Moisture in walls

[Dave]

I noticed a damp spot where floor meets wall. Moisture meter shows moisture. The meter has a maximum level of 50% and it was showing just that. Approximately 1.5 feet higher the level drops to 11%. The floor is a hardwood floor which does not show moisture (according to the meter). Where the wood meets the wall there is some moisture.

The house has two floors (built in the sixties). Concrete floors and walls. Upper floor is OK but ground floor has the problem. The moisture seems to seep from small holes in the concrete floor. Below ground floor there is an empty space about ten feet high. The crawling space (if you can call it that) below the problematic ground floor is dripping with of moisture on the ceiling.

Only a few walls have moisture and only around near the holes.

The floor has water pipes embedded in the concrete. I don't think there is a leak but instead I think the moist from ground is seeping up. The areas have had problems with ants. Perhaps the ant dug up a hole? The house has an HVAC system taht really pulls air in from every hole. Could that bring moisture up since the crawling space celing is moist.

What can I do about the problem? I've allready filled the holes with waterproofing material. A renovation guy came up and told me to rip the moist concrete and wait a couple of weeks if it dries up.

[Malcolm Hoar]

You've got to find where that water is coming from.

• Burst pipe?

• From leaking gutters/downspout?

• Poor drainage in the soil outside?

• Other?

You need to take a *really* good look around, inside and outside. By that I mean, be prepared to spend an hour or three really looking for clues, and thinking!

[Speedy Jim]

Dave wrote:

[Proctologically Violated©®]

I have a problem w/ moisture *condensing* on concrete floors/walls in basement areas. Disappears w/ the A/C turned on.

Could be a condensation drip from an elbow or fitting, as well.

[Dave]

There is a lot of moisture below the ground floor in the crawling space but it is evenly spaced and not coming from one source. Temperature outside is somewhat above freezing.

Only domestic.

[Dave]

I am hoping it is just condense water from below seeping up to the ground floor.

I'll add a ventilation fan to the crawling space see does it help.

[Roy Starrin]

What is the level of the outside ground in relationship to all this, on all sides of the house? Is it above the "problematic ground floor"? Does outside water flow toward the house, or have you established your land drainage so that water drains away from the house? Any downspouts from gutters? How close to the house do they discharge?

[Dave]

I checked the area below the problem places more carefully. They have downspouts nearby which occasionally "sweat". The believe this is the problem. Water lines don't seem to have been cracked. The moisture in the crawling space is not near the problem places after all and ground cannot be the problem since the ceiling in the crawling space is too high up (10 feet) from teh ceiling.

The water from the downspout seem to have accumulated and now is showing.

I carved some moist concrete from the walls and filled the holes. After a couple of days the moisture meter show decrease.

[Roy Starrin]

Try buying an 8' or 10' extension for each of the problem downspouts and lead the water away from the house. See if that helps. BUT, ground must be the problem to some degree. If a few hours/days after the rain, water seeps into the house, then the drainage on the lot MUST be arranged so that all rain water FLOWS AWAY FROM THE HOUSE! The water seeping in is rain water.