# Looking for some guidance for on waterproofing basement w/ pics



## Little (Jul 22, 2006)

I am getting closer to doing something to waterproof the EXTERIOR of my basement as spring approaches. I have only owned the home for 10 months. These are the conditions i currently have. 

My bottom few coarses of block are the ones that have what appears to be moldy and damp with white alkalinity dust on the upper coarses. As you will see in the pics, i also have two areas of where the block has pushed a bit, roughly a little more than quarter inch. I do have some gutter leader issues i have to address this wknd which i can see is causing more water intrusion in a few areas. 99% of the time, the block is just damp, no water pouring in, but after our big snow storm about a month ago, we had about 1" of rain a few days later that melted the 18" of snow and of course then the rain water, i actually had puddles in a few areas. My biggest concern is the pushing of the walls that has already caused the gaps in the block. I have a sump pump that discharges to the backyard far away from the foundation. What is the most economical way to approach this? I don't think i need to go with a complete membrane system as you will see in the pics. Lemme know what you think.


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## Little (Jul 22, 2006)

more pics


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## Little (Jul 22, 2006)

last pic


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## lukachuki (Feb 11, 2005)

Little said:


> I am getting closer to doing something to waterproof my basement as spring approaches. I have only owned the home for 10 months. These are the conditions i currently have.
> 
> My bottom few coarses of block are the ones that have what appears to be moldy and damp with white alkalinity dust on the upper coarses. As you will see in the pics, i also have two areas of where the block has pushed a bit, roughly a little more than quarter inch. I do have some gutter leader issues i have to address this wknd which i can see is causing more water intrusion in a few areas. 99% of the time, the block is just damp, no water pouring in, but after our big snow storm about a month ago, we had about 1" of rain a few days later that melted the 18" of snow and of course then the rain water, i actually had puddles in a few areas. My biggest concern is the pushing of the walls that has already caused the gaps in the block. I have a sump pump that discharges to the backyard far away from the foundation. What is the most economical way to approach this? I don't think i need to go with a complete membrane system as you will see in the pics. Lemme know what you think.


IMHO if you only seal it from the inside and don't go the full enchilada on the outside you are just arranging the chairs on the Titanic.


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## Little (Jul 22, 2006)

I def don't wanna seal on the inside, i think i forgot to mention my plans, hehe. I priced out a full membrane with the flat Z drain tile at the footer, but its gonna cost over $5k and that seems a little overboard for the amount of moisture i have. What about using just the asphalt tar stuff?? Or will this not alleviate my pushing problem? The product i priced was the Carlisle Miradri and miradrain system, which does away with using stone and the typical 4" perf footer drain.


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## dayexco (Mar 4, 2006)

i'm no engineer, but that wall is in motion now, isn't it? won't that continue pushing in, and down? house here in town, they augured an anchor thru wall to secure it, keep it from coming in more...and then they built a 2x6 treated wall on the inside...


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## IHI55j (Jan 16, 2009)

I did one like that two years ago dug down to footer coated wall with foundation coating and then non fibered tar.Backfilled all the way up with #57 washgravel (3/4 size) fixed it from moving. Had another one last year did the same but homeowner also braced inside with angle iron, put about a 8" piece on floor then welded a piece from that up the wall. Dont know this will work for you but just a thought


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## Little (Jul 22, 2006)

I plan on digging down to the footer around the perimeter of the house obviously when i go to waterproof in some way, I want to Jack the house from the basement and see if the wall goes back. A buddy of mine has done this with success twice before so its worth a shot. Then i was thinking maybe do exactly that with steel reinforcement inside.

Dayexco, I do know the previous owners kept having problems with some small flooding downstairs, and i think it was due to the leaders of the gutters not having extensions that dumped away from the house. In btw me and my neighbor i have no drainage really, its pretty much flat all the way from the front yard to the back. This is the side with the largest gap in the block in the pics. I don't know how long they had the new leaders on.


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## woodchuck2 (Feb 27, 2008)

I tackled a job 2 yrs ago very similar to yours, wish i had taken pics but i didnt. Owner was complaining of 3-4" of water coming in during the spring thaw through the blocks on the western wall. He had built the home himself 30yrs ago and this had been a problem since he built it. He poured the floor on top of crushed stone and the western end was on ledge, he then built the walls with concrete blocks as yours is and this is where the water was coming in. I dug up the foundation, tore out his drainage, pressure washed the foundation and let it dry. Next day i applied foundation sealant "tar" and let that dry for a couple days. The electric service and water line i re-caulked the hell out of before tarring. After the tar was dry i applied this rubberized membrane over the tar, man you better use at 3 guys to put this stuff on as it is a PITA. The membrane is 3' wide and i applied it horizontally starting at the footing and worked upward. The wall was about 36' wide with a chimney so it was a challenge. Each pass i overlapped by at least 6" too. When done i installed new drainage pipe, 12"-16" of #2 stone about 2'wide and laid fabric on top of that. I then back filled the foundation and graded away from the foundation for better water runoff. The customer hasnt had any water intrusion since, he has stated that the block doesnt even get damp or discolor anymore.

Something you could do if your wall goes back too is to block bond the foundation on both sides to waterproof it and add more stability. I have used it in the past and love it, but wear a mask when mixing. I have actually sealed block foundations that had water running through them using that stuff. Here is a link to the stuff i have used, we call it block bond around here. http://www.thenaturalhome.com/drystackblock.htm


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## DavidBuilderman (Feb 11, 2010)

Are their any down to earth books out there on the principles of cellar construction on the market. The cellar went out of fashion in the UK for quite some time but is seeing a resurgance of interest. Wouldnt the use of soak aways be worth employing in this case so that you have points lower than your basement floor which you then mole out to on a gradient, to draw away moisture?


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## Redneckpete (Feb 22, 2008)

Dig it, and jack the walls back into place. Install new perimeter drain then spray and wrap with air gap membrane. Then backfill with 3/4" clear stone.

No more leaks, and no more movement.

That said, I wouldn't warranty it for a customer that way. For a customer I would reinforce the wall every 10 feet with a steel/concrete filled reinforcement beam. Look to spend close to $125 a linear foot for the whole package.

Pete


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