[Pfila7]

Hey all, the house I moved into a couple years ago had a very dated and finished basement with carpets (huge no no) the basement had some pretty rough water issues, 1 foundation wall has cracks and the house has a rising water table issue according to a few general contractors and local basement waterproofing companies I had come
In to take a look at the place.

I tried a ton of Things to fix the problem myself but got nowhere so I did some research and decided to go with a French drain against the perimeter that wraps around against 2 other foundation walls. I haven't gotten water on the floor since but still have water seepage thru the cracks on the wall that drain directly down into the gravel/gap that was put there along with the French drain.

My question is do I try now to find a solution to the water seepage on the walls? Like perhaps a polyurethane expansion foam? Or is it safe to just frame a couple inches off of the wall with pressure treated wood so I can get back to finishing this project? Thanks in advance everyone!

 

[joecaption]

Water proofing needed to be addressed outside, not inside.
Grade running away from the foundation.
Working gutters with down spouts that run away from the foundation, not just dump the water at the foot of the wall.
May need a french drain and water proof the outside of the foundation.
No mulch or flower beds forming ponds.

 

[Bud9051]

@pfila "My question is do I try now to find a solution to the water seepage on the walls?" Actually, that is where you should have started and unfortunately it HAS TO BE DONE OUTSIDE. Sorry for shouting, but we see hundreds of threads where home owners try to solve water problems from the inside and very few get enough improvement to allow finishing of the basement.

Plus, you are only looking at water problems, there are also issues with moisture vapor that can pass right through concrete. The old coating of tar on the outside is never good enough to stop all of the moisture vapor. In an unfinished state that vapor just passes to the air and you never know it entered. Cover the walls and block it, it builds up into a moisture problem and grows nasty things.

I know this isn't the answer you want to hear, but abandon your efforts to add walls and flooring. In the rare occasion that you change the surrounding grading and seal the outside of the foundation you may then wait a year or two to see if all is well.
Some reading: http://buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-103-understanding-basements?full_view=1

Bud

 

[Pfila7]

Sorry guys, was trying to get the post up quick, I've tried addressing the problem from the outside as well, redirecting down spouts which are all far from the house now, filled cracks near the outside foundation where a slab has moved away from the house.

Above the problem wall is where the garage is attached and when I had an engineer come look at it he pointed out to me that the slab in the garage and in front of the garage looks like it has sunk down over the years. You can actually see where the slab was originally, and it's almost pitched in towards the garage, I was planning to redo the drive way soon also, I'll have to ask the drive way guys if they can redo the garage flooring as well.

And also, I don't want to hear everything is roses, I wanna know the truth on what to do, so I do appreciate the input guys.

My wife and I bought the house from my inlaws and they didn't care for the home at all, it's a mess but I'm here now and I want to get it right and address the issues.

 

[throrope]

Like Bud9051 noted, you can't fight water, only drain it.

I got lucky, a half block from our first house a neighbor had a basement water proofing business. He took care of us for a few grand. His solution was an internal drain system. Due to proximity to the next house, we couldn't do external.

I suggest you find a similar local contractor (not chain) and seek their help.

 

[Pfila7]

Like Bud9051 noted, you can't fight water, only drain it.

I got lucky, a half block from our first house a neighbor had a basement water proofing business. He took care of us for a few grand. His solution was an internal drain system. Due to proximity to the next house, we couldn't do external.

I suggest you find a similar local contractor (not chain) and seek their help.

I have an internal drain system in already. I have a French drain that covers the main problem wall and parts of the 2 connecting walls, now I'm trying to fix the seeping wall cracks because I'd like to finish the basement eventually.

 

[Andyboy]

In our area (Toronto) many of the houses have rubble foundations (century homes ) Our house was underpinned and the inside was lined with Delta membrane that went below the new slab and wrapped around a weeping tile that led to the sump pit. this was all on-permit and an acceptable method of construction. now mind you our basement was always fairly dry and had no real water penetration issues so if you can do delta on the exterior that would be best but in a pinch, and perhaps in your situation where the exterior wall is hard to get at it might be a solution.

Good luck.