I had a city government utilities director look at my basement wall. It leaks between the first block and second block above the joint in the mortar. I previously had thought the first block was a 4 inch solid block. The city employee told me that the block wasn't solid, that it was hollow and that half of it I can't see because it is below the slab. - He said that the water comes through my concrete block walls like a sponge when it rains then goes into the block and is supposed to weep through notched out holes in the first brick below the slab. From there the water apparently leaches into the sanitary sewer drains around the perimeter of my house. it was built 65 years ago and the employee said that this was typical.
Can anyone verify the accuracy of the information?
He told me I may have a backup in the sanitary line where the wall is leaking and that I may need to cut open the slab where the leak is and install new pipe there --- ...
This was a totally un-biased appraisal of the situation because the employee wasn't selling me anything but had a genuine inclination to help.
He also mentioned a sump-pump is a community minded approach to fixing the problem because instead of the storm runoff entering the sanitary system that it would be pumped somewhere else thus creating a more efficient sanitary sewer system.
Posts: 13 | Location: Ohio, USA | Registered: 05 January 2007
I'm guessing that your city has combined sewers where the storm water is directed into the same system as sanitary waste. (Please don't ask me what's so sanitary about it).
I haven't been around professionally for 65 years, so I have never heard of a system where water is allowed to enter where it shouldn't be, and then piped away. Then again, no community in the areas of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where I have practiced, has combined sewers. Storm and sanitary are always separate in those areas.
It is very possible, since no adequate filter media existed 65 years ago, that you do have some clogs in your system, both in the block and in the pipes. I have dug up foundation drains that were less than 65 years old that were packed solid with soil and/or silt.
In an ideal world, you would waterproof the outside of your foundation walls and keep the water out. It might still be cheaper than ripping up the floor slab, trying to clean out those reputed holes in your blocks, and reconstructing a water diversion system that may only clog again at some point in time. If you can stop the water from entering the foundation, you've done the best thing possible, because that way, you eliminate all possible issues connected with water in the basement...no mold, no dampness, no radon gas, no insects, and NO WATER!
Architect (NY) and Home Designer (PA)
Posts: 2572 | Location: Tobyhanna, PA | Registered: 24 October 2005
you said, you get water in 1 area-1 corner when it rains. you have hollow block walls that apparently were painted w/Drylok and said before they were painted you saw step/vertical crack(s) in wall, in this area/corner.
unless the outside was waterproofed CORRECTLY at some prior point, you`ll need the outside of this-corner Waterproofed, by someone who knows what their doing.
you said yourslef there are crack(s) in the wall, the cracks you 'patched' from inside are....still OPEN on the outside of the hollow-blocks,unless like i say, it was waterproofed at some point in the past.
now you apparently had a city utilities director look at your wall/basement....how many basements/walls have they waterproofed and guaranteed over the years? ...just asking the question, no harm intended.
WAS-was-was there an Inside-System already done? i ask you this because of the way you say the city employee described.. "water in block is supposed to weep through NOTCHED out holes in the brick???BLOCK below the slab"
you/they are describing an inside drain tile system where most inside companies put holes in the last block, put a lil gravel and plastic tile under the floor and re-cement the floor, usually an 'apron' of 12-18".
beyond whether it was done before or not, it has NOTHING to do with water/rain that goes through cracks on the outside and INTO the hollow block wall.Once inside the cores of the wall, the water goes down and through the lower blocks and often comes out onto the floor where the bottom of basement wall and floor MEET.
do you have a 2 part problem in basement? its possible but from what you have mentioned in posts, from many miles away, i doubt it. Like i say, you DO have cracks on outside of wall in this corner, unless it was already waterproofed-correctly then this is at least 1 part of problem and for most others,all of problem.
have tried to explain to you that you can run a hose, a water test on the outside of this area...it has to be done correctly. Run the hose along the bsmt wall at ground level, on outside of where you get water inside. let is soak the crap out of the ground/soil along the basement wall for up to 45 minutes or so. you may get water in within a few minutes,15 mintues etc.
IF if if, you begin to get water in then you just PROVED that part--all of your problem is the crack(s) on the outside of the block wall.
Dont forget, you said your water line comes through the wall in that area so, where the line enters on outside there may also be gaps/spaces around-where-the-line enters, another potential avenue for water to enter hollow block.
And painting the basement walls will do nothing for stopping water that enters into the wall through cracks etc on the....outside, nothing!
yes bmf, the city employee gave you a totally unbiased opinion with all intentions of helping you but you didn`t get an expert opinion from an honest contractor, did ya?
Thanks LW - Got your number - i wrote that down in case I can't get this resolved. I appreciate your help.
I explained to the city guys that I needed to patch the walls on the outside - they kinda shrugged that off and said that the water was supposed to be going into the sanitary drain. he said that it was made of some kind of clay tile that allows the rainwater to go in...
It was a radical assesment, but i thought worth noting and was interested in mainly what you would have to say about it. I am not really fond of the idea of cutting up the slab... but I have noticed in the corner where the wall is leaking the most that the floor has cracked and is showing lines that look wet.
It hasn't rain but it has snowed and most of it has melted. My neighbor has moved his downspout and my basement has been dry... I guess I'm waiting for a big rain again, or a dry spell with warm enough weather that I can turn my hose on - we've hit some inclement weather here in the NE lately...
As far as I can tell the basement has never had an interior de-watering method ever installed. It looks all original. Even if it did have clogged drain tile under the foundation - I don't think it's something I could replace, but would probably have to abandon and run new lines .... and first I would wonder if it is something that could be s***** from the pea trap on the main gravity drain in my house.
All I can really do before the weather clears is try to assess all the possible problems --- I would hate to act hastily and not be successful in actual diagnosing and fixing the problem...
But, I must say - I haven't had any problems since my neighbor moved his downspout from my backyard to the front of his house.
Posts: 13 | Location: Ohio, USA | Registered: 05 January 2007
