Any basement waterproofing experts in here?

As the title says, checking with the hive on basement water proofing. I am having a few issues with water seepage in my basement, and I am striking out with google on my specific questions.

Background: my basement was professionally done some time prior to 2005, likely in the late 90s. It is approximately 6-6.5ft below ground level. They dug the interior perimeter of the basement walls, installed drains and ran them to a sump pump in the back corner. The coated the walls with a texture stuff and painted them with Drylok (found the old paint cans). They also ran the downspouts into drain piping around the outside of the house that, as far as I can tell, is PVC plumbed undergroud and out into the storm drain. I have had essentially no issues with it until as of late, and I have lived in this house for 11.5years.

Current situation: The textured coating has started to flake off the walls in chunks, which I assume is due to age; there was no visible moisture coming through, and the paint is much older than the 10yrs it says its rated for. I didnt see any real evidence of effloresence. So we have been scraping, washing and re-coating the walls in drylock. The drylock looks good, but i noticed about 1.5ft up from the floor, near the windows on two of my walls, I have a small amount of seepage coming through. We had heavy rains on Saturday, and the one wall had a 2" x 6" puddle, and the other just had light water streaks visible on the wall.

I went outside and found that the front window well, near the heaviest leak area, had probably 3-4" of water standing in it. It didnt get up to window level (its not coming through the glass block), but its clearly not draining properly.

I've also noticed that I havent heard the basement sump pump running recently. I verified it works, but it doesnt seem like the water level has triggered the sump in a while.

So my questions are:

1 - Is it possible the flooded window wells are causing the seepage through the block on the wall below the windows? I have done no maintenance to the window well drains (dumb kid, didnt know) so I am assuming they are blocked and need to be cleared out.

2 - Do interior sump drain lines(corrugated plastic) need cleaned out? Im wondering if im not getting water through the interior drain lines properly and that is why I've not heard the sump pump run in a while.

3 - Is there something else that I could be missing/need to be checking up on? I want to convert this basement to useable space, so I'd like to eliminate any water coming in.

1 - Is it possible the flooded window wells are causing the seepage through the block on the wall below the windows? I have done no maintenance to the window well drains (dumb kid, didnt know) so I am assuming they are blocked and need to be cleared out.

Is there an actual drain or are they just filled with gravel?

2 - Do interior sump drain lines(corrugated plastic) need cleaned out? Im wondering if im not getting water through the interior drain lines properly and that is why I've not heard the sump pump run in a while.

Possibly, but also VERY VERY carefully, that black corrugated pipe is very easy to rip/tear/ruin. Do you not see any water level change when it rains?

3 - Is there something else that I could be missing/need to be checking up on? I want to convert this basement to useable space, so I'd like to eliminate any water coming in.

Any exterior footing drains?

For waterproofing you might look into greywall. I believe they can spray it on the inside (its generally applied to the exterior) its pretty damn bullet proof. A tar based compound could be used as well.

I think Nick (Bo) Comstock is your guy. I have seen him post some good info in these threads.

java230 wrote: 1 - Is it possible the flooded window wells are causing the seepage through the block on the wall below the windows? I have done no maintenance to the window well drains (dumb kid, didnt know) so I am assuming they are blocked and need to be cleared out. Is there an actual drain or are they just filled with gravel? 2 - Do interior sump drain lines(corrugated plastic) need cleaned out? Im wondering if im not getting water through the interior drain lines properly and that is why I've not heard the sump pump run in a while. Possibly, but also VERY VERY carefully, that black corrugated pipe is very easy to rip/tear/ruin. Do you not see any water level change when it rains? 3 - Is there something else that I could be missing/need to be checking up on? I want to convert this basement to useable space, so I'd like to eliminate any water coming in. Any exterior footing drains? For waterproofing you might look into greywall. I believe they can spray it on the inside (its generally applied to the exterior) its pretty damn bullet proof. A tar based compound could be used as well.

1 - Great question. I've not dug them out yet. I know they were gravel filled, but I do not know for sure if they were piped into the downspout drains

2 - I've not watched the level closely during rains. I will be paying attention the next rain we get. My wife and I were just discussing that neither of us have heard the pump kick on in a while, and its something we used to notice. Im wondering if instead of a snake using a water hose back fed through would be a better idea if I dont see water coming through?

3 - Not sure how to check this, as I think they would be underground? My assumption would be they did some work with the exterior drains as they went through the effor of plumbing all of the downspouts, but I can not guarantee it. Ill have to see if there was anything in the original sale paperwork on the drain work that was done.

I'll add some thoughts when I get home from work this evening.

Nick (Bo) Comstock wrote: I'll add some thoughts when I get home from work this evening.

Thanks! I appreciate it

I've generally neglected the basement as it was staying essentially dry. Hoping that whatever is giving me this small amount of h2o is fixable

Cooper_Tired wrote: 1 - Is it possible the flooded window wells are causing the seepage through the block on the wall below the windows?

Yes, I had that problem. Window wells usually just have gravel in the bottom and no drains. I solved the problem with covers over the window wells. I made my own covers out of plexiglass and wood due to the odd of my window wells, but you can get them inexpensively at Lowes/Depot or your local hardware.

Try running a hose into the PVC pipe at downspout closest to the leak.. I suspect it is plugged. Or the next nearest one.

Making an adaptor for a shop vac might help unplug it.

Are there any cleanouts in the PVC downspout drains between house and street?

In reply to Cooper_Tired:

I looked to see if your location was in your profile and it says Cincy, so if that's accurate I have a pretty good idea of the soil in that area. Unfortunately, the geology of the greater Cincinnati area varies greatly, if you can pinpoint a neighborhood it would help me have a better understanding of the type of soils that we are dealing with. Also the age of the house would be helpful.

First off, I would say that your window wells are very likely the culprit if the leaks are directly below them. Even if they are off to the side of the windows they are likely area that the water is entering the walls.

You said block so I'm assuming a block foundation, I'm also assuming the the blocks are not poured as 99% of the block foundations I have seen in Cincy are not filled. Water can travel very long distances once inside an open celled wall. It wouldn't be unheard of for water to have a point of entry at a single point on the exterior and appear on the interior eight or more feet away. It's all about the least path of resistance. Water is lazy, it's always looking for the easy way out. When you have standing water against the exterior of a wall you have hydrostatic pressure and if the window wells are not gravel filled and tied into a drain the pressure that the soil is exerting on the wall is adding to that pressure. So, the water, with all that pressure forcing it against the wall is finding any path it can to get away from that pressure. Unfortunately, block is very porous and it will absorb copious amounts of water. Once inside the block wall gravity takes over and forces the water down.

When the interior drainage system was installed the contractor should have drilled weep holes in the bottom course of blocks, usually done in every cell and every mortar joint, that allows any water that enters the wall a nice easy path to the drain tile. Over time those holes, even if done in every cell and joint, can get filled with sediment and debris. I've even seen cases where the interior drainage tile was completely blocked by roots. With the water showing itself 1.5' above the slab it would seem like something is blocked somewhere. If you're not getting water to the sump pump it may be worth your time to find someone who can run a camera through there to see if it's blocked. If it is the only thing you can really do at this point is open it up and replace the blocked tile.

Also the type of tile itself can effect how likely it is to be blocked by sediment. The type with the little slits can get blocked relatively quickly, the type with the big holes are harder to block up but with roots it can happen. (Side note, If it does look like it going to need to come out, go with a solid pipe, corrugated pipe collects a ton of junk in the grooves and is very easy to block up. A smooth solid pipe is much better.)

I would say the first thing you need to address is the window wells. They need to be kept clean, get all that debris out of there. Determine if they have drains, determine if they have gravel. IF not there are some ways of handling that but I would need more specifics. Definitely get some window well covers as mentioned above, make sure they are attached securely so the wind doesn't blow them off. Make sure the grade is falling away from the foundation an there are no low spots around the window wells letting surface water collect there. Also, verify that the downspout drains are not broken and leaking against the foundation.

For the interior walls I have never seen Drylock last. If the block is getting damp the Drylock will fail, guaranteed. The only coating that I have used that I would recommend to last more than a year is Xypex, It's expensive, but it works. http://www.xypex.com/products/crystalline-technology

Another option, especially if it's determined that the floor is going to need to come up to replace drain tile, would be a solid membrane that is attached to the wall from floor to grade or ceiling. This ties into the drainage system and gives the water direct path to the drain tile. It would look similar to this

I have over twenty years experience in foundation waterproofing and have used every system out there to control water. Some I like and some I don't but they all basically do the same thing, they just get there in in slightly different ways. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have. I'll PM you my phone number if you would like to have a discussion over the phone. If you would like to email me pictures I can take a look and see if I see something that is jumping out at me. It's hard to diagnose situations like these without seeing it in person though, there are a lot of variables that may not be readily apparent.

Thanks for the responses!

Nick- I'm in Clermont county, inbetween Anderson and Amelia if you know those areas.

The foundation is block wall, the house was bolt in 1952.

The window wells had gravel in them when we moved in, but it's mostly mud now. It seems obvious now that this could be a problem.

The block walls are not really getting wet or damp, just two teeny little streams. The interior drainage pipe is corrugated plastic. I'll get some pics and send to you. Thanks!

OHSCrifle wrote: Try running a hose into the PVC pipe at downspout closest to the leak.. I suspect it is plugged. Or the next nearest one. Making an adaptor for a shop vac might help unplug it. Are there any cleanouts in the PVC downspout drains between house and street?

Nope, no clean outs

In reply to Cooper_Tired:

OK, out in that area you could either be on a highly clayish soil that will expand a ton when wet and not drain well or be basically sitting on a gravel pit. It seems like there is nothing in between out there lol.

Get those window wells cleaned out, check the downspouts and grade issues then see where you stand.

You can V out those spots that are weeping and then pack them tightly with hydraulic cement prior to coating them with Drylock, that will give the Drylock half a chance. I'm still not a fan of it in the long run though.

Doing everything you can to keep the water away from the exterior will pay the biggest dividends over the long haul. But block is like a sponge and will pull moisture in if the exterior waterproofing membrane has been compromised, which it certainly has at this point.

Thank you!

Looks like I'll be busy next week, weather permitting

If there is one thing I've learned in my house search it's that grading makes a big difference when trying to prevent water against (or into) foundations.

Here's the video link.

My new place has got some moisture in the crawlspace because all off the soil (and paver patio) around the outside of the house is dead flat. Actually, where the moisture is worst is where the patio slopes towards the house. I'll need to learn pavers.

Nick (Bo) Comstock wrote: Another option, especially if it's determined that the floor is going to need to come up to replace drain tile, would be a solid membrane that is attached to the wall from floor to grade or ceiling. This ties into the drainage system and gives the water direct path to the drain tile. It would look similar to this

Are there any specific membrane products that you would recommend? My next project is to add a french drain to the basement of my rental house. I was going to cover the walls with plastic sheeting to direct moisture into the drain, but something like the photo you linked would provide a more finished look to cover the unsightly water-stained block.

I've never came at it from the DIY side of things. Looking around I would say something like this would be the most similar material to what we used. You will need to buy dividers and corners. Attach them loosely to the wall with 1/4" nylon rivets, four rows of three spaced evenly from top to bottom. It can be very frustrating to work with but with some patience and some help it can be done. Prior to putting those panels on cover the wall with an 8mil plastic sheeting then cover it with the panels for added protection as I'm not sure how those dividers are made.

Another option would be a roll of fiber reinforced plastic. Applied in a similar way. You can see it in this picture with Bob Vila. I've installed a ton of this as well, it's cheaper but less durable. Not sure where to buy it directly though.

Another option is dimple board. It goes buy various trade names but I absolutely love this stuff in an exterior application with proper drainage. It completely eliminates the hydrostatic pressure forcing the water against the foundation wall. I've seen it in white and it would work on an interior system as well. Again not sure where to buy it directly.

Exterior application.

Looks to be an interior application.

Thanks for the great info. For interior french drains the usual route is simple PVC set in a trench surrounded by drain stone, but now there are a number of molded plastic drains/channels on the market. Do you have any thoughts on these?

There are a lot of ways to achieve the same goal. In the end gravity is doing all the work. People come up with something just slightly different than the next person so they can have a "TRADEMARK" It's all just a pipe. Square, round or rectangle as long as it gets to the sump it doesn't really matter. Personally I would look for something with a smooth wall and larger holes. The most important thing is that the system has a continuous slope from the furthest point to the sump and you make it easy for the water to get to the pipe. Again water is lazy, always try to think about ways to make it much easier for the water to get where you want it to go instead of where you don't. (Do everything you can to stop it from getting to the inside from the outside first. Grade, downspout extensions and make sure the sump discharges far enough away that you are not just recycling water. Over time that water really damages the foundation. I've seen blocks so soft that I could poke through it with a good jab from a screwdriver.)

If a basement slab is poured directly on top of the footing, which it very commonly is, I like to use a product from Emecole called Hydro channel. Gives plenty of space for the water to flow down to the drainage pipe. It sits against the wall and footing while still allowing plenty of concrete to be poured above it for strength. http://www.emecole.com/pages/Hydro%252dChannel-Basement-Drainage-System.html

Zombie thread, canoe removed

zombie thread, canoe deleted

Locking this one to keep the canoes away.