Replies

1. 
   hammer1 | Jun 15, 2006 03:37pm | #1

   It's hard to know what your existing conditions are. In 1954, they were using clay tile for the perimeter drains, if there are any. Do you currently have a sump pump hole?

   In the best scenario, you would have perimeter drains on both the outside and inside of the foundation. These will drain by gravity to a lower spot. If the water rises above this lower area, it will back up into your basement. When a gravity drain can't work by gravity, you often use a pump. The same is true if there is not the possibility of having a lower area to drain to.

   We have had a lot of rain this spring and the ground is saturated. The water table can be higher than where your outlet drains. This is particularly true where the positive/gravity drains are close to the surface and don't have a significantly lower place to drain. These same conditions can cause water in the basement because the drains freeze. Fairly common to have a wet basement in the early spring before the ground has thawed out.

   If you experience problems at thaw out and during high rains, it may be that the drain has no where to go. A sump pump would be able to move the water which can't flow naturally. If you have a full foundation that is backfilled all the way around, you will have to cut in a sump pump hole, in a corner, through the slab. If you have a daylight basement, you may have a spot outside where you could dig down below the slab. With current New England conditions, you are likely to find water standing at the slab level. The only difficult part of installing a pump is having a place for the hose to exit the house and dump the water and providing power to the pump.

   There are companies that specialize in waterproofing basements. Some cut the slab around the perimeter of the basement and install interior drain tile. The cut is then covered with a vinyl piece. These drains lead to a sump pump. I'd try just cutting in a pump hole and look to see if interior drains are present. A pump may be all that is needed during exceptional times. If the pump alone solves the problem. it will save you from doing more expensive work.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

2. 
   sungod | Jun 15, 2006 05:56pm | #2

   The 1st thing I would do is to install a sump. The location of the sump would be next to the exterior wall where most of the moisture comes in. The sump pit would be a couple of feet deep. If the sump may not give you fill relief from moisture, so the next thing to do is cover the whole floor with visqueen (builders plastic). Install two or more layers depending if the floor is rough enough to make holes in it. The only hole will be where the sump is. Run the plastic up the walls as far as the moisture is.
   The finish floor can be pergo/laminate with foam padding underneath or 1" of concrete.
   Another option is to stucco the walls and tile the floor, these are exterior materials and moisture will not bother them

3. 
   BossHog | Jun 15, 2006 06:27pm | #3

   It could be that simply taking your downspout water a long distance away from the house will help. Ten feet is generally considered the minimum. If your lot is flat you may want to go farther.

   Next on my list would be to do some exterior grading to get ground water away from the house. But people tend to be reluctant to do that, since it messes up existing landscaping.

   Exterior perimiter drains would be my next choice. Get the water before it gets down to basement level. That would also allow some damp-proofing of the basement walls (on the outside) and regrading of the ground. But again, no one wants their landscaping messed up.

   Putting in a sump pit under the slab may or may not help. Depends on if there's gravel under the slab so the water can move to the sump pit. It's fairly cheap to try, so it may not be a bad idea.

   Cutting the slab and putting in drain tile would speed water to a sump pit. But that's expensive and makes a heck of a mess.

   With a sump pump inside, you have to make sure you get the water away from the house. Like out to the street or to a storm sewer. If you just pump it out to the yard you really haven't gained anything, as it will just soak back into the ground and recirculate.

   All the interior wall coatings and such do very little, IMHO. If the water is still out there, and there's ONE crack, it's still gonna come inside.

   Good luk with it...

   History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it. [Winston Churchill]
4. 
   SamT | Jun 15, 2006 07:19pm | #4

   Best case repair = $20K - $30K !!!

   OK, that's out.

   A possibly workable scenario, with the cash outlay spread over several seasons;

   You must have a sump with a pump. If there is already a sump put a pump in and pump as far away as you can. If not, then, if your basement floor is level, place it next to an exterior wall. If there is a floor drain, that means the floor is sloped to the drain and you will have to replace the drain with a sump and move the drain to the side wall of the sump pit. Bet you don't have a drain. Cost $500 -$2000.

   If you're lucky you'll find 6" or more of gravel under the floor and you're done. You must have a drain plane from the entire perimeter to the sump pit.

   If you don't have the gravel there are two options;

   1) Cut a channel around the perimeter and lay in drain pipe and gravel to the sump.

   2) Build a false floor an inch or so above the existing.

   The false floor can be PT 2x3' and marine grade 3/4" plywood.

    

   SamT
5. 
   Snowmon | Jun 15, 2006 07:30pm | #5

   It's all about the ground surge, and this spring in New Eng you are obviously not alone.

   This is what I would do;

   First, dig the sump pit and install pump.  You know you need this no matter what.

   On the next ground surge (next week, probably), see what happens.

   If there is enough subslab drainage, there will be no bulk water on top of the slab.

   If not, bust into the slab and add drainage to the pit.

   Once resolved, you will still want to isolate the moist slab (concrete is like a sponge) from the finish floor.  Dri-core is one way.  There are others.