Addressing water seepage in basement

[Delt]

Does anyone have suggestions to stop water from seeping in the basement?

I have graded the exterior landscape away from the house, cleaned and maintained all of the gutters and drains, and extended the splashguards and gutters to drain further away than before (about 3 feet). Still the seepage occurs.

Is there a synthetic concrete or silicone material that can be used to "patch" cracks or holes in the foundation?

After I take care of the seepage, I am planning to paint the walls with a water sealing paint... then start to finish the basement, but don't want to start that until it's dry there for good.

Help

[Todd]

For the most part, there is no such thing as a dry basement. The things you mention definitely will help though.

T

[Jimmer]

Jed,

All the steps you have taking really help in reducing the water trying to get into your basement. The problem with applying a patch or paint on the inside of your foundation wall is that concrete is is not waterproof and once water gets into the concrete it seaps down and through wall.

The best way I know to have a dry basement is to use a membrane on the outside of your foundation wall that is impervious to water ( comes in large rolls usually 4 - 6 ' wide) you stick this on overlapping your vertical seams and all the way down the wall and onto your footings. You then have to protect that membrane from rocks and soil with an additional layer that has a large honeycomb like appearance. This second layer not only protects the first membrane but also creates a space for any water to flow through down to your drain tile.

Obviously it is easiest and cheapest to apply this during construction of the home, but... if you have water problems it is worth doing it right before you start closing in interior basement walls. You will end up with mold / rot problems.

There are a bunch of different brands available and I don't want to promote one over the others. Check your local suppliers and/or do a websearch on 'waterproofing membrane' or something similar.

Good luck, Jim

'Just a handyman trying to help'

[Hube]

If the foundation footings do not have properly (or none) installed "WEEPER" tiles around the EXTERIOR perimeter of the footings, then the water will always be a problem. With an improper perimeter weeper installation,ANY exterior wall covering will be useless. Surface (rain,snow)water will always go down to the footing level, and unless it has a piped escape (drainage weeper pipe) it will seep into the floor as it has no other way to go. Most foundation footings have a continuous 3" or 4" perimeter pipe all around the house and exits into the storm sewer or a safe distance away, if in a rural area. This pipe is laid just below the basement floor level and then is covered with a filter and some gravel. Then it is backfilled to grade. Before spend big bucks on a finished basement, you would be wise to solve the water problem first. Sorry, but there is no easy way out on this problem. Good luck, Hube

[skootch]

Basement crack water seepage

Okay, a dry basement is possible. But it takes many steps to do so. First, when the home is built, it must have drain tile around the footer on the inside and outside. This collects the water and moves it away from the house or into a sump pit where a pump then removes it.

Second, the foundation must have a true waterproofing membrane put over it. Someone else mentioned a peel and stick product. These work, are expensive and are usually used on commercial jobs. Most homes use a polymer modified asphalt. This will stretch over cracks in a basement and keep it sealed. This is not "tar" or dampproofing.

To repair your situation, is the foundation block or concrete? Block foundations can be made waterproof by jackhammering around the perimeter, installing a draintile, and drilling holes into the bottom course of block. This will let water drain under the slab to the tile. You can find someone in your yellow pages under waterproofer to fix it. Just remeber to bring out your check book for it.

Finally, if you have a concrete foundation with a crack in it, you can inject a urethane foam into it. There is a foundation crack repair kit here.

[Boxwood33@verizon.net]

water in basement

I had all of the problems that you note. When I tried to paint the walls, the paint came off after blistering. I had a trickle on the floor that was entering both via the walls and at the intersection of the walls and the slab floor. I did the outdoor French drains and moved all downspouts and graded and everything else but I still had the problem. I called in a pro and they had two suggestions to be done in order. One was a drain tile clean out and a new sump system and the follow-up was to dig on the outside of the house and install a membrane against the concrete walls. They noted that the 2nd process is very costly and would only be necessary of the 1st did not fix the problem. After checking out all the drains and drain tiles ia a TV, they busted up the floor in a few spots and rerouted the drain tiles to a large sump and put in two sumps (one slightly higher that the other as a backup with a electrical failure water powered sump backup) and disconnected the drain tiles from the storm sewer (which it turned out was backing up water to the house rather than taking it away. The sump empties into a catchment on the front lawn (sunken into the grass so as not to be seen) and that is carried just below the grass in a PVC pipe to the storm sewer at the street. That took 3 days to complete and about $4K but the problem was completely fixed without any digging at the foundation. As an added bonus, the basement dried completely out, the "wet" smell disappeared , and it has never leaked now in 4 years and I have remodeled the basement into a 2nd living room and bedroom since it no longer has a bad smell. It was well worth the bucks. My suggestion is to try all the surface water management things that you can do yourself and if that does not fix the problem, look to draining out the water below and around your house via the above method before digging up your foundation to treat the exterior. Good luck !

[Robbie245]

Trying to seal the water out is a waste of time. Water is building up in the soil to a point higher than your basement floor and causing hydrostatic pressure. The grading and gutter attention you did was a good first step. I believe at some point you should consider getting footer drains installed. A good resource is Hydrostatic Pressure Relief In Your Basement

[tudor]

Not to go off on too much of a tangent, but have you ever seen tree roots cause leaking through basement walls? I am wondering if this might be what's happening in my house. There are cracks in the floor and expansion of the mortar of the wall. The floor gets quite wet at times but the water doesn't actually puddle. Thanks--

[HayZee518]

if tree roots will infiltrate the caulked joints of a clay pipe waste line you can bet they will seek out ANY source of pooling water in their path including basement walls, with concrete block or cracks in a footing and foundation.

[Laroja]

I am a Realtor and have seen this problem before. Dry-Lock is great as are the water proofing companies out there. What I did in my own home however is plant Hostas and other thirsty plants near the walls. It has stopped all seepage!! Best of Luck!!