I live in a high water table (but not flood zone) area in NE Mass. I have had water in my finished basement 3x in the 5 yrs I’ved lived here – half inch, couple of inches, and recently 8 inches (13 inch rainfall in 3 days). I want to waterproof – it’s my kids play area and critical to my sanity. I’m gutted down to the concrete so far.
No obvious cracks or voids in the foundation, no wall weepage. Surrounding neighborhood flat for 200-500 yards. No significant grade on lot (My downgrade away is basically flat, but not negative). But when the water table rises, it just comes up through the floor. I flood less than my neighbors… they got 3 feet to my 8 inches. Somehow I don’t feel terribly lucky.
Do I want to do just a sump, just a stack to relieve hydrostatic pressure, interior perimeter drains, epoxy sealants on walls and floor, all of the above, some combination of the above?? Money is an issue – it’s an entry level house (900 sq ft 1954 ranch) and I don’t have much. I can’t afford “best in class” – I need “best value”. I also need “DIFM” not “DIY” – I’m handy, but I’ve got too much on my plate to tackle this.
Advice desperately needed from people NOT trying to sell me things!
Thanks.
Replies
If you ask this at Breaktime you will probably get more responses. I think a sump pump is the answer, since the water is coming up from below the floor. I have a similar problem, but there are many other problems with my basement, so I have resisted doing anything. Perimiter drains are mostly for water pouring through the walls, or water getting into the cores of the concrete blocks and then draining out into your basement at the bottom of the walls. I don't think even epoxy will hold back water that's soming through from the other side, but I may be wrong. The hard part would be drying the concrete enough to get the epoxy to bond.
Are your gutters getting the rain water well away from the house ?? Make sure they're not clogged. Next time it rains hard, go outside with an umbrella and walk all around looking for problems.
In our former home our basement would get water coming through the floor and walls during heavy rains. Hubby tried painting the walls and floor, didn't work. He finally contacted a company that installs french drains and sump pumps. Using both systems stopped any water from seeping into the basement.
Hope this information helps. Good luck.