Water in finished basement during heavy rain

We have a finished basement with a door that leads to stairs that lead into the backyard. The house is an attached wood frame (both sides attached). When it rains heavily, a puddle builds by the door. First I thought the water was coming in through under the door, but this is not the case. The drain in front of the door works well and I sealed the space under the door. It appears the water actually enters through the bottom of the door frame. I also enters a bit further into the basement from the side. Could this be ground water? The water is relatively clear, but seems to have some sand in it. Does anybody have any idea?

michaelsaur67

in General Discussion 8 years and 2 months ago

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michaelsaur67 | 8 years and 1 month ago

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hi redasch, is this a finished basement? how much water is coming through, and how long does it stay if not cleaned up?

redasch | 8 years and 1 month ago

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We also get a flooded basement which appears as if it is coming up through the center of the basement floor. I wonder if it is possible that this house was built over a stream which inflates during a rain. The basement is dry everywhere else so I know the leak is not coming through the wall/neighbors.

obama | 8 years and 2 months ago

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i get back flow from the city sewers when there’s a flash flood and it fills my cellar area. i’m going to install a check valve to stop the backflow. also all my roof water goes back into the sewer system but because the street system can’t handle a flash flood i’m going to redirect the roof water to a dry well in the backyard instead. nyc infrastructure can very so much street to street i’m afraid. hoping this works.

workisfun | 8 years and 2 months ago

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We had similar symptoms. There was a nasty confluence of causes. Cracked pipes, buried clogged cleanout, and…huge holes in the foundation that let water and debris in. The yard used to come up to about the six foot mark of our lower level. In fact, two original windows were buried, and walled over by the previous owner, but not sealed! Beware of mold. We excavated and built a retaining wall which now holds the yard back about 7′ from the house. Obviously plugged the foundation breaches. [IMG_6215](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:RCg0:img_6215.jpg.jpg) [IMG_6320](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:yp3J:img_6320.jpg.jpg)

michaelsaur67 | 8 years and 2 months ago

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I ran a hose into the drain for 15 minutes at full force and no water seeped in. I had a plumber take a look and he thought it was not ground water seeping up since some water marks on the sheet rock wall above the point where the water enters were too high (12 to 15 inches above the floor). I think that leaves me with two possibilities: The downspout next to the basement door has a leak or bad joint further up and water finds a way in along the way. Or, as incredible as it may seem, there is a leak on the roof and the water finds it way to the lowest point behind the walls. Any thoughts? [House back downspout](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:vewL:housebackdownspout.jpg.jpg)

Guest User | 8 years and 2 months ago

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FYI – We don’t have a finished basement but we do have water coming in from one section of the back wall. It was suggested that it could be a cracked pipe, so we had a sewer company come to check the pipe and they said they thought it was cracked because they didn’t know where the snake went and assumed it went somewhere out of the pipe. We did not have a camera put in, which we now regret. We ended up having the sidewalk opened up only to find the pipe was fine. Do what you can — including having a camera put down even tho it’s expensive — before you start fixing a pipe that doesn’t need fixing. It could just be that the water table is high and the water is seeping up.

workisfun | 8 years and 2 months ago

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The hose will not fill at the rate of a flash flood, so if you do get seepage as a result, you know the crack is reallly bad.

michaelsaur67 | 8 years and 2 months ago

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A crack in the underground pipe does sound like a real possibility. If, it is probably the pipe from the drain in front of the door. I will check with a water hose tomorrow if this could be the source. Thanks.

workisfun | 8 years and 2 months ago

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You could have a crack in the pipe underground. Or a buried cleanuout that needs to be cleaned out. It might be worth sending a camera through.

michaelsaur67 | 8 years and 2 months ago

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I am not sure whether there was plastic sheeting put down before pouring concrete. But I know it only happens when there is heavy rain, and it is only by the door, and at the second spot a bit further in. It starts almost immediately when it rains heavily. It is not a lot, but still. It is also close to the spot where the rainwater down pipe runs down from the roof.

GreenThinker | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Do you know if there was plastic sheeting put down before pouring the concrete? Could be thats the lowest spot and it’s coming up through the concrete.