We have areas on the north wall in our partially finished basement where water collects behind the paint, so that the paint bubbles. When I remove the paint (and the water) there is small hole. When we have heavy rains we get water in the basement (on the carpeted finished side of course). I notice that there are similar patches (but where the holes appear to have been filled) on the wall in the unfinished side, but have not noticed water there. However tonight (heavy rain here in Michigan) I checked one of the areas in the unfinished side of the basement and the wall felt wet under the paint.

Is this a rod hole? (I've been trying to find more info so that I can figure out who I should call to fix this problem.

We have owned the home for 5 years and this past year we've had several incidents of water.

Any advice would be appreciated

I assume your talking about poured concrete walls in the basement. The patchees are over the steel rods they used to hold the forms together when they poured the wall. They break these off once done and patch over with cement. This patch of cement does nothing to prevent moisture from going through these openings. What should have been done by the builder is to paint an asphalt coating over the cement before they backfilled and did the rest of the water proofing on the outside. If your getting moisture through that small hole you have other issues that will begin to crop up later. It appears that they did not properly water proof the walls before backfilling. I would check on your home warranty if you have one and see what can be done to evaluate this condition and prevent it from coming back.

Do not use a water proofing paint on the inside of the basement. Although that is what most folks would attempt to do. All this does is mask a larger issue that should have been done right on the outside in the first place.

You can get apoxy sealants that will stop the water from getting through the rod openings but its just a temporary fix. But should buy you time until you corrrect what was done wrong on the outside of the house.

Thanks for your reply. I will try to get a temporary fix first. Then see what can be done. This is a home that was built in the early 60s.

Is there a certain kind of contractor that I should look for to fix the problem from the outside?

if you have leaky rod holes then you can
repair them from inside but they must be
PACKED fully-correctly or they`ll re-leak.

what i`d use to pack em is hydraulic cement.
http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines/HydraulicWaterStopCementPro.asp

Each rod hole needs to be packed/plugged...
not just an inch or so. Need to make up
x-amount in a lil container...just add water
and have some sort of rod/pusher/dowel to
PUSH the hydraulic cement THROUGH the hole
towards outside....Push and pack thoroughly.

Many,not all builders/subs/plans/codes don`t
take care of these rod holes thoroughly from
the get go, thus the leaks.

Some do apply a lil thin tar on outside,it`s
NOT enough, will not last.

Some place a CORK inside each hole, this
cork is not enough, will deteriorate in time,
some faster than others.

applying a lil tar/whatever on outside and/or
corks in rod holes is a quick/cheap means
...not what is best, not what will last.

There are other products which may thoroughly
plug rod holes, i prefer hydraulic cemenet...
just have to make sure each hole gets packed,
whatever you use.

Before remodeling basements w/poured walls
go around and check EVERY rod hole.

You can call me if you like, i`ll talk you
through this task

Thanks again! I feel less depressed with this info!

Id like to know more about packing rod holes. What kind of device is used to pack them. None of mine are leaking but I do see that they are getting rusted.

I'd also like a contact number for you. I think your in NY but not sure where in ny. Ny is big.

thanks

The device you use is your hands and a good trowel
The rods when broke off if done properly should be slightly below the surface of the wall. A good quality expandable cement is then used and then the wall is properly water proofed. Even if the holes were not cemented over the water proofing should have been enough to prevent them from leaking. Which in your case they are. If they are rusting they are leaking.

In addition to my hands and a trowel (it's a messy job) I used a dowel to really shove the cement stuff as far back into the hole and fill it up. I painted over the wall and I have not had any problems since.