I live in a house built in the 1920-30s and it needs some major work. I get pretty bad water leakage when it rains hard, the foundation has been totally replaced except the front wall, they replaced only the top half, the bottom half is the only original part of the entire foundation. It is made of rock and concrete up to about 5 feet, thats where the new foundation starts with cinderblocks.
The front of the house faces a medium size river that is about 100-150 yards away, there is 4 lane road between us and the river, it is dammed about 4 miles up the road so we never see any flooding, however we have seen an insane amount of rain.
My roommates mom owns the house and rents it to us, I'm not sure what they're doing with the house long term so I was wondering if there was anything I could do to re-enforce the wall and stop the leaks, it will be temporary.
Also another weird thing, the sump pump never runs, it works (I hooked it up direct) but the well is always dry. The rest of the basement is 100% dry, I guess we're in a boat.
How are your gutters and downspout extensions (10' minimum)? The grade of the house should direct surface water away. This usually handles rains.
Long term depends on the water level in the ground. Drain tiles around the foundation leading to a sump and pump will reduce the water around the foundation (and leakage). If you still have leakage and the pump is operational, your drain tiles may be ineffective - disturbed or plugged.
Hey, I saw Holmes on Homes tackle that very problem on T V last night. He said the only way to do it right is to dig down to below the top of the footer and put in the drain pipe with a cloth cover on it, fill back with at least 2' of 3/4" limestone, and do the things MudMixer said.
Glenn
leaky basement wall
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