Help! Water pouring into basement thru wall cracks

I know we’re not the only ones experiencing flooding after this weekend but this is really bad:  Today we could actually see/hear at times the water pouring through holes in the mortar between the stone of our front basement wall (covered up with an interior finished wall several inches in front of the stone but we have a hole in the wall we can see through to the stone one) .   Wet vac took care of the many inches of water on our floor the first few times it poured, but unfortunately it’s going to keep raining all night and tomorrow as well.  Any ideas for what we might be able to do in the short term to plug up these holes?  I’m not looking forward to what I’m going to see down there in the morning.  And of course we also need a rec for a fantastic basement waterproofing company as well.    Thanks!

elmo

in Masonry 13 years and 8 months ago

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big green van | 13 years and 8 months ago

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We tried hydraulic, fiber-reinforced cement and waterproof coating (dry-lok) on top.  Didn’t work at all.

We ended up getting a french drain around the inside perimeter of the walls.  That was four years ago and we haven’t gotten a drop since, including yesterday – heard the sump pump going every couple of minutes, so water was getting processed through the drain.  We had ours done by Vulcan, which is one of the biggish chains – I was a bit worried when I saw their crew, who mostly looked about 17 years old.  But I can’t argue with the results.  Cost us $4800 for 50-60′ of drain and a sump pit/pump, plus $100 for a plumber to hook it up (which they don’t do).

elmo | 13 years and 8 months ago

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OP here.  The cement in the front yard was replaced 3 years ago and I assume pitched away from the house as no water is collecting there and we had waterproofing done to the bottom of the outside wall then too.  Would love to know where this water comes from!    A neighbor said he took cement and filled up some holes he once had in his stone wall and then whitewashed the wall and hasn’t had any problems since.  Anyone have any experience with this?

Bklnite | 13 years and 8 months ago

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I think you’re not going to be able to stop water from coming through the wall from the inside. If you have a trench or pit where the water collects, you can have a sump pump to get rid of it. The real solution is to get the water outside draining somewhere besides the ground next to the foundation walls – maybe a drain; maybe cleaning gutters if water is coming down in sheets near the wall that leaks rather than through a clogged downspout; or some grading so the water goes away from the foundation somewhere it can be absorbed. It rained about 8″ yesterday, which is about 2 months of average rainfall.

Arkady | 13 years and 8 months ago

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You need real water proofing – maybe a french drain out front.