Basement floor cement

Three months ago I had my drains replaced under the basement. The plumber broke the basement floor, laid new pipes and then replaced the broken part of the floor with cement.

Since then, I've been concerned that the cement never seems to fully dry out. Last night, after a day of torrential rain, water started leaking out of a crack in the new cement.

The plumber claims it's not his fault. He says cement is not supposed to be waterproof. That there's something wrong with my foundation, because water should not be getting under my house.

If this is so, then why doesn't every house's foundation simply crumble after 3 months?

The house is 40 years old, and there has never been an issue with water seeping up from the cement floor.

Is it possible the plumber should have used a better material? Is there a cement used for foundations that can resist water for more than 3 months? Any suggestions as to what I should do now? Thanks.

Reply to
wilkie
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What kind of drain? Septic or storm water? Why did they need replacing?

He is right, for the most part.

Most foundations have a perimeter drain and a sump just for that reason.

Maybe there has been a problem and the water had no place to go until you opened up the floor.

It's not the cement. Did he replace the foundation or just the floor? You are leaving out some important details.

Reply to
hawgeye

If the plumber replaced a concrete floor with cement, then that is a huge problem. Cement is the binder for concrete, but it alone does not make a good floor.

Concrete is water-proof if the cement ratio is high enough, but I'm not sure if pure cement is waterproof or not. However, making a joint in concrete water-proof is nearly impossible and it is a joint that is your problem.

I agree with your plumber that water should not be getting under your house and there should be a foundation drain system in place, however, if you don't have one, then you have a difficult problem. I doubt you can ever patch the hole in the floor such that it will resist water under any pressure at all.

Being resistant to water and being water-proof aren't the same. Concrete can be exposed to water indefinitely without causing harm to the concrete (think of a swimming pool). However, if concrete has joints in it, they may well pass water. It isn't the concrete that is your problem, it is the joint/crack caused by cutting up the floor and then patching it.

There are hydraulic cements that can be used to make concrete that will swell rather than shrink as it cures, but I've not used them personally and am not familiar with the details of using them. You may want to search on hydraulic cement/concrete and see what you can find.

Also, I wouldn't depend on a plumber for knowledge of concrete. I'd call a reputable mason or concrete contractor for advice.

Matt

Reply to
Matt Whiting

Here is the important info I left out. As part of what they did, they replaced the underground pipes all the way out to the street. They excavated my front yard and replaced the drains 12 feet below the surface. The plumber now says that as a result of their backfilling, the water table level changed and now I'm getting water under my basement floor, which I never had before. In fact, besides the cement cracks, there is a space under my furnace where there is no floor, and water was coming up through there as well, for the first time.

Of course the plumber claims that this is a rare occurrence and takes no responsibility. Now he says I need a sump pump. This means more digging and excavating. Who will pay for this? I guess the judge will decide.

Reply to
wilkie

He's right there.

He's right there, too.

Again...

You will.

That would be a *bad* move, IMHO. Throwing good money after bad. It is

*very* unlikely that you would win. You'd have to show that this is a common enough problem that he should have forseen it (you can't, it isn't) and even then unless he made a contract that had a provision that this would not happen, it is *still* not his fault.

Don't waste money on useless lawsuits. Instead, see if he'll take sympathy on you, and give you a break and a discount on the work. Of course if you have pissed him off already, I guess you are out of luck.

Reply to
PeterD

OK, he's agreed to give me a break on the price. He says it should cost around $2,500, and he'll take off $1,000 and do it for $1500. Is this reasonable?

Reply to
wilkie

Well, you could price other people doing the same job, and you could make sure that you both agree on exactly what the outcome of the job will be, but generally if everything else is on the par, then that kind of a split seems reasonable.

Reply to
PeterD

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