  #58  
Old 06-11-16, 03:27 AM
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Thompson WaterSeal is basically a short life product. If it sees much sun or rain it often wears off in 6-12 months.
 
  #59  
Old 06-24-16, 08:32 AM
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Well, I have returned to the land of the living. I have been fighting a stomach flu for 2 weeks now and finally had the strength to do a little digging last night. No pictures but a very telling exercise.

I had mentioned previously that in digging down against the foundation wall I hit washed rock and immediately saw some water. Last night I dug further, through the rock and did indeed hit weeping tile. As soon as the weeping tile was exposed the hole filled with water. The weeping tile is completely full, not draining anywhere. Now, finding where the tile actually goes will be near impossible without a full excavation; something I am trying to avoid.

I have had 3 separate companies out and they all have suggested the same thing, install a second sump pump near the rear wall with the bottom of the pit below the back foundation wall, and drain the tile into it. I believe I am going to proceed with that plan but tie the existing tile into the sump vs. excavating the entire back wall. The concern I have is that the existing tile I found is only about 30 inches below the slab. All of the contractors that have been out suggest that the tile be at the base of the foundation wall. Just not sure it's worth $12,000 to drop the tile a further 12".
 
  #60  
Old 07-06-16, 08:33 AM
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I know a lot about stucco and next to nothing about drain tiles and sump basins and pumps. What I know about stucco leads me to think the source of the wetness on the stucco is not capillary action, wicking from below. Maybe there is something related that I don't know about but i don't think capillary action is that strong in stucco
Has anything changed in the appearance of the stucco since your last report?
What has your weather been?
New photos?
have you done the water running down the outside of the wall test?
I am still intrigued but running out of ideas.
 
  #61  
Old 07-06-16, 10:21 AM
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I understand and appreciate the assistance thus far. Unfortunately nothing has changed since my last report. The weather has been unbearable with rain almost every evening. The shade of the problem area remains as dark as ever with no sign of drying.

I did test a theory on the weeping tile. I dug a hole roughly 6" out and 10 feet away from the exposed weeping tile, 2 feet below the tile, creating a make-shift sump pit. I dropped a 5 gallon bucket with holes in the side into the new hole and dropped a sump pump in. Within 20 minutes the weeping tile was free of water. This setup has been running for a week now. The weeping tile is dry but the wall remains wet.

I did run through the water hose test. I saturated the wall above the problem area for about 10 minutes until the entire wall was the same shade as the problem area. The area above the problem area was dry within a few hours. The problem area did not change at all.

I have this company scheduled to install second sump pit in two weeks. My plan is to dig down along the wall at the corner of the house to see if the weeping tile I found wraps around the house. I am still troubled not knowing where the tile runs. If the tile does wrap around the house the next thing I could do (if I'm up to it) is dig down along the house where the existing sump discharges. My thought there is to see if the weeping tile around the house T's down and under the footing. This would suggest that the tile is discharging into the existing sump but was not properly tied in; perhaps it is simply running into the washed rock under the sump pit and rising up through the hole at the bottom of the pit. This is a long shot and a ton of work to prove out.

The other thing I think I will do is punch an investigative hole into the interior wall of the problem wall. This will definitively rule out an interior water source and will tell me if the sheathing is wet.

I do agree that this is very hard to explain and do find it hard to believe that wicking is occurring this high up on the wall. All 3 companies that I have had out have told me that the problem is due to hydrostatic pressure. What is also confusing is the rate at which the shade of the wall changes. Before the daily rain began the wall did start to dry out. On a particularly humid morning the wall would be dark again. Or, as soon as it began to rain the wall would turn to the darker shade within minutes.

All I know is there is a significant amount of water. If I dig down 18" I hit water.
 
  #62  
Old 07-06-16, 10:19 PM
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a hole in the interior could be infomative. If the source of the moisture is from outside and if the underlayment of the stucco wire is doing its job you should see a dry wall cavity and dry insulation. If it is wet we need to revisit some of this study and figure out the source and the prevention.
Make the hole large enough to get a good look. I am assuming you have drywall on the interior. We can tell you how properly to patch the hole.
Picture of the inside might be helpful.
Good luck.
We wait with bated breath.
 
  #63  
Old 07-07-16, 07:53 AM
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Appreciated! I'll try to get to the investigation this weekend. In the meantime, a few pictures of the weeping tile and make-shift sump pit outside. I also dug a new exploratory hole last night at the corner of the house just to be sure the weep was now draining that far away from my make-shift pit and to confirm the weep is indeed reaching around the house. I'm now pretty sure that the weeping tile meets and T's at the exterior point where the existing sump discharges outside. From there I am guessing that the tile does make it's way under the footing and most likely stops under the existing pit. Measuring the depth of the existing pit and the depth of the weeping tile, they are almost identical hence the reason why they could not tie the tile into the pit. Usually the tile enters at the top of the pit. It does get me thinking that perhaps the better alternative over digging a new sump pit is to dig the existing pit down to the 6 foot mark. This is all speculation though and could end up costing much more if my theory is not correct. Anyway, pics.

This is a shot of the weeping tile. For reference this is just to the left of the door in the wider scale shot. Before adding the external sump pump this hole was completely full of water. As soon as I broke through the washed rock I could see the water pouring out of the holes in the tile.

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This is a shot of the make-shift sump with a second hole down to the weeping tile, roughly 15ft away from the other weeping tile hole.

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Here is a shot of the new hole from last night. For reference this is at the right corner of the house in the larger frame shot. It's tough to tell in the picture but the weeping tile makes the turn around the corner.

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And update shots of my pain. You can see in the second picture there is drying under the window. I'm still speculating that it is taking a very long time to dry due to the amount of rain we have been getting and the fact that the wall under the deck does not see a lick of sunlight.

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  #64  
Old 07-09-16, 08:20 AM
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Interior investigation is finally complete. I removed a good chunk of the interior drywall right beside the window this morning and have mixed feelings about the results. The good news is the sheathing is completely, bone dry. The not so good news is it was definitely wet at one point. The drywall nails about 6 inches up from the floor are showing rust and there is a black fluffy substance on the bottom of the sheathing. I am thinking it is mould but am not sure. When I removed the insulation there was a slight musty smell but not overwhelming by any means. I think it's safe to say at this point that the moisture contributing to the problem is definitely coming from outside. I think it's also safe to say that the water protection system on the exterior is intact.

Pictures!

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  #65  
Old 08-18-16, 08:58 AM
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Well the sheathing got wet once. If it were a chronic problem it would have turned to mush by now.

So what operations have you performed and what has developed since we heard from you last?
 
  #66  
Old 08-18-16, 03:40 PM
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Well the sheathing got wet once. If it were a chronic problem it would have turned to mush by now.
That was my thinking.

There has been a lot of progress with the space, unfortunately I'm still stuck with wet stucco.

The mound of dirt was beginning to cause further water issues so I decided to excavate. We ended up removing 30 yards of dirt after all was said and done. After closer measurement of my slope I was less than 2 percent in some spots, not enough for my comfort. After excavation the slope is now closer to 5 percent. This presented a new problem. All of the water was running away from the house but was now hitting the lawn and pooling. After 2 or 3 significant rainfalls the entire area looked like a swimming pool and being all clay, was not moving. To solve this problem I dug a trench along the perimeter of the excavated area and installed a French drain. This helped the pooling somewhat but with nowhere to send the water, the drain simply filled and the problem returned. While digging the trench I stumbled on weeping tile. It turns out this is the weeping tile that is sticking up 2 feet in some of the previous pictures. This tile runs clear through the yard and into the trees at the back of the property. I tied my French drain into and my drainage problem is now resolved.

This has not resolved my stucco issue though. If you recall when I dug down to the weeping tile around the house water poured out as soon as I made contact with it. This means that the tile is not draining. I thought that I could tie the tile around the house into the French drain but the tile around the house is about 12" below the French drain. I wish there was an easy way to make that work but it does not look like it. It seems the only way to move the water from around the house is to have a second sump pump installed near the exterior wall (inside) and tie the weeping tile around the house into it. A shame really as this is a $5000 job; just waiting on their availability to do the work.

PICS

Here is a shot of the excavated space
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Here is a shot of the French drain
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And a shot of the weeping tile that runs to the back of the property. The pump was put in temporarily to drain the pool.
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And a shot of the back where the weeping tile runs.
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  #67  
Old 08-18-16, 05:05 PM
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Baffled.With reference to the stucco because that is what I know anything about: Where in relationship to the foundation or slab or whatever you have is the line that changes from grey to brown? I remember way back that I thought there is a different texture. or maybe you would say the same texture but done at a different time or by a different hand above and below that color change. I don't know really what difference that makes but maybe there is something there.

And one other thing: Are the posts, the 6 X 4's that are in the middle of the excavated area planted in the ground or are they set on piers that we just can't see?
 
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Old 08-18-16, 05:11 PM
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the tile around the house is about 12" below the French drain.
In the middle ages, they called that a moat. No wonder it's wet.
 
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Old 08-18-16, 05:43 PM
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The color transition line is roughly 12" above the slab. Tough to make out but that white water stain in the grey area is about where the slab is.

A moat, agreed. We have had serious rains the last couple of weeks and the drainage system I have created leaves no standing water afterwards. I'm not sure what all of this means but I think I'm going to take a crack at joining the weep around the house to the new French drain. My thought at the moment is to dig into the Center of the French drain a hole 2 feet deeper. That should give me the depth needed to achieve the slope for a new chunk of weeping tile running from the tile around the house to this 2 foot deep hole. Theory being the weep around the house collects and feeds into this hole. The hole fills up and enters the weep in the French drain then is discharged via the weep that runs to the back trees. Not elegant but would save me five grand.
 
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Old 08-18-16, 06:21 PM
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Unless I am missing something, you said that the tile around the house is the lowest point, right? Water does not run uphill, so I don't get what your 2 foot deep hole is supposed to do. If the tile is still 12" lower, your french drain will want to drain toward the house.

And if that's the case, why wasn't the whole french drain installed 2 ft deeper so that it could drain the weep tile? IMO that is the whole source of the problem... the underground lake you have back there 365 days a year.
 
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Old 08-22-16, 05:42 PM
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Just a real poor explanation on my part. The French drain is an after the fact thing to assist with my problem. That it has done in that the lake is now gone. The weeping tile that is higher than the tile around the house was pre-existing and runs from the problem area through the French drain and into the trees. This tile although higher than the tile around the house is graded away from the house.

End of the day I need to move the water that is trapped in my tile around the house. The ground under my basement slab is completely saturated and likely to cause long term problems if I don't deal with it. I don't know if that will also fix my stucco problem but I certainly hope so. I have the crew here tomorrow to install the second sump.
 
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Old 08-22-16, 05:48 PM
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Me too. That clay looks insanely wet. I don't recall... do you have it graded away from the house... 1" of drop per foot? Looks pretty flat.
 
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Old 08-23-16, 07:04 AM
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1" per foot would be pretty extreme. The distance from the house to the edge of the yard is 15 feet. The drop over that distance is now 6", it was roughly 2" before the re-grading. The pictures and in fact real life view is pretty deceiving.
 
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Old 08-23-16, 08:19 AM
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1" per foot is an accepted standard here in the US (for the first 10'). All these things are related to your problem. Insisting that 6" in 15' is sufficient is better than zero slope but tends to make me walk away from this. Im curious if water misses your gutters during a heavy rain. I can only see 2 downspouts in your pics and they are on opposite ends of the house... so maybe they overflow too. Excessive roof drainage around a house perimeter just leads to problems. And I've seen some by its have problems from putting their d ownspouts directly into drain tile.
 
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Old 08-23-16, 08:34 AM
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I'm certainly no expert so your opinions are very much appreciated. I'm only relaying what I have been told. The obvious challenge that I have is that it is a walk out.

The downspouts off the back of the house are troubling. In a heavy rain they do indeed overflow but he real problem area under the deck does not see much surface water at all.

Worth noting that after a heavy rain the water is no longer sitting like it used to. My concern is you dig 18" and you hit water.
 
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Old 08-23-16, 09:18 AM
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Just another question... I hope the downspouts are 3"x4"... not 2"x3"?
 
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Old 08-25-16, 07:28 AM
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A good question and you have me thinking, I'll have to measure. I do know they were made on site vs. the stuff you buy at the big box store if that means anything.

Some progress yesterday and today. The crew was here to install the new sump pump. As you known I have been very hesitant spending that money but it looks like it will be worth it. Although I tried not to focus on it trying to sleep last night (the room that it's in is below the master) the pump seemed to kick in every 15 minutes meaning lots of water. The weeping tile around the house is not tied in yet but the water continues to pour into the pit from all sides. I can't describe the amount of water, it's incredible.

I also learned a few things:

1. I will never get into the profession of retrofitting sump pumps. I checked in on them this morning and starred in disbelief as one of the two men on the crew was chest deep in a hole where my floor used to be. For every shovel of dirt they hauled 5 gallon pails of water for 20 minutes.

2. The footing around the house is roughly 2 feet below the slab therefore the weeping tile is exactly where it should be.

3. The concrete slab was constructed incredibly well. Tons of rebar, 5-6" thick and a 2" layer of dense foam insulation between the slab and the clay.

Pictures.

This is a shot of the new sump pit. You can see the in floor heating lines that they had to cut and the very wet walls; you can't tell in the picture but the water is running down the walls. The pink insulation is the foundation/footing, the pump is temporary.
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Here's a shot of the concrete slab. I know it's tough to make out much. The pinkish material under the infloor water lines is the insulation between the slab and the clay.
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Here is the hole outside the new pit. This is where the T will tie the weep around the house into the new pit.
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  #78  
Old 08-25-16, 09:42 AM
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Every once in a while, a house will get built where it ought not... case in point, I had a neighbor once who dug a walkout garage/basement under his house. We had just had several years where it had been dryer than normal. Well a couple years later when the water table had returned to normal, he had a small creek originating from his basement that flowed out his garage and down his driveway. Needless to say, he doesnt use that driveway much anymore.

The artisian well less than 1/8 mile away should have been one clue not to dig too deep.

Its possible you have something similar going on... a buried layer of heavy clay is often the layer of soil that a spring will follow.
 
  #79  
Old 08-25-16, 10:01 AM
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I would agree. Knowing what I know now I'm sure we would have passed on the house. Not much we can do now other than attempt to deal with it. This has been no small endeavour and will end up costing us but hopefully we're doing the right things and proactively enough.
 
  #80  
Old 09-06-16, 11:50 AM
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After all you have done is there any change in the wetness of the stucco? You might have to live with that. The drainage work is still a good idea. It might solve a problem of which the wetness of the stucco is only a symptom.

Sometime in the future you might fog coat the stucco to even the color.
 
 

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