cracked foundation leaking

[jdulberg]

The recent heavy rain here has found a crack from floor to ceiling in our basement thats currently leaking badly. I had to remove a large section of existing wood paneling to find the source. Any suggestions for plugging larger sections of the crack while its wet? I suppose it cannot be completely fixed until its dried.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks.

Jason

[mdshunk]

Wow. Water running through a crack is more of a symptom of outdoor drainage issues. The crack is not the real problem. You can have many, many cracks in a basement wall when the foundation drainage is properly attended to. Trying to plug the crack is really a wasted effort. Your efforts are best spent correcting the overriding drainage issue that causes so much water be to in the area of the basement wall. See the green and yellow box marked "building articles" and click the one on foundation drainage. It tells you everything you need to know to correct the "real" problem.

[A product called "hydraulic cement" which cures and expands in the presence of water is what is typically used for filling these types of cracks. Be advised that this is a big-time band-aid, and it not the real solution to the problem. Correcting the drainage is the real cure.]

[jdulberg]

I've identified the problem as the neighbour pointing his downspout onto our property which slopes to where the crack is. In the mean time, I made a make-shift dam outside but that of course won't have much effect.

I'll try the hydraulic cement as you suggested in the mean time and contact an appropriate contractor for digging on the exterior once it dries.

Thanks.

Jason

[Unregistered]

To seal the crack, i mostly see A grey epoxy that is injected into the crack. The contractor will drill holes into the crack and inject the epoxy the full length of it. Typically in my area, these repairs cost approximately $200 for a 5 year guarantee and around $500 for a lifetime guarantee. The repair appears to be the same, regardless of price. You definitely want to identify the source (which it sounds like you have) and correct that as well.
Good luck.

[bmwpower]

Can't you have the guy redirect his downspout?

[Unregistered]

Can't you have the guy redirect his downspout?

exactly, that would be the first thing to do.

[jdulberg]

The guy was on holidays over the weekend so I just had to make a dam in the mean time. He installed a new downspout today which drains down the driveway - where it should have went in the first place.

We had a restoration company here today and he said there were a lot of houses around here with the same problem. Just as suggested here, he recommended injecting the crack with epoxy and covering with hydraulic cement.

Thanks.

Jason

[Wgoodrich]

There is more to this problem that is being seen. First a surface draining downspout of a neighbor will not affect the leak of a basement wall feet underground. If you home is built correctly you will have at least 6" of fall in 10' sloping the finished grade away from your house thus routing your nieghbors house downspout water away from your house stopping it from running down the outside of your basement wall. It is not your neighbor it is you. Check to see if your finished grade is sloped shedding water away from you house not against your house.

Before you spend money on bad money wasted. Go outside and dig a post hole 10' deep on the outside of your home. Hire someone that has a machine that will dig this hole at least 12" wide. Dig this round hole about 5' away from your basement wall on the outside in your yard. Dig this post hole at least even with the bottom of your basement floor plus 18". After the hole is dug leave it about an hour then check to see if water is in teh hole about as high as the water leaking through your wall. If it is then a temp fix during flooding or over winter shove a plastic drain pipe 12" diameter down that hole vertically. Once that pipe is in the hole from bottom to top of finished grade then shove dirt back in around the outside of that pipe. You just made a cistern. Then install about 6" of #4 stone or washed rock in the bottom of that cistern. Then drop a submersible pump with a float switch down to sit on that rock for a clean bottom so you are not pumping mud. Then plug in and let it pump with the drain outlet as far away from your home as you can lower than the finished grade of your home. This will artificially lower the subsurface water table below your basement thus stopping water from leaking in.

Then next summer follow the directions provided in the green and yellow box above for perimeter drains installing this for existing homes at least 5' from the basement wall for a permenant dry basement.

Hope this helps

WG