# How to stop water coming in basement ?



## lonewolf (Jun 12, 2012)

A freind of mine has water coming into basement. They can not afford to spend a lot of money. The side walk on the side of the house slope slightly towards house instead of away in one section due to the bed rock having made it hard to build properly.

Between the house & the sidewalk is a crack. Sprayed leak sealer on side walk & side of house but aprox an eighth of an inch crack was to wide to fill. What would be best used to fill in crack silocone chalking or perhaps something like roof repair ?

There is a hole drilled through the sidewalk then through wall of the house that was pluged with sand aprox 3/4 diameter. Would just using silicone chalking work to plug hole work with spraying leak sealer on top or would the hole need to be pluged with cement then apply leal sealer? 

Thanks


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## dubmac (Jan 9, 2011)

Does the house have a sump (bascially a large open pit where one can put a sump pump) in the basement? Where is the bedrock - close to the surface/foundation - how deep is it to the groundwater table? 
Some people I know dig a trench, and install drainage tiles to carry the water downslope from the house. You would however need to dig the trench as deep as the basement. You could also install an automatic sump pump in the basement (turns on when the water levels go up) in an attempt to draw down on the water table and reduce the hydraulic head (pressure) and the water should follow a different pressure gradient.
Not so sure I'd put faith in sealants etc - they may be temporary fixes. JMO


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

Is the water coming in here for sure, or is there also a problem with the drainage tiles. I had the latter with a sub basement. I redirected all the eavetroughs, sent the water across to a garage and down the back alley. Worked like a charm. I was amazed at how much water was coming off our large roof (in Vancouver).

There is also a special cement that you can buy, forget the name. It is sold in bags at Home Depot, etc.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

lonewolf said:


> A freind of mine has water coming into basement. They can not afford to spend a lot of money. The side walk on the side of the house slope slightly towards house instead of away in one section due to the bed rock having made it hard to build properly.
> 
> Between the house & the sidewalk is a crack. Sprayed leak sealer on side walk & side of house but aprox an eighth of an inch crack was to wide to fill. What would be best used to fill in crack silocone chalking or perhaps something like roof repair ?
> 
> ...


Use concrete repair, not silicon caulking. There is a caulking like repair product that works pretty good, and it actually bonds to the concrete.

The real question is where is the water coming in, and WHY is it coming in. Deflecting away water is always the first step.


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

I think we used Hydrolic Cement on our crawl space floor. It worked.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

They could see if the municipality can come to look at the sidewalk as it may be their responsibility to fix it. We are having an issue now with Enbridge and our Municipality ,they dug up some of our property to get Gas to the guy on back of us and they made a dip in the land that was not there before so we now have a new pond.The guy from City has been very helpful to our case as they do keep records of the materials used and how things are suppose to be , the developer could be at fault for this issue.


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

Water entering the basement indicates saturated soil conditions on the exterior of the basement and caulking a crack will do nothing. Correct the exterior soil by ensuring drain tile is clean (most have a clean out to use), ensure top 16" of backfill is a impervious clay material sloped 2% away from foundation a minimum of 8' and ensure eavestrough is functional and water is directed 8' away from foundation.
Do this and swiss cheese foundation would remain dry.


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## Cal (Jun 17, 2009)

How about a pic? It sounds like Hydraulic Cement is what may be needed.


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## lonewolf (Jun 12, 2012)

Thanks guys
The water is coming in between the sidewalk & the side of the house. The sidewalk was put in by previous home owner.

The house is @ the top of a hill on bed rock. The basement is well above water table.

Cal & Faser
I think your right Iam going to try hydrolic cement. Will plug hole & cracks with hydrolic cement. Can a thin layer be put on wall or is it better to use tar.

Eder
Eves trough is in good condition. The bed rock slopes towards house a which is beyond her budget to fix. I will try the hydrolic cement. She only gets a little water once every couple of years. Not realy worth spending to much money over

Thanks everyone much appriciated


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

I have no idea. I simply went into Home Depot, went to the area, and asked to speak with someone with knowledge about my issue.

The gentleman recommended hydrolic cement. I bought it, bunged it into the leaking areas of the crawl space, and that was that. 

But at the same time I also re-routed the eavestrough and put that rubber waterproof paint on the outside of our previously painted chimney that seemed a little porous. It worked really well. The chimney repair man wanted 10K to repair. A wire brush and this coating solved the problem for about $75. until we moved three years later...and issue with the home inspection either.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

fraser said:


> But at the same time I also re-routed the eavestrough and put that rubber waterproof paint on the outside of our previously painted chimney that seemed a little porous. It worked really well. The chimney repair man wanted 10K to repair. A wire brush and this coating solved the problem for about $75. until we moved three years later...and issue with the home inspection either.


Wire brush is a good idea, you want a good bond.
I like the concrete patch stuff, it's like caulking.

Take photos, put an object in the photo to give a sense of scale (hammer, tape measure) and ask the guy at the hardware store (or home depot or whatever).


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## crabbygit (Nov 6, 2013)

How old is the home?

Is it a basement or crawl space (some people refer to crawl space as a basement)

Water will enter a basement in several ways:

-Water table too high will circumvent drain tile (unlikely as the water table would be known before building commenced)
-Collapsed, ineffective, or plugged drain tile
-No waterproof barrier on external foundation walls
-No ground seal or compromised ground seal under basement floor
-Sidewalk run off sloped the wrong way. Although even though its not the best situation this would normally simply drain into the ground at the point the concrete sidewalk meets the foundation wall and would not penetrate if their is sufficient waterproof barrier on the external foundation wall and drain tile is working as it should. Waterproof barrier should extend about six inches above ground level and a good builder will extend it above the sidewalk level also

Best to get a professional. Personally I wouldn't put much faith into recommendations from Home depot staff as I have on more than one occasion heard them giving incorrect advice to customers on plumbing and other issues.


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