Posted for James snipped-for-privacy@insightbb.com Basement leaks from walls.
Message: My basement leaks after each rain. It seems to be seeping thru the walls, then again, it might just be coming down from the top of the wall. Is there anything we can do to make this basement quit leaking? We are wanting a finished basement, but cant until this problem is fixed
PLEASE HELP!!! Thanks a lot! James Jones
Ed are you posting for someone, because you know the answer as well as anyone. Its going to be a big job, if gutters and grading are right then your foundation has to be dug up outside, no fun.
"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in news:J4PJg.22963$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr11.news.prodigy.com:
Are your gutters cleaned out and working (not leaking)? Do the gutters drain and pool near the foundation? You may want to run extensions out from your house, so the water runs well away from your foundation. Because when water pools, the water seeps down and builds pressure and pushed itself into your basement. Where's the water coming in? You have actual cracks where it's coming in? If it's micro-cracks, then you could paint the masonry walls with this drylock product that seals the microcracks.
Our basement leaks too. I tried the drylock. Didn't work. Our problem is slope. The back yard ground slopes down to the foundation. I'm going to have to rip out the deck on the back of the house and dig a french drain and move some earth to get the slope moving in the opposite direction. My wife owned this house before marrying me. Instead of addressing the basement leaking issue first, she instead paid for someone to build the rear deck. But the moron who built the rear deck should have advised her to have the slope taken care of, before worrying about a deck. I wouldn't even have bought this house in the first place, due to the slope. Women!
On an older home that I used to own I put a slab of cement against the foundation. It was slanted outwards a little bit and about 12" to 18" wide (can't remember). Most of my problem was from watering the lawn so I then carefully installed a sprinkling system so that it didn't spray on the cement.
If the problem is rain, I would make sure that you have some good rain gutters installed.
Concrete block and most concrete is not waterproof and making it waterproof is not easy or cheap. The first and most important step is to move the water away from the structure. This includes grading the ground around the house away from the house. I suggest no less that 5 feet but
10-20 is far better. Also make sure gutters and down spouts are all directed away from your home. Most of the time that will take care of it. Next is digging all around the foundation to provide a drain and to waterproof the wall from the outside.Any attempt to fix the problem from the inside is 98.87% certain to fail.
Yes, a fellow James asked me to that is having problems posting to newsgroups.
Gutters, proper downspouts, and grading is the most common cure.
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