Help me diagnose leak at entry door in garage (w/ photos)
TrippKnightly
| Posted in General Discussion on
Hi-
Title says it all.
I have many photos but will start w/ just a few. First photo is from inside, last 2 are from outside. New owner of home. Recent rains reveal a leak at (underneath) the sill of my side entry door of my garage. Here are my observations:
- Garage is perhaps 2″ below exterior grade @ entry door.
- Exterior grade is concrete sidewalk, w/ pitch
- Leak was occurring even though the sidewalk itself is dry (see photos).
- Leak began about 20 minutes after a decent rain began. It has repeated in subsequent rains.
- Leak appears to enter at the lower left and right corners of the sill.
- Entry stoop / sill appears to be added after original foundation.
- Note exterior sidewalk is bone dry within 1.5 feet of door due to overhang.
- House originally built in 1960, northern california.
- No leaks found so far anywhere else of any kind.
My theory: the new doorway was cut into the foundation w/o adequate waterproofing done on the exterior of the stoop. Leak is permeating directly there, less likely because of water traveling underneath the slab and finding a weak spot above slab at stoop (since water doesn’t flow uphill).
Replies
Tripp
In the Alley from Rear2-the arcing crack that goes right up to the left (from outside) corner of the door would be what I would suspect as introducing water into that door area.
Ground water under the slab outside could also be the source.
Besides fall away from garage in the slab, is there slope from back to front in the second group of photo's?
I think the crack in the sidewalk is allowing water to get in the garage. It is going to be hard to fix with the garage floor under grade. If you grind the crack out and fill it with an elastomeric filler, and apply waterproofing to the concrete you may be able to stop the water flow, at least most of the time. There may also be other points where water is getting in along the joint of the sidewalk and wall.
Mark
Whenever I see an arc crack like the one in the picture of the exterior I think of cistern.
If yo think the crack is the entrypt..............
You could blow it out, clean it out and generally make it accept Urethane caulk or self-leveling urethane filler.
The self leveling is great, but if there is no bottom to the crack or no damn at the ends, or even if too much fall from level, it'll never fill.
You can get backer-rod of the right diameter and pack that down in the crack maybe an inch or so. Use the self-leveling Urethane in the caulk tube to fill it up-it will seek every nook and cranny and seal them. That's the best.
or
Use Urethane caulk and again, first backer-rod if the crack is 3/8's" wide or more, not needed if less than that. Clean it up good b/4 hand. Shoot it down in there good and tool the joint-you can broadcast sand or even powdery mortar if you don't want leaves sticking to it while it cures.
If it's coming in the crack, then you should be keeping water out of the crack and the problem is solved.
Best of luck.
Forgot to mention that I should & will probably do some basic testing with a hose. Will do it small sections. For example if I saturate the crack, what happens, or if I simulate run off from the downspout to the sidewalk what happens. May not get to it for a few days, but maybe sooner, will reply back.
"Garage is perhaps 2" below
"Garage is perhaps 2" below exterior grade @ entry door."
There's your problem right there. It is not a submarine door. It's a garage door
Paul
There is not the problem.
A basement is below grade, many exterior entry basement doors are below grade-way below grade.
no?
Yup, and many of them leak.
For crying out loud.
Why the pessimism.
jeezus, do it right, correct the problem. All is not impossible.
Just saying that this degree of leak would be "normal" for a 1960s house. It can be fixed, of course (by tearing up the concrete slab and waterproofing the wall), but what about the six other leaks in the garage?
Yes
But it may be fixed with less extreme means. I've done several foundation to sidewalk leak remediation when there is fall away from the house. Why the arc'd separation couldn't be leak stopped away from the foundation I don't know-I think it can.
As far as the other 6 places, didn't read about them, so beats the shit outta me.
If you seal the crack you'd probably slow down the leak slightly, but I doubt if you'd stop it.
Well, go ahead and not believe it.
fine with me.
Ideally you'd eliminate the water entry point and waterproof the whole shebang, spending thousands.
Remember, it's a garage. You spend 20-30 dollars on stopping the entry point IF it's that crack outside. You don't just caulk the damn at the doorway.
Which would you try first?
Tripp
I understand and send you the best of luck on this venture.
Finding or narrowing down sources of water entry into a dwelling is not easy, often not successful and the repairs seldom long lasting.
But,
they can be slowed and often eliminated.
A little work and a whole lot of luck, you could be the man (or woman, as the case may be.