waterproofing a basement

[E5RANGER375]

We updated my wifes office with a basement perimeter system.
It's a block foundation wall type, drylock will not work the bottom blocks
were always filled with water.
It has a cistern under the house and the basement had a floor drain already
but the walls would seep water and cause a mold issue.
A crew came in an cut a trench around the entire floor, added the drains
and tied it into a sump pump that they put in as well.

Dry as a bone now. No musty moldy thing going on either.
I can't remember the company name off hand, I'll need to look it up later.

Make sure your downspouts are not channeling water along your foundation.
You might also get some spout extenders to run out into the yard away from your house.

have that. (in bold)

yeah thats the procedure i was originally asking about. hopefully it doesnt come to that but if needed im glad to hear it works.

 

[irishfan]

ok I will try this first. its probly not graded properly. I have some landscaping to be done this year anyways, so this will be easily fixed.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I will let you know how it goes after its graded properly.

If I remember right about the size of your house then 2-3 truck loads or one dump truck load of fill dirt will take care of you well. I added about 3 inches of dirt around my foundation and then beat it down to an angle away from the walls.

 

[ATOMonkey]

My parent's old house in Trafalgar was clay block wall basement.

The company that came out dug the trench around the perimeter floor, laid tile, filled it with gravel, the installed overlapping thick plastic sheet on the walls. The plastic went down into the gravel. Then they laid concrete over all the gravel to "seal" it all up. Never flooded again, but you could still get a musty smell. I think if they would have sealed the plastic sheets to each other, it would have really waterproofed the basement.

Dad was just shooting for no more standing water though.

Our house was directly in line with how the water drained from East to West, so keeping water away from the house was a lost cause.

It would always flood in the east yard, and then go over the driveway, past the house and through the west yard and down hill.

Drainage ditches along the road would have done WONDERS to fix most of it, IMO.

 

[latj]

My first house used to have a drive in basement that wasn't sealed properly when they filled it in. The only option we had was the kind of "French Drain". We used this company Olshan Foundation Repair They came out and dug the trench around the inside perimeter of the basement, laid drain tile, drilled "weep holes" in the bottom block over the footer, dug the sump pit, installed the sump pump and battery back-up pump, trenched the discharge, and patched the concrete all in one day. Wasn't cheap though, does come with a lifetime warranty...

 

[CountryBoy19]

Sounds like you need to install some tile and/or French drain system on the exterior of the wall in question...

-J-

This ^^^

and

Do not rely on drylok to waterproof your basement. All you are doing is masking the problem. Water will still be in your foundation which will cause major issues down the road. Start with grading outside. If that doesn't work, install perimeter drain. If that doesn't work then it's time to break concrete...

This ^^^

My parents house is in a "flood zone" according to county maps. Water frequently gets higher than the basement floor in surrounding areas (very easy to do in northern IN), but the dirt around the house was graded properly so the actual surface water never got close. They still had water problems... several flooded basements etc. Why? because when it rained hard, the tile was so back up that the water just couldn't get away fast enough, so it would leech back to the house and through the block walls.

The solution? Perimeter drain... which, of course in northern IN means outdoor sump-pump as well. They put in a full perimeter drain around the basement walls and dumped it into an outdoor sump pit with a high flow sump pump in it. They haven't had anymore water problems since then... except for a botched re-roofing job by a sucky Amish crew. Stupid morons had the gall to write up a bill when dad told them to come out and fix the problem...

Anyways, I know it sounds like a lot more work to dig up the foundation of your house as opposed to just breaking the concrete floor in the basement, but believe me, it is well worth to take care of the issue at the source and keep the mess out of the house. Then when it's all done, you can completely regrade the dirt to be sure it's done right and redo the landscaping how you want it done.

ETA, of course that is all assuming that it's not a simple problem like a drain tile that is causing problems or improper grading.

 

[latj]

Oh man, I just remembered reading this thread how sick I got of hearing that sump pump run all the time. I'm soooo glad I don't live in that house anymore!

 

[E5RANGER375]

Oh man, I just remembered reading this thread how sick I got of hearing that sump pump run all the time. I'm soooo glad I don't live in that house anymore!

yeah im glad i dont have one too. its not that bad. most people probly wouldnt even notice the small leak i have, but I do because this is a finished basement and ANY amount of water affects what floor i can put down ect.
I have dehumidifiers down there too, so its not moist at all. its dry, untill it rains heavy, and then there is small leaks just in one corner at the floor level, not down the wall. and the water has never been more than 1" deep in a a 1'x1' area.

After hearing all the advice here im thinking its a grading issue. that makes sense with all the other work I've already had professionally done on the place. when you do a remodel it just all ads up and seems like your going nuts.

 

[Hoosier8]

Do not rely on drylok to waterproof your basement. All you are doing is masking the problem. Water will still be in your foundation which will cause major issues down the road. Start with grading outside. If that doesn't work, install perimeter drain. If that doesn't work then it's time to break concrete...

Or trench and seal block from the outside with a perimeter drainage system.

 

[Woodsman]

ok I will try this first. its probly not graded properly. I have some landscaping to be done this year anyways, so this will be easily fixed.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I will let you know how it goes after its graded properly.

I had to do this on a new home because the builder was a putz. I added about 3" of dirt at the foundation and sloped that out to a distance of 3-4'. Made all the difference in the world.

Hopefully it's not something like the foundation drain tile, cause then you would have to dig it all up and tackle it head on. That would still be better than trying to treat it after the water got into the basement by using a perimeter drain system to crock.

 

[Tryin']

Just throwing this out for information, and I do new foundations for a living.

The ONLY way to PROPERLY fix ALL leaks and prevent 99% of future leaks is this:


Dig up entire foundation

Lay PERFORATED corrugated vinyl drain tile on top of 2" pea fill, keeping top below footing line.

Tie outside tile into inside drain in at least TWO locations

Pressure wash exterior walls.

Seal seams, ties, and problem areas with Mastick

Apply heated waterproofing material of your choice. Do NOT skimp on quality OR quantity

Add insulating panels, if desired.

Add at LEAST 1.5' of pea fill or gravel 8's over top of drain tile, sloping from wall.

Backfill with material of choice, keeping fill at least 8" below top-of-wall and maintaining positive drainage of at least 6" in 10'

Expensive as all get out to have done after the fact.

 

[latigo]

This company has some great products

Specification Chemicals - Basement Waterproofing

 

[miguel]

Attacking the water after it is already inside would be my last resort. I would try to find out why the water is getting in. Have you checked out your guttering and footer drains? That is where I would start.

How does one check a footer drain? Is there where the water in those small window wells goes?

 

[38special]

I've installed quite a few basement drainage systems, and I've inspected several hundred wet houses.

PM me if I can help guide ya a bit.

 

[Mike H]

I have heard that the "Basement-B-Dry" system works.