What could cause leaking in a basement?


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Old 04-14-15, 01:39 PM
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What could cause leaking in a basement?

My father's house has a small water problem in the basement. He said that when it rains really hard, a pool of water forms at the base of the steps going to the basement (between the steps and the wall, which is about 2' from the bottom step).

He said the water seeps into the room next door a little (imagine a door on the left as you reach the bottom of the stairs). It goes maybe a foot into that area. It doesn't happen with light rains. Only really hard rains.

He's getting ready to sell the house and wanted to get this taken care of. He had one "foundation company" come out recently and they quoted him $6000 to install a sump pump, which sounded outrageously priced and overkill (to me) for the small amount of water that's collecting. My cynical side says it seems like a case of someone taking advantage of the elderly to me.

I want to locate a few companies on Angie's List for him so he can get a few people out there to look at it and get at least three quotes. What type of company should I search for to investigate this for him?

If you have any thoughts about what might be causing this, I'd like to hear as well. I know it's difficult to take a guess without seeing it.

Thanks,

Andy
 
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Old 04-14-15, 02:00 PM
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Is the water running down the wall and in, or is it coming up from the floor?

It is probably due to poor or no drain tile around the foundation. A sump pump will solve the problem if the water is coming from below, but $6000 is way more than a job like that is worth.

First things to look at is to make sure the ground is graded away from the foundation and that your gutters drain at least 3 feet away from the foundation.
 
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Old 04-14-15, 02:45 PM
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If the level of ground water in the soil just outside is higher than the basement floor then you are likely to get leaking in the basement.

The level of ground water rises during rainy spells. The level of ground water can vary even over a short horizontal distance.

The $6000. must include the drain tiles all around the basement perimeter.

Just one sump pump in one corner is unlikely to correct the problem. With no drain tiles the sump pump may lower the ground water level below the basement floor within about 4 feet, but 10 feet away the ground water level could still be above floor level.
 
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Old 04-14-15, 06:11 PM
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Keith,

From what my father told me, it appears to be coming up from the floor and not down the wall.

The link below is a pic of the front of the house. If you look at the front door and go over about
10' (which you can't see because of the large evergreen), that's rougly where the stairs would be leading
to the basement. You can't see it, but the front yard is pretty much all level. I'm not sure if water pools
outside that area or not.

house_zpszjbd8m4y.jpg Photo by hikerguy1 | Photobucket

Allan

As you can tell from the pic,, the basement is sort of half-built into the ground. There's really no grade to the ground (as I mention above, it's pretty much flat in the front of the house).


Do either of you know of a ballpark price to install a sump pump? Where is the pump typically located (inside or outside)? I've never dealt with a sump pump, so I'm clueless about the install.

Thanks,

Andy
 
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Old 04-14-15, 06:25 PM
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If the water is coming up from the floor than the problem is with the drains around the foundation. They could be filled with silt or roots, collapsed, or not even there at all. If you know where the drains exit, you could have a plumber send a camera up and take a look. the only way to fix it right would be to dig up around the outside of the foundation and put new in, but that can be costly, like upwards of $10k costly.

A sump pump is the next best and most logical option. It will pimp the water out of the foundation as the watwr table rises (such as after really heavy rains) before it has a chamce to get to the level of the floor. A sump pump would be installed on the Inside. it can really be placed anywhere in the basement. If i were to install one for somebody I couldn't image the cost being more than $2000- $3000. basically all you need to do is dig a hole, put your sump pit barrel in and throw a pump in the hole. There could be extra work depending where the pump needs to drain but it is pretty stright forward. It is something a homeowner could do themselves in a weekend with no problem.
 
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Old 04-15-15, 09:42 AM
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Thanks for that info Keith. If he decided to do this himself, what type of company would I look for in Angie's List?

Thanks,

Andy
 
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Old 04-15-15, 09:55 AM
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Any plumbing or foundation company should have experiance installing them.
 
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Old 04-16-15, 05:12 AM
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Before you spend much money, make sure that the roof gutter drains are extended away from the house. I'm thinking 5-6 feet. The less water that is near the foundation, the less chance of it getting into places you don't want.

The drain that is nearest to the wet spot may not be the one that is causing the trouble. Once water gets into clogged tiles it can travel in many different directions.
 
 

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