Flooded basement help/advice please.

[Diane]

I was thinking of trenching it along most of the back of the house, then out in to the side yard "many" feet over from the house, and then doing gravel and pipe or something. Is that the same as diverter tile??

I don't think it's an expensive project, but I could be wrong.

My dad was talking about a sump pump and trenches inside my basement, but I do puppies down there and I'm not sure I like that idea, plus that is probably real expensive.

 

[Big_Holla]

Lack of gutters and downspouts that push the water well away from the foundation is another big cause of water in the basement. Something on the to-do list as well for me.

 

[Diane]

I have downspouts that have those long black plastic tubes that run well away from the house. I checked those first to make sure they were still working, since that would have been an easy fix.
Actually i had them screwed on years ago because they did get bumped off once and that flooded my basement.

 

[Milo]

Best thing you can do in this situation is get a pipe in the ground as deep as you can and back fill it with stone. This time of years stinks to do it in but it can be done if you have patience and are a little hard headed. Once you fill most of that column with stone it will suck the water out of the ground and take all the surface water away also. You looking at 600 bucks total in cost. You could install a sumo pump but with perimeter drains around the vasent you will only be gathering water that comes through the wall.

 

[Diane]

A perforated pipe? What type of stone? What is deep? 3 feet? 5 feet? (Please don't be 5 feet! haha)

 

[Milo]

A perforated pipe? What type of stone? What is deep? 3 feet? 5 feet? (Please don't be 5 feet! haha)

As deep as you can get with the equipment. Most rental trenches are around 40 inches and that helps. For stone you can use 8's or 57's. yes on perforated pipe. You can tie the down spouts into them or what I did was put a stub up with a cap on it so I didn't have to worry about leaves plugging the line up. It's like a 4 inch catch basin.

 

[antiqucycle]

do follow all of the suggestions already made. but come nice weather get a couple of truck loads of dirt and pile it at least 3 inches higher along the outside block walls. Its amazing how just a little higher ground can keep a basement dry.

Also, when I bought my house, it was 5 years old, I had a small nuisance leak from the block wall. I finally dug down about 5 feet and found a large hunk of rolled roofing acting as a funnel. The yahoos who roofed the house must have threw it off the roof before the walls were back filled.

 

["J"]

do follow all of the suggestions already made. but come nice weather get a couple of truck loads of dirt and pile it at least 3 inches higher along the outside block walls. Its amazing how just a little higher ground can keep a basement dry.

Also, when I bought my house, it was 5 years old, I had a small nuisance leak from the block wall. I finally dug down about 5 feet and found a large hunk of rolled roofing acting as a funnel. The yahoos who roofed the house must have threw it off the roof before the walls were back filled.

You'd be surprised at all the junk fill that goes down there before it's back filled.... One of the things too always be on the watch for when building.....

 

[Diane]

Now that I think about it, the part that leaks the most is under a basement window. It is NOT coming from the window though. I don't know if that makes a difference or not.

Piling dirt up is what made me think of it.

 

[Milo]

Now that I think about it, the part that leaks the most is under a basement window. It is NOT coming from the window though. I don't know if that makes a difference or not.

Piling dirt up is what made me think of it.

Go see if the caulking is around the window... It may be running down the inside of the block. Did the water stop work?

 

[bowhunter1023]

I just spent 3 straight days in WV. I had 5 different people tell me they have seen water coming from, and flowing in places they have not seen in 10-40 years. This may be one of the worst transitions from winter to spring that any of us have ever seen. Even things designed to drain and built properly, are failing right now.

 

[Diane]

He is putting the water stop on right now. He also found where it has been caulked along the floor line before. Must have been the first owners that did that and it is only caulked where the water is coming in at.

I'll check the window in a bit when he isn't working right there.

 

[Jackalope]

I just spent 3 straight days in WV. I had 5 different people tell me they have seen water coming from, and flowing in places they have not seen in 10-40 years. This may be one of the worst transitions from winter to spring that any of us have ever seen. Even things designed to drain and built properly, are failing right now.

Should be good for mushrooms if it doesn't snap back cold.

 

[Diane]

Free swimming lessons at my house today, if anyone is interested....

It is not the window leaking. And since we put that cement stuff on, it seems to have pushed the water to a different weak spot and that looks like a small river coming through. The rental place doesn't have any more pumps, and the one that we bought broke again, so the kids are on the way to Lowe's to get a different one and more cement.

As soon as this mess is done, I'll be immediately raising my whelping boxes (luckily no pups now) and then doing a trench in the near future.

I also learned that water hoses don't have the stupid rubber seal on them. I guess they are attached to the packaging, but you don't notice that until you attach the hose to your pump and water sprays you in the face.

Good times, good times!

 

[MK111]

I believe the main problem is that the ground is just loaded with water from the wet season we're in now. Just think of a sponge full of water ant the water will run out were there is a hole (crack). What is needed is to take the water pressure off the outside of the basement walls as the previous suggestions.
Not a easy task but a necessary requirement. Good luck with you repairs.

 

[Diane]

Found a few major problems. Walked the property and in the middle of the hill, we could hear water gurgling under the ground. Walked on down, found 2 natural springs and a pipe and got them unclogged and water came racing out.

Took a wall out in my laundry room because water started coming out from under my basement steps. Seems there is a pipe to my well that goes through the block. Under the pipe was a hole where water was just rushing through.

We plugged it and are going to add more water stop cement stuff to it, along with a few little trickle areas.

My son-in-law took a picture of the water coming under that pipe, into my basement. I told him to send it to me so I could post it, but right he's still working.

We have 2 pumps going. The water level is holding about the same (2 inches or so) but at least it isn't getting deeper.

 

[Milo]

Diane I'm pretty confident that tiling will solve your problem. My yard is a disaster except for the part I tiled and it is doing great. It is not in the least bit squishy. You will be surprised how much moisture you can pull out of the soil. That will help you leaking. It just needs and easier path than you basement and it will follow it. You may want to dig around the well line and place some bentonite clay and it will shut off any water following the line. I'm alrEady planning on more tile work here at my house probably next weekend. This will be a good week with no rain so I should slow up. A Sump Pump is great but too many people rely on it and get comfortable and then the sump pump goes bad and ruins a ton of stuff in there basement

 

[giles]

1/2" to 2"…someone sloped that floor. Call a contractor and have them come out and core drill you 2 holes! One for a pump, and the other to plumb a pipe out…

Then have them dig up the ground around your house…apply some tar/paint/sealant, drop some gravel, pipe, more gravel and backfill the hole.

This is going to cost you a couple grand…if you don't do this and you get a heavy rain, then it freezes for winter. It'll cost you a lot more. Because your wall's will start to crack and break down (this has already started since it's been a couple of years already). Before you know it, your house will start having cracks show up inside. Ceiling will probably show it first. In the winter with the snow load on the roof. Once it starts to show on the walls, your really in for some costly repairs.

Take this for what its worth to ya, but this is what needs to be done to FIX the problem. You can't put a standard bandaid on before you stop the bleeding...

For giggles, what kind of drainage do you have from your roof?

 

[Diane]

I still plan to get a trench dug and the pipe and gravel, etc. I just have to get this disaster under control. Off to the side of my house, is a standing 2-3 foot wide "pond" that runs 10 feet long, and at least ankle deep, so I know I am getting tons of run off from the top hill. That area is normally dry.

How do I post a video? My son-in-law took a video of the water coming in, but I'm not sure if he can send it to me or how to post it. We have pictures, but it's dark under steps and you can't get the full effect.

 

[Diane]

My roof has standard gutters, then those long black hoses to take the water away from the house.