Water leak into basement

575 Views 11 Replies 5 Participants Last post by stadry, Mar 30, 2020

RobbieDog

Discussion Starter · Mar 30, 2020 (Edited)

Pulled up basement carpet and noticed water soaked subfloor (insulated floor).
Removed drywall and found a tiny “void” that water is leaking through and into basement. Wondering the best way to go about fixing this. My thought is to chisel out around the void to make it bigger/deeper, then fill with hyd cement. There is no loose material around the void, so maybe I should just pack the cement into it without enlarging.
Any ideas what might have caused this? Wondering if it was an air pocket from when foundation was poured, but I don’t see how that could extend the entire width of the wall.
I don’t see any cracks in the poured wall.
The basement wall is about 5 feet below grade.
Grading outside could be improved for sure, but the sump pit is dry even after thaw/heavy rain.
1974 construction in central Ontario.

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Bondo

· #2 · Mar 30, 2020

Grading outside could be improved for sure,

Ayuh,..... Start there, ^^^, 1st,.......

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RobbieDog

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 30, 2020

Bondo said:
Ayuh,..... Start there, ^^^, 1st,.......

That I will do, for sure. There is however an obvious leak point that should be repaired while the wall is out...

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Bondo

· #4 · Mar 30, 2020

Ayuh,..... You stop the water from the outside, then if you wish, grout up the hole,......

Once you stop the water outside, the hole becomes irrelevant,....

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RobbieDog

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 30, 2020

Ah, ok gotcha.

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stadry

· #6 · Mar 30, 2020

he's right to a point,,, waterproofing's done from the exterior - leaking water management's done from the inside,,, IF you're lucky, you'll accomplish your goal in 1 easy step but, unless you address the issue causing the leak, you'll probably find it again in a short time as you'll create a drywell,,, hydraulic's for active leaks - its never permanent

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SPS-1

· #7 · Mar 30, 2020

OK, so you have a poured concrete foundation.

Three prime possibilities:
1) crack in foundation wall. More commonly, the crack would be vertical, and would crack all the way from the bottom of the wall to the top. If some of the wall is above grade and you don't see a crack -- thats good. But look carefully, findings cracks is a bit of a learned skill. But a heavy rain makes it easier to find. Best fixed by a pro from the outside.
2) form tie rod hole was not properly sealed. You can search web for best way to seal it, or call a pro. This might be your problem from your description.
3) Your weeping tile is plugged and your basement is sitting in a lake when it rains. Old saying is "water always wins". Not sure what to tell you if this is the case. None of the options are pleasant.

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Windows on Wash

· #8 · Mar 30, 2020

Grading and guttering are more responsible for leaks than are foundation cracks as a percentage.

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RobbieDog

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 30, 2020

2) form tie rod hole was not properly sealed. You can search web for best way to seal it, or call a pro. This might be your problem from your description.

I like this idea, based on the fact that its just a "hole" in the wall, about 1 foot from the floor.

The grading needs work for sure. Any pointers on how much slope away from the house I'm looking for?

The downspouts terminate in o-pipe going into the ground, so apparently a wet basement has been an issue before. I am thinking (hoping) that these pipes terminate in a proper French drain.

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stadry

· #10 · Mar 30, 2020

desired grading for runoff - 1':10'

we'd clean & fill w/rapid-set cement covered w/scrubbed-on coat of polyurethane sealant then protect w/sheet membrane such as pond liner

downspouts should ALWAYS terminate above grade,,, hoping for a proper 'french drain' just tells us you still believe in leprechauns

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SPS-1

· #11 · Mar 30, 2020

RobbieDog said:
The downspouts terminate in o-pipe going into the ground, so apparently a wet basement has been an issue before. I am thinking (hoping) that these pipes terminate in a proper French drain.

I believe they would typically lead to the city's storm sewers. But some towns, especially if they are a little older, have issues that their storm sewers and sanitary sewers are interconnected at a few places, or have capacity issues, and have problems during the now annual 100-year storms. So some towns are asking (or maybe telling) home-owners to change their downspouts to discharge above grade.

But if you don't have proper slope away from the house, discharging onto the ground can increase your chance of water entry.

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stadry

· #12 · Mar 30, 2020

usually leader drains lead to the street, never sanitary,,, in most municipalities, its illegal to discharge storm into sanitary

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Water leak into basement

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