Ugh...water in my basement...a question

[vi5]

I have lived in my house for 3 years and had no water. Yet in the past week with 2 huge rain storms I have gotten some water on the floor in my basement. It's not much more than can be soaked up with just 2 towels, and luckily it's been limited to the unfinished portion of my basement. I'd still like it to stop though.

I can see where it is coming from. I have a chimney/flu type metal thing that is embedded in the foundation (it is poured concrete). For whatever reason the seam between the foundation and this metal thing has chipped away a little. It's a four sided square and every other side has a full barrier/connection of concrete, except this one portion. Also there is a very slight crack that is seeping a miniscule amount of water.

Can I patch both of these up with some sort of pre-mixed concrete patching thing? Again, it's not pouring in water, but it's enough that I don't want to just leave it as is.

[madmax]

1. Cheap is expensive

If you're a do-it-yourselfer and don't really know what your doing you should consider having a professional do it.

A friend kept putzing around with the foundation problem over a period of years and finally had to replace the entire wall. Big $$.

[htuttle]

2. It would be best to patch it on the outside

But if it's below ground level, and you don't feel like digging a trench, patching it inside is about all you can do. At least I can't think of any other option.

It really would be best to patch it on the outside, though, since you don't want water flowing into the insides of the concrete.

[RubyDuby in GA]

3. My parents have the same problem occasionally

After patching, get a very high quality sealer.

[SidDithers]

4. Houses are not boats...

they are not watertight. At least that's what my house inspector told me 6 years ago, the last time I bought.

He said the first good step to a dry basement is good water management outside the house. Proper grading and drainage; eavestroughs and downspouts in good conditions, and downspouts that extend a minimum of 10 ft from the house, even a weeping tile buried at the foot of the house to take water away from the foundation before it can seep through.

I agree with the poster above, patching on the inside is usually not the best solution.

Good Luck :)

Sid

[soothsayer]

5. and maybe you need a "french drain"---gravely drainage on the outside

of the house to keep the water from pooling up and leaking in.

[ismnotwasm]

6. new drain field

We had the same problem, if you're a worker, you can dig a new drain feild. I had the old tile drains around my house. I just had to replace them in the back of the house because of the way the house sits. Used perforated pipe with this cloth-type stuff over it-made for just such a purpose. We did dig big trenches, though. It was a lot of work, but since we did the digging ourselves, relatively cheap