# Strange Water Leak



## smit2018 (Aug 19, 2018)

I have a client who contacted me and described me about a strange leak he has been observing.Here are the some salient points about the leak he described:

1)The leak is from the foundation wall outside his boiler room(adjacent to the laundry room and below kitchen) almost below the sliding outside of his home where the floor meets the wall.He also indicated the leak is not seen everyday,puddles of water show up outside his home twice or thrice a week,the magnitude of water is not constant sometimes there is lot more water outside along with water inside boiler room as well as on the concrete inside his garage where the wall meets the floor.The boiler room has furnace and water heaters and the home has a centralized ac.


2)I made followig preliminary checks:

(i)I turned on all the water faucets to see if any water starts seeping out but haven't noticed any

(ii)checked the ceilings and walls in both laundry room and boiler room with a moisture meter and haven't noticed major wetness.

(iii)However at the base well before where the floor meets the wall there is dampness as well as mold started forming.

(iv)I checked the water meter to see if there are any hidden leaks while I turned off all the water faucets but haven't noticed anything odd.

I speculated and indicated to my client that the issue could be due to rain water intrusion but he did not seem convinced since he indicated he observed water puddles even on a bright sunny day

Are there any other checks I can make that would conclusively prove the source of water so that my client can get in touch with other professionals such as basement waterproofing company.Appreciate inputs from gurus.


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## Frank Castle (Dec 27, 2011)

Check the laundry drain?


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## smit2018 (Aug 19, 2018)

I turned on the washer and drained no water was visible.Also the client indicated no water is visible outside the foundation wall when he uses laundry however he indicated gurgling sound in the laundry room


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## P42003 (Jun 15, 2016)

Did you check the outdoor waterhose spickets to make sure none are split along the shaft and leaking when turned on.

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## MarkJames (Nov 25, 2012)

My neighborhood had underground springs percolating all over the place. Maybe that's the culprit. If served by municipal water, collect some water and have it tested for the presence of chlorine or chloramine, depending on what they use. Negative result could mean spring or ground water, even on dry days.


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## Caleb1989 (May 26, 2018)

Have you considered A/C condensation? That might explain puddles on hot sunny days

I’ve seen a leaky condensate drain pipe do lots of water damage. 

-Caleb

John 3:16


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## smit2018 (Aug 19, 2018)

Thank you for all your valuable inputs.
@caleb can ac drain pipe leak from under ground outside foundation wall.The leak is happening near the furnace and the HVAC units are far behind the home.Also when the boiler room has puddles of water there is no water trail from the furnace.
The leak inside the garage is still mysterious

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## rescraft (Nov 28, 2007)

Errant sprinkler(s)?


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## Caleb1989 (May 26, 2018)

I second the idea of testing the water to see if it’s fresh, whereabout is this? 
If you have checked all the obvious things like the hot water heater/pop off valve etc try listening for leaks 

Pictures?


-Caleb

John 3:16


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## smit2018 (Aug 19, 2018)

@caleb attached some pics hope it gives any other insights

Thanks


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## P42003 (Jun 15, 2016)

Your first picture seems to show water draining from behind the siding near inline with the outside water spicket. You could put a cap on it or a shut valve, and turn the handle on, see if it starts leaking again behind the vinyl.

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## smit2018 (Aug 19, 2018)

P42003 said:


> Your first picture seems to show water draining from behind the siding near inline with the outside water spicket. You could put a cap on it or a shut valve, and turn the handle on, see if it starts leaking again behind the vinyl.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


I too thought so but felt that theory would be true if that area was always wet and that doesn't seem to be the case since that area tends to be dry for few days besides I used a moisture meter inside of the dry wall to see if its wet (geographically right behind the spicket) besides such a leak should always be associated with a moving water meter.Nevertheless I will take a closer look again.


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## P42003 (Jun 15, 2016)

What was the verdict on this?

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## smit2018 (Aug 19, 2018)

I went to the site again but it was all dry .Customer indicated he is not seeing any pattern in regards to the intermittent water leak.I am having challenges figuring out this mysterious water trail,wish i knew how to best use infrared camera in this situation.

Last time it leaked in both garage as well as near the foundation wall adjacent to the boiler room which are at least 10 meters apart,I am not sure if they are even related recently he started noticing d95 error on his gas dryer(i.e the dryer is 95% clogged either in the air exhaust hose, wall ducts, or the vent) I am not too sure if this can somehow trigger a water leak.

Based on the discussion in this forum I am speculating one of these two things.

1)Rain water due to hydrostatic pressure (but leak was observed even when there was no rain).What is the best way testing the water to see if it’s fresh or drain water?

2)condensate line or condenser line(not sure which one I guess they are two different things) perhaps that drain line which terminates into a floor drain is leaking?although there is no sight of any pipes outside near the foundation wall I am attaching a picture near furnace that seem like a drain line hope its gives someone any other insights.


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## P42003 (Jun 15, 2016)

There's no catch pan under the AC unit and if it is low on charge it could freeze up, then when it thaws off the A-coil some of it will invariably miss the internal pan and drip inside the bottom of the unit. Depending on how the floor is pitched it might not be obvious, and it might not always freeze up. The condensate line might also be semi-plugged causing it to flood.

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## smit2018 (Aug 19, 2018)

P42003 said:


> There's no catch pan under the AC unit and if it is low on charge it could freeze up, then when it thaws off the A-coil some of it will invariably miss the internal pan and drip inside the bottom of the unit. Depending on how the floor is pitched it might not be obvious, and it might not always freeze up. The condensate line might also be semi-plugged causing it to flood.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


Thanks @P42003.
by AC unit do you mean the Concord Furnace in picture?
is catch pan mandatory?I thought all the water gets channeled into the funnel in picture.Is it very likeli the furnace is the cause of water leak?
how big a problem is this and who would be the right technician to consult so they can diagnose and fix the problem?does this problem occur only in summer?sorry too many questions hvac system, furnace 
are too enigmatic to me would love to read some interesting content on this.


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## P42003 (Jun 15, 2016)

Yes, I thought, not sure, that maybe your Concord unit is a combination heat/AC unit, but I'm just guessing. If it also provides AC then it will have a copper refrigerant line coming into it and a condensor outside near the ground or on the roof. I have a "combo" unit and it froze up the other day, and the ice was on the A-coil in the unit. As it would melt some of it would catch in the internal pan, which was semi-clogged, and run in to the floor drain, and some of it would miss and drip down in to a catch pan under my unit (yours doesn't have such).

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## Frank Castle (Dec 27, 2011)

I'm not an HVAC guy. But fix the drain lines in the red circle, and my guess is your problem may disappear.


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## Adamthebuilder (Apr 14, 2016)

This may be a long shot, but you mentioned something about the dryer? 

In one of the rental units I manage, the tenant complained that it took forever for the dryer to dry clothes. I discovered a birds nest just inside the vent. I cleaned out the nest and still not air flow. I pulled the unit back from the wall, it was a one piece washer dryer unit, and found the vent duct was filled with water. The moisture from the wet clothes was collected in the loop of the vent.


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## smit2018 (Aug 19, 2018)

Thank you very much for all your feedback we can at least pigeon hole one area and see if there is an issue there.On a side note my client shared some interesting pictures today,the presence of an old package of 'poly blend sanded grout' inside the corner of boiler room,as well as what seems to be like a 'previously done patch work on the wall for some reason' perhaps quick and dirty work to fix something.
To give little more background my client recently bought the home and moved in about 8 months ago and experienced water seepage in basement on at least couple of occasions perhaps due to sewage backup due to heavy rains and indicated seller may have known about these problems but ignored to disclose.I am not too sure about the patch work on the wall but seriously doubt anyone would use 'poly blend sanded grout' as a waterproof or water sealing agent,anyone here has any thoughts on these?once again greatly appreciate for taking time for answering all my questions.have a great weekend ahead everyone!


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## P42003 (Jun 15, 2016)

Grout was probably just leftover from the tile job. Also, if you zoom in, between the box of grout and the air unit, the floor is dirty, like from water residue coming out of the unit. 

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