Caulking a hatch
Hi everyone, I am writing for some advice about sealing the hatch that leads into my basement. The hatch covers the stairs to the basement. These stairs lead to a small vestibule that has a door that opens into my basement and is right below my small stoop (I have more of a tenement building…
Hi everyone,
I am writing for some advice about sealing the hatch that leads into my basement. The hatch covers the stairs to the basement. These stairs lead to a small vestibule that has a door that opens into my basement and is right below my small stoop (I have more of a tenement building than a brownstone). I noticed yesterday that the concrete ceiling (which is also the bottom of the stoop) looks like it is about to fall down, because of water damage and dampness.
Here are my questions:
1. What should I use to caulk the hatch so that water doesn’t seep through?
2. What kind of concrete do I use to redo the concrete on the walls and ceiling in the vestibule?
3. Does anyone have any creative ideas about venting given that I have a hatch and given that the stoop is so small that there isn’t room for venting from there?
4. Can I do this or should I hire someone? How much would something like this cost
Many thanks?
Then that’s a pretty simply DIY repair… scrape out the old caulk, apply new silicone caulk. The most expensive caulk gun you can buy with a few tubes of the most expensive sili caulk you can buy is under fifty bucks.
As to your second para, what you do is caulk the hatch, then do a water test to find out if there is another source of water infiltration.
I have found the leak from where the original caulking has eroded, so I am fairly certain that is the source.
Is it possible that the water is coming from my concrete stoop?
Have you proven that the source of the water is the hatch? Do a water test.