Hey gang, another Neewb here! 261,483 questions to follow!

Portlandkids

And when I say neewb... I mean not only to the forum but also new homeowners for the first time... correction... new to us-very used homeowners... 1926 to be precise!

Yes, please insert fake congrats here whilst you mumble what the were they thinking under your breath! Trust us, the honeymoon of home ownership is over!!

Thanks for allowing me to introduce us! Now on to the topic, which I am sure has been covered somewhere in the forum here & will gladly accept "hey its right here bonehead" with a link as the search did not answer all of our questions.

So the scene:
Hillside home, finished basement being on the downhill side. Good (enough) gutters doing their job. Most water flow being diverted away from the footing/foundation. All drains (there are plumbed drains on the bottom of the concrete steps of stairwells to 2 entryways to basement) So we know we are keeping the water away from the basement as best possible.

With that said, we are having seeping issues in the basement floor in moderate to heavy rains. This was a small issue this past winter, which we chalked up to a rotted door threshold as it seemed to be located right around that spot. However, we had an unseasonal heavy rain last week and I had admittedly forgot to reconnect a downspout after powerwashing the house. This lead to a much more sever "wetting" of the basement floor that reached further out than before. After pulling up the indoor/outdoor carpeting only then did I realize it was seeping, not just flowing from the door.

So my questions at this point are:
1) can floor seeping be dealt with in DIY fashion? (with reasonably good results)
2) might we be dealing with a water table issue that is beyond reasonable control?

I promise, I only have the 261,481 questions left!

Thanks in advance for any help or direction towards old posts that may help!

(and sorry for such a long post, I just thought all the info would yield best results!)

Cheers!

HandyPete

I'm not an expert but it sounds like your on the right track.

You mentioned heavy rains and power washing then you noticed the seeping, forget the water table.

Do have "french drains" around the perimeter of the footing? I'd dig a few deep holes and check things out...
1) type of material ...sand, dirt, gravel?
2) compaction, layering...combinations of types
3) drain= ...type? ....position? ...condition? is it protected with gravel? geo-textile?
4) cracks in concrete?
5) does the outside concrete surface have any sealing compound? (usually pitch but in high-end home they use membranes)

Keep up the good work for door sills, land grade, walkways, gutters...the works (all very important)

__________________
---pete

Termite

When dealing with water infiltration problems in the foundation or slab, I'd give strong consideration to two things.

First, the grade around your house must slope away from the foundation. Level or close to level is no good. You want the bulk of the rainwater that hits the ground or misses the gutters to run off and not soak in. Current code requires 6" of fall of grade in the first 10' away from the foundation. I'd advocate three times that if possible. Getting the grade right will yeild the best results. Get those downspouts extended with buried drains that drain to daylight as far away from your house as you can manage. Three or four feet isn't enough in my book.

You're inevitably going to get water around the foundation and perhaps under the floor. If you're getting water through the slab, a sump pit in the lowest part of the slab is a good idea. They're a weekend project and can be tackled by nearly any DIYer. Your house is probably too old to have a perimeter drain around the footing, which you'd normally hook in to the sump pit.

Allison1888

Congrats on the house. I also think you're on the right track -- poor grading can be the source of many basement issues. Here's an article with a good overview on basement water issues -- hope this helps.


http://www.oldhouseweb.com/stories/Detailed/15163.shtml

DangerMouse

welcome! when you hit question #14,742 PM me and i will answer as soon as i can. =o)

DM

Termite

That would be almost 2000 more questions than you've asked, DM!
Just messin' with you.

DangerMouse

no way, i've asked WAY more than THAT! heh

DM