Concrete/Mortar issues First time home owner Pictures Included

stefonroman

Hello:

I live in the Midwest (chicago) and recently purchased a 100 year old house with a slab foundation. We have had snow melt throught out the winter, about a month ago we had an unusual warm up and a fast melt. We did not get any water in the basement; however recently there was a heavy rain and we got about 2 gallons of water from the cove (floor/wall). I discovered a hole in the cove which lead to me chiseling out old weak caulk. I replaced it with Drylok fast plug. I understand that moisture should be tackled from the outside in so I included these pictures for advice.

Sidewalk is cracked and possibly directs rain water towards the foundation..how to correct this?



Mortar seems to be along the ground and then stops (where I put the yellow circle) I know that the joint needs tuck pointing as well. Since the mortar is painted, does this pose a problem for adding more?


Sidewalk runs right next to the side of the house and there is a gap between...


The soil absolutely needs to be graded to move away from the house..the lowest point of the soil is actually next to the house. How high should I make the soil against the house? Is it possible for me to do this in winter? Or do I need to wait till spring? recomendations for best type of soil?

Just Bill

I would clean out the cracks and install a urethane caulk. That will allow movement between the surfaces but maintain a waterproof bond. Attepmting to seal that with a rigid material like cement will never work. Those surfaces move in different ways at different times.

Hemingway

I'm looking into this myself and have found that it isn't simply adding soil next to the house... recommendations are to dig a trench down, layer with rock, sand, then soil.