Concrete drilling to drain water in my home....

[Chris Meutsch]

OK, so my foundation walls leak. I'm looking to drill/chisel out about a 12" long by 3" deep channel right under the cracks, and let the water that comes in through the wall go down into the gravel below the slab.

I do not have a sump pump.

Will this idea work to stop by floors from being wet?

 

[yonyon]

Depends™

 

[doitmyself]

Doesn't sound like a good idea to me. You would be just diverting the water near your footings and could do more harm than good.

Have you really diagnosed the cause of the problem and tried to eliminate that. Many times, house leaks are causes by very simple problems around the outside foundation wall. Plant beds, incorrect slopes, and no gutters channel water TO the wall, where it gravitates down and finds cracks into your home.

Here's one of many good sites that address wet basements.
http://www.builderswebsource.com/techbriefs/drainage.htm

I fixed our leaky basement VERY cheap by treating the outside foundation walls like flashing a chimney.....I directed the rain water away from the building. Many people miss the obvious and cheap solutions.

If this is not your problem, well, good luck. You need to get the water away from the basement. Your idea will not do that.

Another source...try the easiest stuff first:
http://www.ruralhometech.com/purchase/keepingfeetdry.pdf
http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-advice/moisture-problems-basement-wall-condensation.shtml

I don't agree with 4.

 

[rjundi]

Potentially but at same time water may rise up quickly through it if ground level is high.

It depends on your local water table and type of material under your home.

My steam pipes are in a channel below the concrete. So they act as drains when water infiltrates my basement after a few days of hard rain.

 

[Donald]

I always think its a better idea to keep the water from getting in. Sometimes easier said than done however.

A curtain drain in your yard will pick up water flowing underground (maybe the first 3-4 feet going down from the surface) toward your house and divert it.

Footing drains are always a good idea, assuming you have a place to drain them to. Some are collapsed when back filled others clogged with mud or roots.

How about Thoroseal (or some name close to that) on the inside of the wall? Its like stucco you paint on with a 6" or 8" brush. Recoat the outside with tar.

Are you sure under your slab is dry even when its raining. Holes in the slab could allow radon gas.

B-DRY installs channels around the inside perimeter of the basement leading to a sump pump. I hear it works ok, if you do not want to touch the outside.

Consider resale. Many people would not consider buying a house where they felt there were water problems in the basement. (Are they fixed in a proper manner or a jury rigged job). The wife may not care, but the home inspector will.

Gutters with downspouts that carry the water away.

My comments are from a NE guy where everyone has a basement.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Donald
.
B-DRY installs channels around the inside perimeter of the basement leading to a sump pump. I hear it works ok, if you do not want to touch the outside.

.


Where we live the water table is very high and most people have some slight amount of water in the basements of these 80+ yo homes.

We didn't have a sump hole though most do, and were getting some water inside. Some would also come up.

We had the interior drain put in and connected to a sump hole with pump. Since then, we have never had water inside, but oddly enough, have never had water flowing into the sump hole! During Hurricane Irene, the water rose in the hole, but it wasn't enough to get the pump on!

We're happy with this approach, but at the same time, we spend about $100/month, maybe more to run dehumidifiers to keep the basement at 50% RH, which is pretty humid, and can't seem to get that down.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

I think that's an exceedingly bad idea. Adding additional hydraulic pressure under the floor can do a significant amount of damage. You'd be far better off channeling that water into a sump pit and pumping it out.

If I were in your position, I'd contact a professional basement waterproofing company, have them determine the best course of action, then determine how much I could do myself. The cracks in the foundation should be addressed and fixed correctly rather than allowed to continue dumping water into the basement.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

Thanks for the replies. Here's the situation:

Gutters/downspouts are fine. I've had a foundation company come out and that will be $14k.

The house sits on a hill that goes left to right if you're looking at it, and is slowly sliding down said hill. There is a crack exactly lined up perfectly in the front and back foundation walls. The front is finished side and was hydraulic-cement-and-Drylok-filled before the drywall went up 4 years ago. With the house continuing to slide, the crack has opened.
The back one was filled with injection foam and worked for a while but then the crack continues to open.

Can I borrow $14K?

 

[andyd]

Water proofing is a band aid if the foundation is sliding down hill. And as PR said, you do not want to build up hydraulic pressure under the slab. I'm, no engineer , I was the truck driving, block laying, shovel wielding kid , working his way through school. I was in a 6'x 2' wide trench with a spade digging underneath a foundation that was heaving. I hit water that filled the trench. JUMP! yells the operator.Sploosh, the bank on the left caves in, meantime , I scrambled out of trench as it filled up and flooded out the lawn. We were both soaked in 40 degree temps.
Anyway, the ultimate fix for your house is to be jacked up and a big, stone field laid down to provide drainage under the house. then the house put down on a new foundation

 

[doitmyself]

Is the uphill side graded to divert the water around and away from the house as shown here:

http://web.utk.edu/~btschant/wet.htm#wet

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
.

The house sits on a hill that goes left to right if you're looking at it, and is slowly sliding down said hill. There is a crack exactly lined up perfectly in the front and back foundation walls.


Until you stabilize the foundation any work done is an exercise in futility. While that $14,000 may be a lot of money, it's nothing compared to the damage that's happening to the house. The longer you wait to fix it, the more damage will be done.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

It bothers me every day. I don't think anything is diverted around the foundation. Home is 41 years old. Looking at it from the front, it goes from left to right: Hill running into the garage/driveway, then the front porch, then the crack, and it goes downhill from there.

Again, can I borrow 14K?

Thanks a lot for all the responses.

 

[andyd]

Surface run off is one thing , if the slab is below the water table that is another. A house doesnt weigh much. If the cellar is unfinished , you could try jacking it yourself. and making a shoring wall to raise the house a little. Couple or 3 10 ton bottle jacks or a few Jack posts, and a timber long enough and large enough to span. Jack up slow and even, watching the interior cracks as they hopefully close up. But I grok such things after a decade of shoring pieces of ships. You go the professional route, and it will really cost you. In these litigious times you just about have to, though.

 

[stockrex]

how about a surface french drain you can dig youself and make a gravel bed and put in a corrugated pipe with a sock on it and do some simple regrading. it will lessen the water pressure on the foundation.

 

[andyd]

Surface run off is one thing , if the slab is below the water table that is another. A house doesnt weigh much. If the cellar is unfinished , you could try jacking it yourself. and making a shoring wall to raise the house a little. Couple or 3 10 ton bottle jacks or a few Jack posts, and a timber long enough and large enough to span the joists. The sill maybe bolted to the foundation. Jack up slow and even, watching the interior cracks as they hopefully close up. If the sill dooesnt move, slide a long metal sawzall blade for looking for bolts. But I grok such things after a decade of shoring pieces of ships. You go the professional route, and it will really cost you. In these litigious times you just about have to, though.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
OK, so my foundation walls leak. I'm looking to drill/chisel out about a 12" long by 3" deep channel right under the cracks, and let the water that comes in through the wall go down into the gravel below the slab.

I do not have a sump pump.

Will this idea work to stop by floors from being wet?



Chris, like said, I wouldn't do this if you don't have drain/weeping tile under the slab floor, around the perimeter of the room that directs water outside the home or into a sump pit. You don't want to try do just rely on the ground absorbing the water. Ain't gonna happen long term.

If your house is only ~40yrs old, I'd be surprised if you don't have drain tile under the floor? You could bust out a section of the floor under the crack to investigate. It's easier than you think and easy to repair afterwards. If you don't have a sump pit, then there's a drain line down-grade somewhere. That's how my house is setup since I'm on the side of a hill and way higher than the road.

If you have drain tile, commercial basement waterproof places will blow the floor out along the wall under the leaking area, drill holes aside your wall crack, pump grout material from inside/out, then glue a plastic panel on the wall over the crack from ceiling to below grade, then re-stone & cement the floor right up to the plastic wall panel. Any further leakage will stay behind the plastic and flow down under the floor into the drain tile. (that's just one example of what residential places will/can do for you)

Joel

 

[stockrex]

most areas are clay and water does not go anywhere,
cheapest would be to rent a jackhammer and put in a sump pump yourself, woaha, if you are handy few hundred $$ done.