Leaking Basement Wall
Trace the water to its source on the wall.
Leaking basement wall. Externally by digging a trench around the foundation and sealing the entire underground portion of the foundation with. Fixing the leak as soon as possible makes the job easier and less expensive in the long run. When you have water leaking into your basement between where the bottom of the wall and the floor meet this is caused by what is called hydrostatic pressure. Dig down 6 feet 1 8 m to the foundation all around outside of the house.
Window wells are a common source of basement wall leaks because they tend to retain water if a proper drainage system wasn t installed beneath the well when the house was built. Leaking basement walls can greatly limit the usefulness of your below grade space. As walls continue to leak they also compromise your options for basement finishing by adding moisture to the space that could be damaging to drywall carpeting wood studs and other organic materials. If your basement has windows check the seal around the window frame to be sure there are no cracks holes or rotting sections of wood.
Step 1 locate the leak. Poured concrete wall cracks the most common source of a basement leak is a non structural crack in a poured concrete basement wall. This can lead to. Leaking walls tend to be ugly surfaces stained by water mold and white powdery efflorescence.
It s common for the soil alongside your house to settle over time creating a moat that collects runoff and directs it down your foundation wall and into the basement. Basement is leaking where the floor meets the wall. The source of a leak is not necessarily in the same place that you found water. Inspect and identify source of leak ie crack in the wall leaking window etc.
There are a number of ways that water can make its way into your home causing a leaky basement. The captured water is then routed to a sump pump for evacuation to outside. The width of the trench should be enough. A leaking block foundation wall is fixed from the inside by draining the block walls into a drain system installed beneath the basement floor.
In order to solve the problem you must first determine the origin of the leak. Be thorough as there may be more than a single entry point. Typically when the soil surrounding your basement is soaked with water typically after you have had a lot of rain or a lot of snow has melted. Follow the steps below to fix a basement leak.
Pressure wash foundation and let it dry. Look carefully at organic surfaces. These cracks can be caused by either the lateral pressure described earlier or by minor settling or dropping of the foundation. Check out this page for more detail on interior perimeter drain systems.