Basement waterproofing

cfd1984 · Nov 3, 2018

I have standing water on basement floor every time it rains. one room can get ankle deep while the other rooms just have noticeable moister on the floor. My plan is to cut the concrete floor 18" away from the wall all the way around my basement, dig a trench and install 4" perforated pipe next to the footer, drill weep holes in all the blocks and joints, fill trench with gravel, install the miradrain, and pour the concrete back. I have approximately 160' of trenching to do and plan on installing 2 sump pits on opposite corners of the house. Does this sound correct? How I see it in my mind is the 4" pipe will connect into one pit, make a long run around the perimeter of the house and connect into the 2nd sump pit? I have never done this before, but was quoted $19K for a BS system that sits onto of the footer. I think I can do this myself for $2500 and my time.

Thanks

nealtw · Nov 3, 2018

cfd1984 said:
I have standing water on basement floor every time it rains. one room can get ankle deep while the other rooms just have noticeable moister on the floor. My plan is to cut the concrete floor 18" away from the wall all the way around my basement, dig a trench and install 4" perforated pipe next to the footer, drill weep holes in all the blocks and joints, fill trench with gravel, install the miradrain, and pour the concrete back. I have approximately 160' of trenching to do and plan on installing 2 sump pits on opposite corners of the house. Does this sound correct? How I see it in my mind is the 4" pipe will connect into one pit, make a long run around the perimeter of the house and connect into the 2nd sump pit? I have never done this before, but was quoted $19K for a BS system that sits onto of the footer. I think I can do this myself for $2500 and my time.

Thanks

You have the right idea don't drill the joints just the block, the block above will always be damp so that should be covered with a path for water to get to the drain.

cfd1984 · Nov 3, 2018

nice! what type of pipe did you use? most seem to say use the black abs pipe, but it seems like the green perforated pvc pipe would be stronger and easier to get the proper pitch.

nealtw · Nov 3, 2018

cfd1984 said:
nice! what type of pipe did you use? most seem to say use the black abs pipe, but it seems like the green perforated pvc pipe would be stronger and easier to get the proper pitch.

That's not my house I just borrowed the picture, The cheap pipe that comes in a roll is good enough, it's strong enough if you don't walk on it and it goes around corners,. If it is a sealed system you don't have to worry about slope, water can find it's way thru the gravel, the pipe is just a hole in the gravel. When you dig for the sump, go a little big cover the surrounding dirt in fabric and back fill the sump with gravel and drill some small holes in the sump. So 40 years from now and the pipe is plugged water can take the gravel route for any 15 years.

cfd1984 · Nov 3, 2018

Thanks so much! I think I'm going to dig the first pit in the room that is most affected and get the pump installed to see if just a sump pump/pit alone will help my situation. Worst case if I need to install the perimeter system maybe the pit will make the job less of a mess, as some of the water should migrate to the pit.

nealtw · Nov 4, 2018

cfd1984 said:
Thanks so much! I think I'm going to dig the first pit in the room that is most affected and get the pump installed to see if just a sump pump/pit alone will help my situation. Worst case if I need to install the perimeter system maybe the pit will make the job less of a mess, as some of the water should migrate to the pit.

Two videos, one is set op for a sealed system with the pipe outside and the other covered the wall with plastic.

cfd1984 · Nov 4, 2018

Thanks, I was going to use the mira drain product that covers the top of the footer and 90's up the wall. Concrete will be finished over that. I wanted to cut corners and save myself some work by just doing part of the basement, but after watching the first video It would be smart to run the whole perimeter. I have peeling paint, discolored walls and all the cracks in the floor get damp. Thanks for your help .

joecaption · Nov 4, 2018

And why no mention of why there's water there in the first place?
Whenever possible it's best to address this issue from the outside and prevent it from getting in the wall instead of trying to deal with it once the damage is done.
Working gutters with long enough downspouts to get the water out away from the foundation.
No wood mulch against the foundation holding in moisture.
No flower bed borders forming ponds.
Outside of foundation sealed and any cracks or voids repaired.

68bucks · Nov 4, 2018

In our first house we had similar problems. I dug around the foundation from the outside and put in a perimeter tile. I cut a hole in the floor inside and installed a plastic sump crock and routed the perimeter tile under the footer and into the crock. I drilled a hole in the basement wall and ran the pump line out through that and out into the yard about 30' from the house and just made a french drain there. It would have been a lot more work doing the inside method like you are considering. My basement floors were 6"+ thick and it was hard enough to get the sump cut in. I can't imagine having to do 160' of cutting and breaking out concrete.

nealtw · Nov 4, 2018

68bucks said:
In our first house we had similar problems. I dug around the foundation from the outside and put in a perimeter tile. I cut a hole in the floor inside and installed a plastic sump crock and routed the perimeter tile under the footer and into the crock. I drilled a hole in the basement wall and ran the pump line out through that and out into the yard about 30' from the house and just made a french drain there. It would have been a lot more work doing the inside method like you are considering. My basement floors were 6"+ thick and it was hard enough to get the sump cut in. I can't imagine having to do 160' of cutting and breaking out concrete.

Outside is the best but sometimes with depth and distance to property line can be difficult as well driveways, patios and porches.

cfd1984 · Nov 4, 2018

I would assume a high water table. When i was roughing in the basment plumbing i had an area opened up about 4’ wide by 20’ long and as soon as I would pump the water out it was full again. I have 4 downspouts on my house and three of them are tied in and run to the street. The othere is off the back porch and drains straight into a flower bed, but its 10’ away from the foundation. Here are some pictures of what i am dealing with. First and second picture is my neighbors yard sloping right into my house, but that side of the basement does not get standing water, just some dampness where the block meets the floor. 3rd pic is my backyard and to the right of the porch/patio is where i get standing water in the basement.

nealtw · Nov 4, 2018

Here is you biggest problem , where is the bottom of the wood inside in relation to the dirt level out side.

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nealtw · Nov 4, 2018

Damp proofing stops at 8" below the top of the foundation and that is the top of the soil.

cfd1984 · Nov 4, 2018

im assuming you are asking about the sill plate that sits ontop of the concrete block?? If you zoom in on the pic the wood sits just above that glass block window. I would say at least 8” below the top of the window well

nealtw · Nov 4, 2018

cfd1984 said:
im assuming you are asking about the sill plate that sits ontop of the concrete block?? If you zoom in on the pic the wood sits just above that glass block window. I would say at least 8” below the top of the window well

You need to come up with a plan to lower the level of the dirt 18 to 24 inches, before you do anything else . Besides the ground water that is working thru the block the stucco has a drain plain behind it and any water stuck in there will be soaking the sheeting and the sill plate and the rim joist.

cfd1984 · Nov 4, 2018

What do people do in these situations? How am i going to lower that? I still don’t understand how the water issue isn’t that bad in that room but the room on the opposite side of the house gets standing water in ot.

nealtw · Nov 4, 2018

cfd1984 said:
What do people do in these situations? How am i going to lower that? I still don’t understand how the water issue isn’t that bad in that room but the room on the opposite side of the house gets standing water in ot.

This might be a separate issue but it a big issue just the same. Some where between your house and your property line you build some kind of wall with drainage behind it.

How high is the dirt at the problem area.

cfd1984 · Nov 4, 2018

What a nightmare. The problem areas grading is a flower bed and it’s definitely not as high as the other side. I have no clue why the water is so high in that room. I think im going to tackle this interior drain over the next couple weeks, then move outside and do some hardscaping between my house and he neighbors

nealtw · Nov 4, 2018

cfd1984 said:
What a nightmare. The problem areas grading is a flower bed and it’s definitely not as high as the other side. I have no clue why the water is so high in that room. I think im going to tackle this interior drain over the next couple weeks, then move outside and do some hardscaping between my house and he neighbors

Check all around for the black damp proofing. the dirt should not be much above that, if any above. Where you have paint peeling, is that near the high soil level.
You may want to drill a few holes in the bottom of that wall to see if it is full of water. keep a wood plug handy.

cfd1984 · Nov 4, 2018

So here i have an interior block wall running perpendicular into the exterior block wall. The exterior wall keeps running to the right into another room. How does the black pipe get into the next room over? Do you need to core drill through the footer on the interior wall and feed the pipe through? Im assuming the black drain pipe does not need to be placed next to the interior walls???

Basement waterproofing

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