Any basement water problem experts here?

[larryinlc]

This has been on ongoing problem in my basement since I moved here 6 years ago. This spring has been unusually bad. Lots of rain. Anyway, I have cracks in the poured walls that when it rains hard, it can even stream in as well as seep. I know I want to start with some good landscaping with a wide rubber membrane around the perimeter of the house. The water does seem to be coming from top down. The flow stops fairly quickly once the rain stops. This couldn't hurt as the house needs this. My next solution is to have a contractor trench and seal the outside walls. Expensive, but the best solution?? What I really wanted to ask is if anyone has experience with the indoor perimeter drainage systems that seem to be advertised all over. Like a curb and gutter system around the inside walls with a sump pump installed. Expensive, but cheaper than the above. I know, this is not going after the root of the problem, but it's a cheaper solution.

I really need to get this fixed and am just looking for a little advice. I've googled it to death and all I get are places that will sell me anything and everything. Any opinions, experience or expertise would be greatly appreciated.

The water in these pictures is mostly coming from three main cracks/areas of my basement. I have three tubs set up to catch maybe 40/50% of the water with pumps in each. I can't collect it all, so it fills up on the floor. The best I've been able to do is keep a lot of the water somewhat at bay.

Larry

[Remo]

Not sure about the top down problem, my wife had a water table problem and her basement would literally fill 5 inches, put a sump pump in and problem fixed, I reckon it would also work for you. Good luck, that sucks!!

[DMK]

Sounds like your problem is a drainage issue. Do the gutters drain to the ground, weeping tiles or a dry well outside?
Looks like the yours either drain to ground, which means you need to extend them farther away from the foundation, or they drain to weeping tile which is plugged or collapsed. If yours go to weeping tile you can redirect to ground remembering to increase to distance from your foundation.
You can also drain the gutters to rain barrels for free garden water or direct to a dry well.
Having a contractor dig and seal will eat into your cigar budget, hold off on that thought.
Hope this helps.

[larryinlc]

[quote=DMK;1843068]Sounds like your problem is a drainage issue. Do the gutters drain to the ground, weeping tiles or a dry well outside? Gutters drain to the ground with a 5 foot extension outward. Weeping tiles? Drain tiles? I would think they're there. No dry well that I'm aware of and no sump either.

Cigar budget? That went poof with the new roof. For a 16 year old house, it's sure starting to make my head hurt.

Larry

[chippewastud79]

With that much water, consistently, I would invest in the sump pump. It would be a couple thousand dollars well spent for some piece of mind in any rain and particularly severe rain. We have every inch against our foundation landscaped, our gutters run far away from the house, but the water table just happens to be high near us. If you ever intend on finishing part or all of that space or plan on selling, it only helps yourself or the new owner as well.

[SvilleKid]

OK Larry.... This is not a problem that can be fixed from the inside. Hydrostatic pressure is one of the strongest pressures around, and can actually push a wall in and collapse it, even a poured concrete wall. You have two possible problems (or both). Surface water running down the wall due to poor drainage AWAY from the foundation wall, and/or sub-surface water finding cracks below the surface.

Install gutters (if not existing), and drain away from the foundation. If the lot overall flows to the foundation, you need to add dirt to the house edge, sloping away from the house. If there is NO obvious areas where surface water is running to the foundation, then you are in for an expensive repair.

The foundation should have a "french drain system:, where the exterior wall has been waterproofed, with perforated drain pipe at the bottom with a gravel base over the pipe. If this wasn't done to start with, or was done improperly at the original construction, the only way to correct (and the best way) is to dig the outer foundation back down to the footings, clean off the foundation, install a waterproofing barrier on the outer wall, install the drainpipe, cover with a layer of gravel and then back-fill the trench. This is a job probably best left to a contractor, and most that specialize in this will give you a warranty.

Good luck. Maybe the problem is surface related and fixable with gutters and re-landscaping to keep the water away from the foundation. But...... Chances are, since the water has already found a path to the mentioned cracks, it will keep coming into the cracks. Meaning you will probably end up needing to expose the outside wall and do a proper waterproofing and french-drain job.

Sure, you can punch a hole thru the concrete slab, make a sump pit and install a pump. This DOES NOT fix the problem of pressure against the foundation. It is also a negative when it comes to marketing the house. And if it is a subsurface problem, punching a hole thru the floor just gives the water another route into the house. And the pressure on the wall is still an issue. AND, you absolutely do not want to put any finished walls over a wall with leaks in it! That leads to only one thing.... Major mold/mildew problems that will be really expensive to remedy down the road!!

[larryinlc]

Originally Posted by SvilleKid

OK Larry.... This is not a problem that can be fixed from the inside.

Thanks. This is what I suspected all along would need doing. What I failed to mention earlier....all the homes on my block have now or in the past, suffered from the same issue as me. Apparently there might be a water table or drainage problem in my area. The village in which I live, dug sort of a fenced off drainage pit near our houses to collect runoff? Doesn't seem to help me. I kept hoping that this might be a simple inexpensive fix, but in the back of my mind, I knew it wasn't going to be. I cringe at what this might cost around a 1700 sq ft house.

Larry

[SvilleKid]

Originally Posted by larryinlc

Thanks. This is what I suspected all along would need doing. What I failed to mention earlier....all the homes on my block have now or in the past, suffered from the same issue as me. Apparently there might be a water table or drainage problem in my area. The village in which I live, dug sort of a fenced off drainage pit near our houses to collect runoff? Doesn't seem to help me. I kept hoping that this might be a simple inexpensive fix, but in the back of my mind, I knew it wasn't going to be. I cringe at what this might cost around a 1700 sq ft house.

Larry

I would say "rent a small backhoe and do it yourself"....... But I know a couple of people that did that, and ended up knocking a wall in with the machine digging or backfilling afterwards! It can be a DIY project, but it's labor intensive, and if the basement is deep underground, there is always a possibility of the trench falling in on you while you are in it.

Is the basement 100% below ground? No garage area or access to the outside from the basement?

If ALL the homes have had similar issues, I'd say you are looking at sub-surface issues that will require exterior wall waterproofing. If, however, the basement is 100% below ground (no side with ground level at or near the slab area), then you are looking at trying to seal an area from water with no other place to go. Ans, given the fact that you have to have a seam between the walls and the slab floor, you just might not be able to seal it, because you have to have somewhere for the french drain to dump the water!

[hotreds]

The pirate has given you good advice! Unfortunately- you have pressure from the outside trying to get in. So, putting an anti-water seal on the outside would fix the problem because the pressure will work with you. You COULD try first to go a bit more cheaply and see how this works for you- sealing that interior wall with
http://www.drylok.com/formulas/latex...-waterproofer/

Good luck!

[shilala]

There's some guys around here that come by and fix those cracks in the basement walls. They hydraulically pump sealant in the cracks.
I'm just thinking that's a good place to start, as they're inexpensive and will keep at it till they plug it all up. That'll buy you time to do all the other stuff you may need to do.

[SvilleKid]

Originally Posted by hotreds

The pirate has given you good advice! Unfortunately- you have pressure from the outside trying to get in. So, putting an anti-water seal on the outside would fix the problem because the pressure will work with you. You COULD try first to go a bit more cheaply and see how this works for you- sealing that interior wall with
http://www.drylok.com/formulas/latex...-waterproofer/

Good luck!

The Drylock is an option. BUT.... If the wall is unstable in the very least, and can move with the pressure in the least (even movement that you cant really see to measure), the cracks WILL reappear thru the interior coating. I know from personal experiences!! My town is called Springville, because of the springs! I have two that flow from my property, And I have a small cellar under the house that the original builder should have never put there!!! I have at least one spring that puts water into the cellar in periods of heavy rain. There is enough pressure under the slab that pencil lead size streams will spew up several inches high thru several cracks where two slabs join. I've sealed, I've opened the seam some to make a bigger seal, I've used "dam-tite" (like dry-loc) and other similar interior sealers. They all eventually fail at the seam/crack, since the pressure WILL make enough movement to re-open the crack. My cellar is completely inside the crawl space, and the concrete block walls do not go all the way to the floor joists. The only way to french-drain it means kneeling under the house with a short-handle pick and shovel to dig around the walls to the footing level, and then to dig a trench to the exterior wall (and then out to a lower level outside) for the drain to exit. Not happening for a 50+ year old fat boy!! BTW, the previous owner sealed the inside walls of concrete block walls with some type of GOOD sealer, up to the top. Yeah, that worked good. The sealer keeps the water in the concrete block (it still bubbles up from the floor, though). However, eventually, the water in the walls gets high enough that it runs out of the top of the blocks!!!! So, the water eventually finds a way out! That's what water pressure will do!! Sealing the interior walls and cracks might stop the current leaks. But don't look for that as long term, and don't be surprised if the water finds (or makes) a new path inside!

I've seen hundreds of houses where interior sealer was applied, and have seen large areas of the sealer flaked off the wall where the water simply pushes a layer of the surface off that the sealer was adhered to, and it comes off in small to large patches. If the water pressure is present, it WILL find a way in, eventually. And that much water in your basement..... That can lead to mold on your wood floor support structure just like too much moisture leads to mold on your cigars. (I hope you are using a dehumidifier in the basement).

I wish I could tell you that surface applications could do the trick. But they only help when you are talking about very small areas and very limited amounts of water. Your pictures say you are looking at large amounts of sub-surface water that you need to drain away from the outside.