Concrete floor moisture

11 years ago

My hubby and I built our house 2 years ago and hired a professional company to pour our foundation. Everything was done very well, no corners were cut.

The foundation sits on hard packed clay and we could only dig down 2 feet, because we are close to a lake. The foundation was back filled by the same company.

Last winter was severe, abnormally cold for this area. This past autumn we received an abundance of rain - so not sure if these have contributed to the issue.

We have a few cracks happening on the basement floor and now have moisture coming up through the cracks.

We have a sump pump that often pumps water out. The pump is very accessible, and we have a back up just in case.

We have about 20 of these stains, only in one area of the floor. All are about 3-4 inches in length.

So ... Is this normal? What can we do to remedy the problem?

Thanks.

Featured Answer

PRO

Lampert Dias Architects, Inc.

11 years ago

Moisture is getting under the basement somehow. There are many possible solutions depending on several factors. The goal is to keep water from getting underneath the house by keeping it away from the house. Is the land around the house sloping away from the house ? Is there a "French Drain" system around the house exterior ?

There is a great article written by the University of Minnesota, extension under environment.
See if you can find it.

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Comments (6)

ajeward
11 years ago
My husband and I had the opposite problem with the same results when we lived in Oklahoma. The clay under our foundation dried out and cracked the house foundation. ( Who knew you are suppose to water your foundation ?). Ask someone in real estate and get a reputable structural engineer to tell you what to do. Every area of the country has its odd quirks, a local engineer should be knowledgable of these problems and the best solution . Good luck!
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User
11 years ago
Was insulation and a moisture barrier placed under the slab?
chelseabeagle
Original Author
11 years ago
Good question! I remember that it was very wet, when the footings were poured. I remember the forms were put in place and clean gravel spread before the concrete pumper came.
PRO
Lampert Dias Architects, Inc.
11 years ago
There would have been a moisture barrier that you might have noticed before the concret was poured........It can be done in differnet ways, but one way is to lay a few inches of sand over the gravel and then a visqueen sheet (plastic sheet) with more sand over that..........there are other techniques too.....

Event if they failed to do a moisture barrier a good basement contractor should be able to help you resolve the problem...........
PRO
Cancork Floor Inc.
11 years ago
This is not normal. It means your slab has been compromised and requires repair. It sounds like there was no moisture barrier used (plastic) and the clay has probably shifted = cracking of concrete. A slab/concrete specialist can fix this...probably not the 'guy' you used the first time. I find it hard to fathom anyone not using moisture barrier, over clay, on a lake...

It is possible they did use the barrier and that the barrier was pierced by something sharp...but that is rare. I would have SOMEONE else deal with this. If the "professional company" didn't make the effort to use the barrier in the first place I'm not very hopeful they have the ability to deal with 20 different breaches in the foundation at this point in time.

Do you have a warranty for their work?