Water in my basement

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,736
447
126
Just an FYI for everyone, especially those in the Midwest and east that are getting big thaws:

Go around your house and check your downspouts. If they've worked themselves off of the pipe that directs the water away from your house, then that water can (and will) get through your foundation. They're there for a reason

Something so simple that I could have checked earlier but didn't even enter my mind. God dammit...
 

Sho'Nuff

Diamond Member
Jul 12, 2007
6,211
121
106
Good advice, but what do you do when there is 5' of melting snow around your foundation?
 

NetWareHead

THAT guy
Aug 10, 2002
5,854
154
106
Yep, this weekend I got my first water in the basement of the season. Spring is coming. I have one of these air blowers used to dry carpet and aim it at the water. After a few hours, it is all gone. You just have to stay on top of it and check your basement daily. Before I got the blower, the water would cover about 1/4 of the floor!
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,736
447
126
Yep, this weekend I got my first water in the basement of the season. Spring is coming. I have one of these air blowers used to dry carpet and aim it at the water. After a few hours, it is all gone. You just have to stay on top of it and check your basement daily. Before I got the blower, the water would cover about 1/4 of the floor!

Yeah, it wouldn't be so bad if it was just basement, but it just happened to be the finished part too. Pulling up carpet to find how far it spread is not a fun Sunday
 

NetWareHead

THAT guy
Aug 10, 2002
5,854
154
106

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
52,834
5,713
126
i grew up in a house that constantly got water in the basement, and it's a big fear of mine in my new house especially since my theater is down there. however there is a b-dry system installed in the house and the grading outside is pretty good, although it has to be fixed on one side of the house this spring just to keep it pushing water away a little better. so far so good though.
 

skimple

Golden Member
Feb 4, 2005
1,295
3
81
Good advice, but this should be part of a regular check of your house.

Take 10 minutes a week and walk around your house. Check out the roof, chimney (if you have one), foundation, basement windows, etc.

I am continually amazed at the otherwise intelligent people in my neighborhood who are unaware of visible damage to their house. I've pointed out broken gutters, missing shingles, rotted chimney chases, varmint holes... to people, and they are shocked (SHOCKED!) there is damage. Then they give me a blank look when I say "Its been like that for months - didn't you notice?"
 

boomerang

Lifer
Jun 19, 2000
18,890
642
126
After 25+ years in this house I finally went around and screwed the extensions to the downspouts for the very reason the OP spoke of. Fortunately, we never got more that a very small hint of dampness but it was always due to an extension coming loose and falling off.
 

Midwayman

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2000
5,723
325
126
Good advice, but this should be part of a regular check of your house.

Take 10 minutes a week and walk around your house. Check out the roof, chimney (if you have one), foundation, basement windows, etc.

I am continually amazed at the otherwise intelligent people in my neighborhood who are unaware of visible damage to their house. I've pointed out broken gutters, missing shingles, rotted chimney chases, varmint holes... to people, and they are shocked (SHOCKED!) there is damage. Then they give me a blank look when I say "Its been like that for months - didn't you notice?"

These are the same people who drive for months with the check engine light on their car.
 

BurnItDwn

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
26,067
1,550
126
Yes, good advice, Also, make sure the drains in any of your window wells actually drain/work. They are another place where water can come in.
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,736
447
126
After 25+ years in this house I finally went around and screwed the extensions to the downspouts for the very reason the OP spoke of. Fortunately, we never got more that a very small hint of dampness but it was always due to an extension coming loose and falling off.

That's my plan in the spring. As it stands now just a small shift in the soil and things aren't attached any more.
 

boomerang

Lifer
Jun 19, 2000
18,890
642
126
That's my plan in the spring. As it stands now just a small shift in the soil and things aren't attached any more.
Deer are probably a bigger problem for me. They knock them off and then sometimes step on them.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
67,201
12,029
126
www.anyf.ca
While ensuring proper slope and putting water away from the house may help prevent the issue, the fact that it happened means you have bigger issues. You may need to dig up the foundation and redo the foundation seal and possibly weeping tiles. The sealer product (probably tar if it's an older house) will wear out over time and let water through. Even a tiny hairline crack in the cement will let water through, especially when the ground is frozen as it's not absorbing any water. I had mine redone a few years back, it cost just short of 20k so not cheap, but at least it will prevent water damage which could cost more if the basement is ever finished.
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,736
447
126
While ensuring proper slope and putting water away from the house may help prevent the issue, the fact that it happened means you have bigger issues. You may need to dig up the foundation and redo the foundation seal and possibly weeping tiles. The sealer product (probably tar if it's an older house) will wear out over time and let water through. Even a tiny hairline crack in the cement will let water through, especially when the ground is frozen as it's not absorbing any water. I had mine redone a few years back, it cost just short of 20k so not cheap, but at least it will prevent water damage which could cost more if the basement is ever finished.

Very true

However it looks like it didn't seep in from the wall. In fact the sealer kept the water at bay, and the only place it had to go was down. If enough gets under the foundation it can seep in that way which is what looks like happened here. I can seal the entire basement floor but that's just a bandaid on the real problem... my lack of awareness with the downspouts and record amounts of precipitation.
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,736
447
126
Mine are pumping quite frequently even though the temp is well below freezing. I guess it all depends

Mine might have been pumping more during the rains, but I'm not in the basement much so I might have not noticed. I should probably go down there more often and I might have caught this a little quicker.

I rented a rug doctor and cleaned the carpet the best I could (and then dried it). I can still see the water ring on the underside of the carpet where it was wet, but I think I have it as clean as I can get it. All of the carpet pad that was wet at all I ripped out and threw away. It's easy enough to install that it's not worth messing with. I'm tossing around the idea of painting the affected area of the foundation floor with a mildew resistant sealer before redoing the carpet padding though. I'm a little hesitant to do such a thing though as it just seems like if I have a leak it'll just come in somewhere else.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
67,201
12,029
126
www.anyf.ca
Mine are pumping quite frequently even though the temp is well below freezing. I guess it all depends

Check the drain. Sump pump should only pump if there is a sewer backup or the drain can't keep up. You may have a blockage. If the power goes out you are screwed, otherwise unless you have long duration battery backup (days) and/or generators.

Also a good idea to put a float sensor in there.... I need to put mine in, I bought one but just never got around to installing it and figuring out the best way of mounting it. It will trigger a critical alarm on my monitoring system.
 
Last edited:

fstime

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2004
4,384
5
81
It is illegal in most cities to pump ground water or rain water into the cities sewer to prevent the system from being overwhelmed doing rain storms. That means you need to have a dry well to pump to.

Doesn't stop most people from connecting their sump pumps and gutters though as there is not too much they can do to find out.