water coming in basement - DIY Chatroom

amp · 10-31-2009, 02:12 PM

We have recently had more rain than usual and have had water coming in one the bedrooms in our basement. The walls are cement block, (not our choice but common in this dry climate) and there is paneling on the interior. We will be removing the paneling to see exactly where the leak is coming from. BUT what I want to know is if there is a product that can be poured along the exterior foundation that will seal the blocks from further water leaks. I've been told there is such a product. If anyone knows what it is or have tried it I would like to hear from them. If anyone has dealt with this problem, please let me know what to do about it. Thanks.

joan518 · 10-31-2009, 02:22 PM

First, check your gutters and make sure you don't have downspout that is directing water to this area, sometimes a simple piece of pipe to direct a downspout away from your foundation saves a world of trouble. If downspouts are properly diverting water far away from your foundation, then check your grade, does it allow water to run toward your foundation? You always want a slope on your grade away from the foundation. Also if you can find the ends of the drains for your basement,make sure they are clean and not full of debris and have plenty of rock around the ends. I would do all of the above before I tear out walls, since you said this happens when you get a lot of rain.

amp · 10-31-2009, 08:52 PM

We have lived in this home over 22 years and have just recently started having this problem. We agree with you about the gutters. We have found one person to give us a bid. Hardly anyone in the area has them on their homes, therefore hardly anyone around here installs them. Today we have dug out a large bush on the outside of the house near the problem and found that we need more fill dirt near the foundation. Our little dog loved lying under the bush and has been digging while back there. Hopefully with out the big bush he will not do this again...but now we can see the area quite clearly.
All of this said, I still would love to find out if there is an external sealer to pour down the exterior of the basement wall. Anyone out there that knows???

itsreallyconc · 11-02-2009, 06:29 AM

there hasn't yet been invented a mtl that'll stop wtr from penetrating your very fine block foundation when applied to the surface you can see in your very fine bsmt,,, it'll still be there no matter how nice your bsmt walls look - you just can't see it NOR can you see the damage wtr & soil acids cause when the cement holding the blocks together is attack'd.

got 2 calls yesterday about walls imploding,,, unfortunately we had to decline the work 'cause all our shoring equip's already holding up 4 houses while we replace the walls w/CONC BLOCK FULLY GROUTED WHEN FINISHED,,, we also apply sonolastic, miradrain, & proper toe drains leading to sump(s), & pump(s).