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July 27, 2009
Leak under Rowhouse Stoop
We've been dealing with leak underneath our stoop that has us confounded. The steps are masonry and we've patched up every visible crack and hole with concrete but still the leak persists. We have torn our the whole ceiling under the stoop but still can't tell exactly where the water is coming in from. It also only seems to leak when it rains REALLY hard.
We've called some of the people I've seen recommended here in the past: Hatiya, Transcend, etc but we are not having much luck getting them to come out since this is not a brownstone/landmarked building and I think maybe the job sounds too small for them. Any recommendations?
Comments
try using a hose to test...
Posted by: denton at July 26, 2009 5:30 PM
we've tried and nothing shows up with a just hose--it has to be a heavy driving rain that drops an inch of water in a short amount of time (which we seem to be getting more and more)
Posted by: denouement at July 26, 2009 5:55 PM
so then maybe a bucket test? I know it sounds dumb but it just might be what you need. Water is very sneaky. Perhaps the fact that it's only hard rain that does this is a clue -- does it drip around the sides?
Posted by: townhouser at July 27, 2009 7:16 AM
we've tried the bucket test as well and it doesn't seem to work either. We would probably need to dump 20 buckets simultaneously which doesn't seem feasible. It doesn't drip down the outside of the stoop much at all, but somehow it's still getting to the ceiling underneath. Most of the water seems to be coming in from the exact line where the stoop meetings the front of the house but we've filled in every crack along that line to no avail.
Posted by: denouement at July 27, 2009 9:20 AM
Have you tried flooding the sidewalk/front garden area? It might be groundwater.
Posted by: Stonergut at July 27, 2009 10:36 AM
the water is coming in from the ceiling of the area under the stoop which is a good 8 feet or so above the sidewalk/front garden area
Posted by: denouement at July 27, 2009 11:07 AM
is it possible it's entering the wall higher up, above the stoop?
Posted by: BHS at July 27, 2009 12:44 PM
BHS has a point. I'd get input from masons - I use Park Slope Brownstone - Vinroy Barronette - but there are lots listed in the archives.
Posted by: Arkady at July 27, 2009 1:22 PM
What material is your building facade? Brick? Clapboard? Have you tried soaking your facade rather than your stoop? Do you have cellar leaks/puddles at same time as leaks under stoop?
Posted by: vinca at July 27, 2009 1:35 PM
Here is an older photo of the front door/stoop area that might help answer some questions
http://www.danabushman.com/photos/facade_gallery/front-door.html
The facade is shingled cement board and we have tried soaking that as well. We don't have any water in the cellar at the same time as the stoop leaks. We finally got Hatiya out today to look at it and they quoted us $1700 to take out the whole landing and repour it plus taking out the vertical sections of the steps and redoing those. I think that is overkill but no one seems interesting in the same job of simply helping us figure out where the leak is coming from and patching it up. They all want to rip out and redo which we are trying to avoid. $1700 also seems like a lot to pay for what they are proposing.
I will try Vinroy Barronette tomorrow. Any other recommendation for a mason who would help us fix this?
Posted by: denouement at July 27, 2009 9:33 PM
how's the door threshold?
Posted by: jack slade at July 28, 2009 11:32 PM
it's crack free and doesn't even appear to have any sitting water on it since the door is set back about a foot from the facade so it has a little overhang to it.
Posted by: denouement at July 29, 2009 3:11 PM
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