Handling a Wet Basement? All the Help you Need to DIY

Do something with the water that goes into the basement before it destroyers everything and fills the room with mildew.

It’s better to control the entry of the water than to attempt to block its entry. Most of wet basement problems could be solved by controlling the roof water and the surface drainage.

This task is of a challenging difficulty.

The first thing that you have to do is to evaluate the water’s source.

You have to be vigilant about when the water enters, if it is an hour and so after a heavy rain, then you have to repair the controlling surface and the roof. If the problem occurs only after days of heavy rain, the problem is probably in a swelled aquifer.

If there is a leak even a few days after the rain stops this means that there is a high water table on the top of an aquifer, an uphill spring or a perched water table like a small underground pond.

The rising water table usually gets everywhere at once. The springs and the perched water are possible to enter along one wall.

The water may not be related to the weather or the seasonal changes in the water table, but it may stem from a broken water service. This could be tested by shutting off the house main and observe the meter at the street. You may also contact the local water utility for assistance. If there is an improper grade, correct it.

The thing you have to do is to scrape away the loamy topsoil, and after that to add soil or to rearrange the dirt as needed with the use of digging tools, an iron rake and a wheelbarrow.

The slope of the grade toward the foundation should be at least 1 inch per foot or 2.5 cm per 30 cm for a distance about 3 feet or 1 m minimum but it is better 10 feet or 3 m. you also have to leave 8 inches or 20 cm of foundation exposed under the siding and even more when it is snowy.

If for this procedure is needed a lot of work and transplanting, you should have a professional excavator and landscaper who will do the work. You have to plant grass near the foundation and locate planting beds 5 to 6 feet or 1.5 to 2m at a distance from the building.

You can also plant ground cover with a thick root system that draws water out of the soil instead of putting mulch that holds the water near the foundation. You have to clear the clogged foundation or the footing drains.

If there are clean-outs like access pipes that allow auguring, flushing and other cleaning tasks that are given, attempt to flush the system by you or by inserting a garden hose. You also have to consult a drain-cleaning professional, and seal foundation cracks and holes.

Next you have to excavate the area to access the crack or hole from the outside. It is better to use pressure water, scraper, steel brush, compressed air and other approaches and tools to clean the wall area around the leak very well.

It is good to use a brick or a pointing trowel to pack large voids with hydraulic cement that you can apply to a wet surface. After a few days, it will dry; you have to brush on the foundation coating and backfill.

If the problem is excessive roof water, then the possible cause may be faulty or missing gutters, downspouts empty next to the foundation.

A solution could be to install roof gutters if they are missing, to repair leaky or disconnected gutter, to level sagging gutters, to clean clogged gutters and downspouts, to add downspouts if clean gutters overflow, and to direct downspout water away from the house.

Another problem is connected with plumbing issues. One cause could be the broken water main, floor-drain or sewer connection, as well as clogged floor drain, sump discharge pipe drains too close to house.

In order to repair it, you can evaluate and excavate to make rapiers, have plumber evaluate any floor-drain or –sewer connections, install ball-type backwater valve in floor drain and allow the drainage to block backflow. You also should have drain service clear drain clogs, extend drainpipe for sump-pipe discharge.

Other problem is to have foundation issues. Causes may be faulty purging, missing cove at footing-and-wall junction, damaged or missing damp-proofing, cracked masonry block or concrete, clogged missing or improperly drained foundation-footing drain.

To solve the problem you have to do several things. Because excavation and exterior repairs are costly and they are advisable only after roof and surface water controls have failed, or for localized leaks like utility entrance.

It is good if a professional injects epoxy to repair holes and cracks after cementing larger voids. It also depends on the design and the access points, and some foundations could be even professionally cleaned. You can also have interior footing drains, sump pump to be installed.

Another problem could be connected with groundwater issues. A cause could be the high water table or spring. A solution is to install sump pump with baseboard-style rewatering system.

The last problem could be related to the poor drainage.

Causes for that is grade level or slopes toward the house, too porous soil adjacent to the foundation, animal holes near or under the foundation, setting next to foundation and under porches because of poor fill or back fill practices.

It also could be from a window settled below grade, leaves on window well floored, patio or driveway slopes toward the house, patio or driveway connection at foundation not flashed or caulked.

The solution could be to fill voids, animal holes near the foundation and under the porches. You can also regrade the ground slopes with 1 inch per foot for a distance of 10 feet from the house.

You also have to avoid planting next to the foundation or before ground has had time to settle for the new construction. You can also can soil for within 3 feet of foundation, provide drainage for window walls and exterior stairwells to downhill, and above-ground location.

You can extend window well and add tamped soil close to the foundation, install sump pump, and direct drain water to sump. You can enlarge the drywell to handle more water from the drains, clear clogs from window well and exterior stairwell drains; install plastic rain cover on window wall.

The last things you can do are to intersect hillsides uphill from house with swales to redirect water, recap patio or drive to correct improper slope or to seal patio or foundation joint with polyurethane caulk.

Some of the groundwater problems could be resolved with grading and drainage work, or to be controlled with a sump or pit pump. It is better to consult with professionals in order to evaluate the problem and design the solution.

It is really successful when you plug holes and fill cracks even in cases when there is a hydrostatic pressure on the wall.

The interior dewatering requires drilling holes in foundation walls and interior wall sealants that could at most get rid of the dampness and not the water.

Let’s look at the statistics – 1,000 sq foot roof will collect about 250 gallons of water in 1-inch rainfall. If there are 4 downspouts, it has to deal with 63 gallons for each location.

The things that you are going to need for this repair are: garden hose and nozzle, digging tolls, iron rake and wheelbarrow, hydraulic cement, fill and topsoil, brick or pointing trowel, grass or ground cover, pressure washer, scraper, steel brush, compressed air or other wall-cleaning tool, foundation coating, backfill and applicator or brush.