Fixing new cement basement walls

Last September 2003 I had two of my basement walls replaced. It's Novemebr now and I'm getting water leaking into the basement, and the brick is solid wet three rows up from the basement floor, enough to get the floor wet three feet out as well. I had the contracter look at it, and you can see the tar getting pushed through the wall (from where they sealed it on the out side) He's going to dig up around the area that's wet, and re-seal the wall with thicker water proofing.

I graded the dirt around the house, and it seems dry at ground level. I also installed gutters around the house.

What's the contracers responsibility as far as keeping the basment dry, and what else can I do to keep the water out? I bought some "dry-lock" basement paint, and plan on using it to keep the brick dry.

Thanks,

Steve

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Dig down the outside of the wall and install drain tile at the footing. Run the drain to a sump pump and pump it away. When refilling the foundation reseal the wall, and put a layer of 4 mil plastic over the wall, refill the trench with pea gravel. Skip your drylock paint. If the water is drained away properly the wall will stay dry. Greg

Reply to
Greg O

Usually a wet basement is caused by water building up in the soil outside the wall. If you installed gutters and didn't drain the water away, don't expect your contractor to take responsibility for the problem.

Sometimes you can fix basement leaks by coating the wall but the only real solution is to prevent water from building up outside the wall by draining it. That's what I recommend if you want a real solution to the problem.

Rick

Reply to
Java Man (Espressopithecus)

Hi, No amount of sealing will keep the basement dry. The point is good drainage away from the perimeter of your house. Do you have high water table? Landscaped the yards to drain away water from house? Is there any weeping tiles installed? Tony

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Tony Hwang

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (X) wrote in news:a3488afb.0311072110.6bbe6005 @posting.google.com:

As long as your contractor is diggin up the walls, make him do it right. Tar is not a proper coating for exterior waterproofing. Have him use Bituthene or a similar product. Also make sure that he has installed footer drains that actually drain, not just end in the soil.

Whether or not you have recourse against him really depends on your original contract and what it says about the work to be performed. Also check to see if what the contractor did adhered to local building codes.

If your contractor just slapped tar on the walls, he either doesn't know or doesn't care what he wis doing.

Reply to
whocares

I wasn't 100% clear. The gutters drain onto a downwards slope that is aproxiamtely 10' from a stom drain. I don't think in-proper gutter installation is the problem.

I asked the contractor to install tile at the bottom of the wall, but it was a gentelemans agreement, and wasn't stated in the estimate. The contractor claims that the tile is installed. I don't want to have to dig up the new wall just to verify it's there. The contractor did offer to dig the wall back up and re-water proof the area that is leaking. The guy actually has a good reputation in our area.

Steve

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