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April 15, 2007
LEAKING FOUNDATION
how can i "seal" my basement from leaking?? my foundation is built of stones stacked upon each other and someone at some point coated it from inside with a white material that is now flaking off. it leaks from a variety of heights and holes, but mostly from the bottom two layers of stones. there is a garden abbuting the leaky cellar wall, hence, no building attatched to shield it. a contractor told me i had to dig entirely around the outside all the way to the bottom and coat it with a sealant....thats so much digging ! any way to waterproof it from inside the cellar with something ? any ideas ? anything would be appreciated ! especially after this storm !
Comments
I had a problem; I had contractor do a thermaseal on all of the stones, and the only area that still may be moist is under the plumbing. otherwise, it did make a big differance with a minimal investment.
Posted by: Anonymous at April 15, 2007 8:24 PM
Check the obvious first. Downspout connected to drains? Cellar doors sealed? Surface ground pitched away from house foundation? Also check neighbors property.
Posted by: Anonymous at April 15, 2007 10:09 PM
Grass is one way to soak up all your water
Posted by: Anonymous at April 15, 2007 11:52 PM
Thermaseal on the inside is a temporary fix but it is not particularly good for your wall because nowe the water still gets inside your wall only now it has no where to go so it sits inside your wall slowly eating away at the foundation. The only way to seal the wall properly is from the outside. Although, as the above poster mentioned, there are other things to check first.
Posted by: Anonymous at April 16, 2007 12:10 AM
Get 2000 big rolls of saran wrap, 300 cases of duct tape and 100-200 LARGE tarps depending on how big your house is.
Start wrapping.
Cover your entire lot - not just the house.
Presto! No more water problems.
Posted by: Anonymous at April 16, 2007 1:19 AM
A good preventive measure is to take a proactive stance on the environment.
Ever since I saw The Day After Tomorrow on TV the other day, I've realized that Dennis Quaid was right. And seeing poor doe-eyed Jake Gyllenhall almost freeze to death made me change my ways. I'm afraid of those wolves!
I'm gonna stay inside for the next week and stock up on fuel. I saw how all those people froze to death... after the flooding comes the blizzard and the next ice age!
Posted by: Anonymous at April 16, 2007 8:55 AM
I saw this system on Bob villa--it looked really cool: http://www.owenscorning.com/around/bfs/features.asp?loc=us
I am going to look into installing it when we close on our brownstone in May.
Posted by: Anonymous at April 16, 2007 9:59 AM
In addition to ensuring that the ground is graded away from the house, a paved border next to the house itself helps to make the water flow away from the foundation. My old house has about 4 feet of bluestone against the back and no water in the cellar
Posted by: anon at April 16, 2007 4:34 PM
We dug the dreaded trench (on three sides!), coated the foundation wall with sealant, laid perforated drain pipe and backfilled with gravel(and did all of the fixes mentioned by 4:34 and 10:09) in a VERY wet neighborhood in Seattle where every other house had a sump pump, and never had another drop of water in the basement. If 4:34 and 10:09's suggestions don't solve your problem (but they probably will), dig the trench. The job isn't as bad as it sounds (especially for only one side).
Posted by: anon at April 20, 2007 12:30 AM
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