We have a 4 inch sewer line running through a 6 inch sleeve out our basement wall through cement blocks. During a heavy rain we get ground water leaking in between the pipes. It is not leaking around the 6 inch sleeve. It trickles in, but enough that it runs down the wall across the floor and into the drain. My husband has tried to seal it from the inside with all kinds of sealant between the sewer line and the sleeve, including hydocement, but it continues to leak. Unfortunately the exterior wall is covered by a covered porch, which has a deck like floor. We had a basement repair company out and one suggested a plumber that would wrap a "rope" like caulking around the sewer pipe and cover it with a water activated sealant. The other recommended installing a vinyl panel over the wall and breaking up the cement floor to channel the water into the gravel and to the sump pump. Then he would patch the cement. He said it was impossible to stop the leak, and the solution was to channel the water instead. So we would still have water running down the wall, but covered by a vinyl panel. Two plumbers that were here suggested taking up the floor of the porch and hand digging down and repairing the leak from the outside. The pipe is only about 18 inches under the dirt. None of the options are cheap. Has anyone had a similar problem and how did you solve it?

 

Welcome to the forums.

I have personally never had that problem but the correct way to fix foundation leaks is from the outside. It's almost impossible to block the water from the inside.

I'm wondering where all the water is coming from if it's under a covered porch.
Is your rainwater being diverted away from the house ?

 

Thanks for your response. After numerous attempts to fix the leak from the inside, I think you may be right, it probably needs fixed from the outside. Yes, the gutters all feed into a drainage system around the outside perimeter of the house and into a field in the back. The field in the back stays wet most of the time, so I think the drains are open. We just had a rain shower and I could see water coming out of the opening in the field. The dirt itself is dry under the porch most of time, but we do have a high water table, so I think it is ground water that builds up. It only happens in a very hard rain and especially if the ground is saturated already.

 

I think Pete hit the nail on the head. Especially if it's a high water table, you won't be able to stop the water from the inside.

You could try a french drain or similar around the porch, try to drain any groundwater out away from the house. It might be a worthwhile project to keep from having to break up concrete, but it depends on how much landscaping and such would be disrupted. It might help, or might not.

 

Thanks so much for your reply. We wouldn't have to break up the concrete, because the porch floor is decking. So, all around I think fixing it from the outside is the best solution.

 

If the gutter downspouts drain into an underground system then that underground system needs to be non-perforated around the house and must empty out by itself.

There should not be a depression outside around the foundation filled with gravel or mulch. You need the ground to be solid soil at least of the same hardness as the rest of the lawn, and sloping away from the house.

 

Yes, all of the gutters drain into a perforated underground system and it seems to be open and flowing out to the back of our 2 acre lot. During out last rain storm, I could see the water running out of the pipe into the yard. So I don't think the gutters are the problem. The gutters are also about 10 feet away from the spot that is leaking, because the porch is covered by a roof. The soil under the porch remains dry almost all the time, even with a heavy rain. I am becoming more and more convinced it is a bad seal between the 4 inch sewer pipe and 6 inch sleeve, which I think would be on the outside under the ground. Is my logic sound here?