Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Water seeping into basement
Old 03-15-2009, 12:32 PM   #1
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 346
Water seeping into basement

Where I live we are getting our spring thaw and in one spot in my basement...right under a window....I get seeping of water on the basement walls. I have a drain in that corner so at least it doesn't pool in the basement, but the wall is definitely wet to the touch. This only occurs on the large melting days and also maybe once a year during very large rainfalls. During rainfalls, it is a matter of the window wells filling with water and spilling into the basement. I believe these are two seperate problems.

I do have weeping tile on the foundation of the home (I believe you guys in the states call it a french drain) which from what I understand should prevent this and the landscaping moves away from the house as per city guidelines so I am abit baffled as to what is happening. I read about a product called Drylok and it appears to get great reviews on the net and it is supposed to prevent this hydrostatic seeping that occurs. You just paint it on. The basement is unfinished except for some framing the previous owner did so I don't have to worry about ripping down drywall and what not. Does anyone else have this problem in the spring?
accountingsucks is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 03-15-2009, 01:07 PM   #2
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 155
I've used Drylok on my basement walls quite successfully. It's important to follow the directions and get full coverage everywhere. Seven years later and no problems.
FurBall is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-15-2009, 01:15 PM   #3
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
travelover's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 14,328
I've had limited success with anything that is painted on the inside wall. Basement walls are not generally really water tight and depend on keeping water away through landscaping grading or drain tiles. Also basements made from block are hollow in the center and water can move parallel to the wall for a distance before it leaks out.

My suggestion would be to revisit the grading, location of downspouts and overspilling of plugged gutters, first. If necessary, you can add additional drainage with a trench filled with gravel (French drain) as long as it directs the water to a more advantageous place.

We've had a particularly wet spring in SE MI and I'm struggling with the same thing.
travelover is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-15-2009, 01:20 PM   #4
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
FIRE'd@51's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,433
Quote:
Originally Posted by accountingsucks View Post
During rainfalls, it is a matter of the window wells filling with water and spilling into the basement. I believe these are two seperate problems.
They may or may not be. However, make sure you have adequate gravel in the window wells, so the water will seep through the gravel into the ground rather than pool in the window wells and come through the walls.
__________________
I'd rather be governed by the first one hundred names in the telephone book than the Harvard faculty - William F. Buckley
FIRE'd@51 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Bottled water vs. filtered water summer2007 Other topics 48 11-21-2008 10:35 AM
flooding basement questions Martha Other topics 20 11-01-2008 08:58 PM
Bottled water or tap water David1961 Other topics 35 12-05-2007 04:46 PM
basement or not semtex FIRE and Money 68 01-13-2007 08:41 PM
Selling House - Water in Basement - How to find independent analysis? dex Other topics 10 09-28-2005 11:20 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:57 PM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.