Cracked Foundation Sealers

My question has to do with attempting to repair a cracked foundation from the outside.

I have had several estimates hovering the $1000 mark for those companies that use long probes to inject sealant into the ground around the foundation to seal cracks.

I have a tri-level townhouse with the sublevel being finished with drywall on the walls and carpet on the floor. During heaving rainstorms I get water seepage from the same area of the wall where a fireplace kit is. Most of the fireplace components are out, but their remains a sheet metal shield that would be difficult and messy to remove, thus an inside inspection and repair of the crack is out of the question.

Directly opposite of the leaking wall on the outside is a deck, of which the boards run directly to the foundation.

Access to the foundation or ground underneath would mean removing quite a few of the deck boards.

I hope I've accurately described how difficult this is.

1) I'm wondering what is the best soil/sand/gravel combination to have under a deck so close to the house to weep away the rain?

2) Is there equipment available for rent (Home Depot says no) that would allow a home owner to inject the "sealants" used by contractors to fix a foundation crack?

3) Any idea of costs involved?

If someone wants a better understanding of my situation, I can email pix.

Thanks for any/all help-suggestions.

Its not really out of the question. I bet someone could open it up & inspect in one day, and that to refinish the area would take 3 or 4 days only because they'll wait a day between sheetrock mudding coats. However, best is to see what is happening on the outside, hard to effectively get a leak to stop working only from the inside.

Well, the deck part doesn't sound that difficult at all. Some labor hours involved, but nothing at all that is rocket science. Take ALL the deck boards (and as many deck joists & beams as is needed, maybe that's what he meant by deck "boards") off in that area so there is room to work, and dig down & inspect.

The best way is to keep the water from saturating the ground in that area to begin with. Is there anywhere to pipe it to from there?

good luck,

-v.