How to fix my basement leaking?

6 years ago

I bought a house a little over a year ago and during heavy rains the basement and the garage gets water seepage. It's not a huge deal, the basement isn't finished and there is a floor drain so it just drains away. So I just clean it up with some towels and run the dehumidifier for two days.

I have no idea what kind of drain system I have. The house was built in 1941 and has two floor drains, one in the basement and one in the garage. No sump pump. How do I know what kind of drain system I have?

There is water that pools in an area yard, but the water doesn't come from just that area. it comes from everywhere that is below grade. It also comes from the floor/wall joint, not high on the wall. So I think the problem is hydrostatic pressure. Not surface water, but I could be wrong.

I don't plan on living in the house too long so I would be ok just dealing with the occasional wetness, but I would be willing to spend $2000 or so to fix the problem.

Any ideas or advice?

Featured Answer

PRO

GN Builders L.L.C

6 years ago

Most likely it was tied into the plumbing drain, on some houses, it was tied to a storm drain. I have seen 2 connection types.

Most likely the slab you have is a rat slab only 2" or less thick just covering the dirt. 2k or less will get you good quality cast iron Zoeller sump pump, a pit and discharge to the daylight.

If you do the drain system along entire basement perimeter, that will cost more money.

Try to find the problem on the outside, check the grade, gutters, etc make sure the grade is pitched away from the foundation and your gutters discharge water far enough from the foundation, that would cost you nothing and if there is small grade issue, etc you can solve that for a few hundred dollars.

Good luck

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Comments (6)

DavidR
6 years ago
In a 1941 house, it's almost certain that the cellar floor drain is connected to the sanitary sewer.
Brandon Christ thanked DavidR
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Brandon Christ
Original Author
6 years ago
It is, but I was referring to the perimeter drain around the foundation, if there is one.
Lyndee Lee
6 years ago
My theory is fix the exterior drainage issues with grading and gutters and that takes care of almost everything. The small amount of water that actually falls next to the house isnt a problem, the water from elsewhere causes the issues.

My partner and I did a project in a house with decades of water issues. We did a berm and drainage channel to keep runoff water several feet away from the foundation. That alone cured most all of the problem. Then we did an interior perimeter drain to sump pump system along with a dehumidifier. The sump pump worked night and day for months and finally finished pumping.

When we left the house, the basement was dry. The new occupant, parked on the berm and broke it, wouldn't keep the drainage channel clear, and didnt use a dehumidifier. First big rain, the sump pump went from not kicking in for weeks to pumping every few minutes. Last time I was in the house, the basement was a swamp again.

I was amazed at how effective developing the berm was at drying out the basement and equally surprised at the almost immediate return of the issue when the drainage channel wasnt kept clear.

At my current house, I had seepage issues where the floor and the walls met. A couple tubes of big stretch caulk took care of that issue.
Brandon Christ thanked Lyndee Lee
DavidR
6 years ago
Next time you have a few days of heavy rain, put your ear (perhaps extended with a piece of tubing) down on the cellar floor drain. In a 1941 house, IF you have footer drains, it's likely that they're tied in to the floor drain. You may be able to hear the water they collect trickling/running in it (assuming that they're working to some extent).

I'm pretty sure that this kind of hookup is no longer permitted in at least some areas, because it tends to overload sewage treatment plants during heavy rains. Nowadays footer drains typically run to a sump.
Brandon Christ thanked DavidR
Izzy Mn
6 years ago
It matters what kind of soil your home was built on. But first I would make sure gutters are clear and add some gutter extensions to take water as far away as possible. Check to see if soil levels around foundation has settled so much that it's lower around foundation and correct that. My parents have on occasion had water in basement come up from finished basement slab, through some cracks usually. Their home is built in heavy clay built 1950's, no drain tile, not typical then. What they did was install a sunken pit in the area outside of foundation drop a pump in and hose to far back corner of yard, it did help. They also dug out a shallow trench in lawn that helps carry rain away from house.