Leaking basement (Foundation wall)

[buckster]

As the temp starts to rise and the snow starting to melt I notice that my basement has sprung a leak. I notice a crack on the inside of my foundation wall. Wondering if anyone can recommend a professional to attempt to fix this problem from the inside with injections or whatever it is they do.

 

 

Has anyone had this done to their home?

 

Did fixing it from the inside stop the leak?

[crappieperchhunter]

Can't help you with any injection advice Tony. I had a foundation leak a few years ago. Turns out the problem was a plugged eavestrough. The water was running down the outside bricks and somehow seeping through into my basement. Unplugged the downspout, instructed my son not to hit anymore balls onto the roof, and never had any more problems. Have a boo. Maybe you will get lucky like I did.

[ketchenany]

My daughter had that problem, crack in the cement foundation. The builder did and injection repair, sealed the crack on the outside and all is well.

I can't give you details on how the injection works as I wasn't there to see. But looks like it works.

I don't know if this would work if it was cinder block wall.

[lookinforwalleye]

I have used hydraulic cement with good success and ditto on the eves and downspouts!

[MJL]

My basement had a leak for a number of years that went from the window down to the floor It was a minor seep that happened during heavy thaws or rain storms. Last September my dad and I dug a hole outside that had to be a little over 5ft deep, 3ft wide and 8ft in length. I believe my dad patched it with cement and tarred over it all. Thank God it worked...We had to dig out a ton of rocks and the clay was super tough to dig out.LOL

 

A number of years ago, my parents hired someone to patch the wall from the inside...That worked for only a few years and it started to leak again.

[F7Firecat]

Poured concrete wall cracks and tie holes can be repaired with polyurethane injection.

 

Hydraulic cement won't work, the crack will move and the cement will crack.

 

Here is my website, I've done thousands of linear feet of crack injection.

 

www.advancedconcretesolutions.ca

 

Typical crack goes for about $450.00 plus HST

 

txs

 

Bryan

Edited March 19, 2014 by Smellybox

[Maverick]

Had a leak in my basement 2 years ago. Was block wall and there was no signs of any cracks. Turns out, when the guy built the deck on the back of the house before selling it drilled his sono tubes right through the big O plugging them. I had to dig the entire length of my house 5 feet down, 4 feet out and 40 feet long. I resealed the concrete with Blueskin and ran 2 layers of big O. Worst part about it was that the basement was finished so I had to gut the basement and refinish it and insurance doesn't cover seepage.

[atvaholic]

Can't help you with any injection advice Tony. I had a foundation leak a few years ago. Turns out the problem was a plugged eavestrough. The water was running down the outside bricks and somehow seeping through into my basement. Unplugged the downspout, instructed my son not to hit anymore balls onto the roof, and never had any more problems. Have a boo. Maybe you will get lucky like I did.

 

X2 in my old house the eave broke at the downspout and poured right down the wall into my basement. I fixed that and never had another problem.

[ch312]

Nothing against Smellybox, but a Sika polyurethane crack repair kit can be had for $75 or so if you're somewhat handy and feel comfortable doing the repair yourself. It's a relatively easy process, but following proper procedure is critical in completing a repair that will last.

 

Even if you seal the crack you should address the root of the problem to ensure leaks do not occur in the future or you'll just have more leaks if another crack occurs.

 

 

 

If the basement is unfinished you could take the cheaper (nothing beats exterior waterproofing) approach to solving water issues by installing a french drain style system that consists of 4" perforated weeping tile around the perimeter slightly below the footing, dimple membrane (Delta MS) on the walls that go down to the footing and extend over the weeping tile, and sump pump. The water will seep through the walls and the membrane allows it to flow down the wall past the slab into the weeper and then into the basin where the sump pump gets rid of it.

 

[buckster]

Nothing against Smellybox, but a Sika polyurethane crack repair kit can be had for $75 or so if you're somewhat handy and feel comfortable doing the repair yourself. It's a relatively easy process, but following proper procedure is critical in completing a repair that will last.

 

Even if you seal the crack you should address the root of the problem to ensure leaks do not occur in the future or you'll just have more leaks if another crack occurs.

 

 

 

If the basement is unfinished you could take the cheaper (nothing beats exterior waterproofing) approach to solving water issues by installing a french drain style system that consists of 4" perforated weeping tile around the perimeter slightly below the footing, dimple membrane (Delta MS) on the walls that go down to the footing and extend over the weeping tile, and sump pump. The water will seep through the walls and the membrane allows it to flow down the wall past the slab into the weeper and then into the basin where the sump pump gets rid of it.

 

Thanks! I've been doing some research and I think I'm going to attempt to fix it with the sika kit. I have a construction background and consider myself being rather handy. I know that the best and proper way would be an exterior waterproofing but I'm trying to avoid all that work in the peak of the steelhead run lol.

[F7Firecat]

cup of cheese!

Edited March 20, 2014 by Smellybox

[DOS]

Here are my 2 cents worth. Sika will work...sometimes, Injection will work more often than not, only proper repair is from the outside. Now let me explain. Concrete foundations will always crack but it may never be a problem if your drainage is proper outside. This winter has been severe compared to the last 10 years and therefore there will be a whole whack of leaks this spring that don't usually happen and if left untreated may not happen for another 10 years. These types of cracks can usually be patched with Sika or any number of hydraulic cements with sucess. Where this type of repair will fail is if there is any movement in the crack. If this leak is in a crack that has just recently appeared you have some bigger issues. Injection repairs are much better for newer cracks as there is more 'flex' to the product than cement. $450 is cheap compared to an insurance claim if you get a flood.

 

If you do the patch, chip out the crack a minimum of 1/2" deep and 1/2" wide, dont just put frosting on the cake... and when possible(summer) dig down from the outside and tar and felt the crack properly.

 

Good luck

 

Dan

[F7Firecat]

another cup of cheese

Edited March 20, 2014 by Smellybox

[ch312]

Here are my 2 cents worth. Sika will work...sometimes, Injection will work more often than not, only proper repair is from the outside. Now let me explain. Concrete foundations will always crack but it may never be a problem if your drainage is proper outside. This winter has been severe compared to the last 10 years and therefore there will be a whole whack of leaks this spring that don't usually happen and if left untreated may not happen for another 10 years. These types of cracks can usually be patched with Sika or any number of hydraulic cements with sucess. Where this type of repair will fail is if there is any movement in the crack. If this leak is in a crack that has just recently appeared you have some bigger issues. Injection repairs are much better for newer cracks as there is more 'flex' to the product than cement. $450 is cheap compared to an insurance claim if you get a flood.

 

If you do the patch, chip out the crack a minimum of 1/2" deep and 1/2" wide, dont just put frosting on the cake... and when possible(summer) dig down from the outside and tar and felt the crack properly.

 

Good luck

 

Dan

 

The Sika injection kit I was referring too uses polyurethane that expands and remains flexible, the same style of injection that Smellybox has likely used to solve many water issues. Like Smellybox mentioned, the only time that hydraulic cement will work long term is if there is zero movement of the concrete as even the slightest amount of movement will break the bond of the hydraulic cement as it is not flexible.

 

Polyurethane injection stays flexible, hydraulic cement has zero flexibility.

Edited March 20, 2014 by ch312

[F7Firecat]

big cup of ricotta cheese

Edited March 20, 2014 by Smellybox

[ch312]

Good luck with the injection!

 

Oh come on, it's not like injections are rocket science. Anyone with some construction experience and is handy can successfully complete a simple injection job like a basic foundation crack.

[ch312]

I have used the Sika PU, its an old Cappar product that Sika absorbed when they bought out Cappar quite a few years back.

 

It does state it as a flexible polyurethane but it is more of a semi rigid polyurethane similar in compressibility to what you would insulate around windows and doors. JMHO

 

 

This is all I used at my old job and the owners always had success with it. I'm no longer doing injections, but what brand would you choose over any other?

[DOS]

 

The Sika injection kit I was referring too uses polyurethane that expands and remains flexible, the same style of injection that Smellybox has likely used to solve many water issues. Like Smellybox mentioned, the only time that hydraulic cement will work long term is if there is zero movement of the concrete as even the slightest amount of movement will break the bond of the hydraulic cement as it is not flexible.

 

Polyurethane injection stays flexible, hydraulic cement has zero flexibility.

Sorry I was under the assumption that you were referring to Sika 122 0r 123 which is a grout/patching product that I used for many years patching swimming pools. It has a wee bit of flex but nowhere near PU. And I agree, Hydraulic is a temporary patch until the proper repair can be made from the outside

[F7Firecat]

another cup of cottage cheese

Edited March 20, 2014 by Smellybox

[buckster]

Smellybox sure likes his cheese! Lol

[Fisherman]

Give him a nosefull of XXXLimburger and he won't be babbling, he'll have a deathgrip on the white O phone.

[lhousesoccer]

I lived with a foundation that leaked for a long time. Settling cracks allowed water to wick through every time it rained hard, and in the spring as the frost went out and snow melted, it would get worse. I had a feeling that when my house was built, they didn't put in any drainage around the foundation, and living on a slope, sub-surface and surface water would run downhill and pool on the outside of my foundation. Hydrostatic pressure over the years finally worked its way through, opening up some pretty sizeable cracks. It shouldn't have been this way in a 23 year old house, but shoddy site prep by the builder (one family owned it before me) - and that's what you get. Anyways, I was tired of having that knot in my gut every time the skies opened up, wondering how bad it would be this time. So I started looking in to it, seeing what my options were. I considered injection from the inside, but everything I read and everyone I talked to said that if you want to do it right and fix the problem permanently, you gotta hit it from the outside.

 

So I hit it. Hard. Dug up the foundation. Powerwashed it. Filled the cracks from the outside with Sitka. Adhered bituthene over the cracks. Spray coated rubberized watersealant. Attached overlapping Tremco drainage board. Filter fabric and drain tile to code. Clean stone backfill. That was the fall of 2012. Not a drop of water in the basement since. And we had some hellacious rainfalls and runoff after that. Best $6000 I've ever spent, for complete peace of mind, knowing it was done right this time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[crappieperchhunter]

Thx for sharing that vtbass. I know exactly how you feel when you say it's the best $6000 you ever spent. There is no price tag on peace of mind.

[ch312]

Thx for sharing that vtbass. I know exactly how you feel when you say it's the best $6000 you ever spent. There is no price tag on peace of mind.

 

It costs much less than that to install membrane and dimple board when the house is being built, yet few builders do it. I dunno about you guys, but if I were looking at two comparable houses i'd choose the waterproofed one every time and I think it's a huge selling feature.

 

While i'm typically against more rules and regulations, I really do believe that it should be required by code for every foundation below grade to be properly waterproofed.

[lhousesoccer]

.

Edited August 13, 2014 by vtbass