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General Discussion => Essentially Flyertalk => Topic started by: EllToPay on July 07, 2010, 01:16:04 PM

Title: Basement Repair
Post by: EllToPay on July 07, 2010, 01:16:04 PM
I have a cinder block basement that leaks when there is a hard rain. There are some cracks in the walls that the water seeps through.

I know ultimately its a foundation problem, but can I just fill the cracks to stop the flooding in the short term? :dunno:

Also, please include some elite terms that I can impress my new wife with.
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: steve dave on July 07, 2010, 01:17:54 PM
I'll take this one fellas:

You should make your basement out of boats. 
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: EllToPay on July 07, 2010, 01:19:09 PM
Thanks, SD. Mods please lock thread.
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: OK_Cat on July 07, 2010, 01:37:19 PM
ridiculous.  the basement would float away, then you've got a house with no basement. 
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: steve dave on July 07, 2010, 01:38:10 PM
ridiculous.  the basement would float away, then you've got a house with no basement. 

make the house out of boats, hth
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: OK_Cat on July 07, 2010, 01:38:47 PM
i need an mspaint spec drawing on how this would work
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: ChiComCat on July 07, 2010, 01:39:46 PM
Also, meant to say cinder block.

Thanks, SD. Mods please lock thread.

Start calling the basement a cistern.  Makes your house seem eco-friendly and hip, upping property value.  Whenever Pexican gets mad about a similar issue, I tell him "Thats what you get for living in a cistern!"
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: hemmy on July 07, 2010, 01:44:39 PM
Get a bunch of jacks, raise up the house, then just bury the jacks in the new foundation, and make sure your yard is sloped away from the house
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: ew2x4 on July 07, 2010, 02:02:08 PM
You're gonna need to get a professional on this asap.
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: EllToPay on July 07, 2010, 02:06:56 PM
You're gonna need to get a professional on this asap.

what am i looking at in terms of price?
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: ew2x4 on July 07, 2010, 02:45:46 PM
You're gonna need to get a professional on this asap.

what am i looking at in terms of price?

Depends on the scale of damage. It could be anything from just laying a new drain mat to completely reconfiguring how your drainage works. I'd start off by walking near the area during a rain storm and seeing if you can tell any noticeable drainage issues. Make sure gutters are getting everything away from the house. Make sure they're unclogged. If you don't see anything out of the ordinary, just call around for a free estimate.
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: Saulbadguy on July 07, 2010, 02:47:13 PM
Thousands of dollars.
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: Poster formerly known as jthutch on July 07, 2010, 02:54:35 PM
hydraulic cement!  You can get it at Lowes/Home Depot.  Sets really fast and will set up under water.  Had this same problem and worked like a charm.
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: EllToPay on July 07, 2010, 03:13:35 PM
hydraulic cement!  You can get it at Lowes/Home Depot.  Sets really fast and will set up under water.  Had this same problem and worked like a charm.

yeah, but this doesn't completely solve the problem, right?
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: Poster formerly known as jthutch on July 07, 2010, 03:24:43 PM
Well depends on how big the cracks are.  It can solve the problem it they are 1/2" or smaller.  I also painted over it with water sealing paint (can't remember the name) have not had a leak in 3 years.

My old house (rental) had the same problem with cender block walls and I used expanding foam for a temperay fix.  Didn't leak again but probably not structurally proper.
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: steve dave on July 07, 2010, 03:26:36 PM
that Holmes on Homes guy would kick the living eff out of you if he heard you say stuff like that  :surprised:
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: ew2x4 on July 07, 2010, 03:32:15 PM
Well depends on how big the cracks are.  It can solve the problem it they are 1/2" or smaller.  I also painted over it with water sealing paint (can't remember the name) have not had a leak in 3 years.

My old house (rental) had the same problem with cender block walls and I used expanding foam for a temperay fix.  Didn't leak again but probably not structurally proper.

I guarantee you that have the most wicked crap growing in your wall.
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: ew2x4 on July 07, 2010, 03:35:44 PM
What kind of cracks are they? horizontal? Vertical? On the corner? near the center of the wall?
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: Poster formerly known as jthutch on July 07, 2010, 03:44:00 PM
Well depends on how big the cracks are.  It can solve the problem it they are 1/2" or smaller.  I also painted over it with water sealing paint (can't remember the name) have not had a leak in 3 years.

My old house (rental) had the same problem with cender block walls and I used expanding foam for a temperay fix.  Didn't leak again but probably not structurally proper.

I guarantee you that have the most wicked crap growing in your wall.
Nope nothing growing on my walls.  No water in the basement either.  The basement is now a finished basement and I have yet to have the least bit of problem with moisture.  We had 14 inches of rain in the past 3 days not a drop came in the finished area.  The unfinished as not been treated yet and have 1 small leak that I need to repair but it's next to the sump pump and I don't really need to mess with it now.
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: ew2x4 on July 07, 2010, 03:58:56 PM
In. Not on. The moisture barrier is meant to keep moisture out of the wall cavity. That's why the hotels in the 80's had so many mold issues. They used vinyl wall covering. That basically trapped moisture in the walls. Hopefully your cmu walls have grout in them so plants aren't growing in them. If you have a concrete wall basement, patching is fine. CMU block basements are iffy on patching, let alone putting up a moisture barrier on the wrong side of the wall. If you're gonna be there for only a few years, it probably doesn't matter.
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: EllToPay on July 07, 2010, 04:07:27 PM
What kind of cracks are they? horizontal? Vertical? On the corner? near the center of the wall?

a couple <1/8" inch cracks horizontal, and near the center
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: pissclams on July 07, 2010, 04:17:34 PM
What kind of cracks are they? horizontal? Vertical? On the corner? near the center of the wall?

a couple <1/8" inch cracks horizontal, and near the center

sounds like this japanese girl i did back in high school
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: CHONGS on July 07, 2010, 04:22:11 PM
What kind of cracks are they? horizontal? Vertical? On the corner? near the center of the wall?

a couple <1/8" inch cracks horizontal, and near the center

sounds like this japanese girl i did back in high school
wow it just got rough ridin' racist up in here.

wow, I am completely flabbergasted, that came out of nowhere.  I had no idea 'sclams has such a problem with people from the great Orient.
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: CHONGS on July 07, 2010, 04:23:00 PM
Also, check that you didn't rot out your joists.  If you did you are mumped and looking at upwards of 50K to fix.
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: pissclams on July 07, 2010, 04:23:41 PM
What kind of cracks are they? horizontal? Vertical? On the corner? near the center of the wall?

a couple <1/8" inch cracks horizontal, and near the center

sounds like this japanese girl i did back in high school
wow it just got fracking racist up in here.

wow, I am completely flabbergasted, that came out of nowhere.  I had no idea 'sclams has such a problem with people from the great Orient.
i ate at panda express today, GTFOOMF
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: CHONGS on July 07, 2010, 04:26:30 PM
What kind of cracks are they? horizontal? Vertical? On the corner? near the center of the wall?

a couple <1/8" inch cracks horizontal, and near the center

sounds like this japanese girl i did back in high school
wow it just got fracking racist up in here.

wow, I am completely flabbergasted, that came out of nowhere.  I had no idea 'sclams has such a problem with people from the great Orient.
i ate at panda express today, GTFOOMF
The fact that you think this exonerates you speaks volumes.  :nono:
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: Jeffy on July 07, 2010, 04:39:08 PM
Sounds like your main problem is drainage.  Make sure the ground slopes away from the house all the way around.  Keeping the water away from the foundation is your first step.  Once you've done that, then you can worry about crack-filling.

Do you happen to know how deep the static groundwater level is in your location?
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: ew2x4 on July 07, 2010, 04:43:50 PM
What kind of cracks are they? horizontal? Vertical? On the corner? near the center of the wall?

a couple <1/8" inch cracks horizontal, and near the center

How long are the cracks? If they're more than 3-4 feet, that could be bad. Horizontal means structural weakness in the wall itself. Are the walls still even and vertical? Do they bow at all?
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: Poster formerly known as jthutch on July 07, 2010, 05:24:10 PM
I might add my current basement is not a cinder block foundation it is concrete and is not structurally sound and that is why it has braces holding the wall up.  It has not moved in 30 years and we will replace the wall when we have the time and money but for now we have stopped the leaks, and did a semi finish job textured the wall and painted.

Nothing should be growing in our walls as I said they are not cinder block I guess I should have explained that in advance.  Also our cracks were about 30 feet long horizontal and 1/2" in areas but again no leaks and moisture free for now.  Like I said we have some work to do to fix the basement but the inspectors (3) the we had look at the house said it is structurally sound as long as the braces are in place.     
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: ew2x4 on July 07, 2010, 05:34:39 PM
I might add my current basement is not a cinder block foundation it is concrete and is not structurally sound and that is why it has braces holding the wall up.  It has not moved in 30 years and we will replace the wall when we have the time and money but for now we have stopped the leaks, and did a semi finish job textured the wall and painted.

Nothing should be growing in our walls as I said they are not cinder block I guess I should have explained that in advance.  Also our cracks were about 30 feet long horizontal and 1/2" in areas but again no leaks and moisture free for now.  Like I said we have some work to do to fix the basement but the inspectors (3) the we had look at the house said it is structurally sound as long as the braces are in place.     

Yeah, with concrete walls, you did the right thing. Patching and bracing is about all you can do.
Title: Re: Basement Repair
Post by: Dirty Sanchez on July 07, 2010, 06:28:13 PM
Not a basement but fairly similar...I live in an earth contact house where my back wall backs up to dirt.  Had a few cracks forming in the hallway and garage with some water getting in when it rained a decent amount.  Had some guys come over and the first day they put a patching over the cracks.  The next day they drilled holes in it and pumped a sealer in.  Haven't had any problems. I think it cost about $800 for 20' of crack.  The more feet of cracks there were the cheaper it was.  Now if there's wood or more severe structural damage, that's a whole different story.