It figures, live in a house 4 years with a dry basement, decide to start framing it off, and the first good rain, it starts leaking.
I know the cause, the front gutter is clogged, and the overflow is pouring right where the leak is. I cant get up to clear the gutters in the rain, and they are predicting rain for the next 3 days, so I need a quick fix. Is there any special type of caulk that works well on a wet foundation? There is a hairline crack in the wall, maybe 1mm wide, been there since before we bought the house. I can go back and do a more permanent sealing job later, but for now, I just want to stop the flow of water under my newly framed walls.
The quickest fix possible is to get on a ladder and unclog that gutter.
No. Hydraulic cement *might* do the job, if the water isn't coming in very fast. But you could get the gutter unclogged in far less time than it would take to drive to a hardware store and buy the cement.
What's stopping you from removing the clog from the gutter? This is one of those rare cases in which the *right* way to fix a problem, and the *fastest* way to fix it, are the same. Get on a ladder. Remove the clog. When the water stops coming in, patch the crack.
Run out and buy a wet/dry shop vac. You'll need it for a million other things anyway. Make sure it comes with the correct attachment for picking up water from a wet floor. Sears is your savior at the moment.
Got one Craftsman 12 gallon, 4.5 HP It's a bit noisy, I would prefer not to have it running 24/7. As soon as I turn it off, it takes about 3 minutes for the seeping water to flow the 6 ft from the leaking wall to the new framed wall. I'm tempted to pick up a 24 pack of Juicy Fruit and pay the neighbor kid to start chewin.
24' ladder. If you don't have one already, you should.
Have someone hold the ladder for you.
See above.
Get a flashlight. I've unclogged gutters in the dark before, holding a flashlight in my teeth. If you're able to climb a ladder, you can too.
You don't need to get on the roof, you just need to get up the ladder far enough that your head and shoulders are above the gutter.
Perhaps. But it will fix the problem. Hydraulic cement may or may not work, depending on how fast the water is coming in.
You don't have to go on the roof. You can do the whole job from the ladder.
You're missing the point: there may not BE a temporary solution. The water may be coming in too fast, or too forcefully, for hydraulic cement to work. Unclogging the gutter, OTOH, will fix the problem.
Nobody's stopping you from asking, and I did tell you about hydraulic cement in my first response. But if you want to fix the problem, you're gonna need to get up on that ladder. Not on the roof. Just on the ladder. Problem is, you don't want to, and you're making excuses. It's not impossible. It's not even all that hard. There are many ways to secure a ladder so it won't slip. You don't have to get up on the roof. And you don't really even need to see what you're doing -- it's not that hard to unclog a gutter by feel alone, in total darkness.
If you're acrophobic (which I'm beginning to suspect), offer your next-door neighbor a six-pack to do it for you while you hold the ladder. Most guys will do things for ten dollars' worth of beer, that they wouldn't do for a hundred in cash.
You could temporarily cover the ground with plastic and plywood until you can find someone to clean the gutter for you. Bottom line: the gutter needs to be fixed. There is no cheap quick remedy that is worth a dime.
Consider leafguard brand gutters for that strategic area. They work. Add on gutter helmets do not work in my experience but I haven't cleaned my leafguard gutter in 8 years and everyonece in a while I take a peak and they are completely clean inside.
Also newer Sear wet/vacs are far superior to older ones. I got one that actually takes a U shaped bag for dry stuff and has 3 filter stages and it is guiet and powerful. Gave my old one away.
It the water is coming in fast enough to run 6 feet across the floor in 3 minutes, you need to do more than clean out the gutter to prevent this from happening again. Quick fix or not, eventually you're gutter will clog again, and water will come in again, and you will be wishing you'd taken the time to repair the problem correctly the 1st time.
Fine. Pay a roofer to go up there on a ladder and clean your gutters. You came here looking for ideas, but you keep shooting down the ones provided by people who've already been through this. Good luck. There's no easy, magical solution.
I can't wait till this guy experiences ice damming when it's 7 degrees for 3 weeks in a row, with no warming trend in site, and the water's pouring down the insides of his walls. Priceless.
You people are amazing. All I needed was a simple yes or no answer. What do I get? half a dozen people stating the obvious. One helpful person speculates me having a psychological malady.
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