Basement taking on water (floor, roof, foundation, fireplace)

[JrzDefector]

So my basement has twice taken on water. The first time was pretty bad during weeks of torrential rains, and I had the carpeting ripped out to replace with tile. Today there was no rain, just some melting snow. Though the ground IS pretty damp from previous snows. There was no standing water outside the house where the leak occurred and all gutters and drain spouts were fully functional.

I'm assuming it's water that soaked into the ground. I'm wondering what my options are.

1) Do I have the concrete that is all around the house (the dude who owned it before me LOVED concrete) kind of re-sealed or do I tear it up entirely?

2) Do I have the basement sealed? Is that worthwhile? Average cost? And could I get it partially sealed, just in the area where it's had problems? It's just one corner of the basement, where the fireplace is. The rest of it is tight as a drum, even where there's standing water sometimes.

Any thoughts are appreciated! I live mostly in the basement, so it's really important to me to address this problem.

FWIW, I'm in the Denver area, where it is usually pretty dry, but prone to spurts of extreme precipitation.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by JrzDefector

...and all gutters and drain spouts were fully functional.

In addition to that...
do the downspouts have extensions well away from the house?
Is the ground well graded (away from the house)?

I'm wondering what my options are.
1) Do I...
2) Do I...

It's just one corner of the basement, where the fireplace is.
The rest of it is tight as a drum, even where there's standing water sometimes.

ding ding
Find a competent **non financially motivated** LOCAL to look that over.

[JrzDefector]

Originally Posted by MrRational

In addition to that...
do the downspouts have extensions well away from the house?
Is the ground well graded (away from the house)?


ding ding
Find a competent **non financially motivated** LOCAL to look that over.

Downspouts extend out about 4-5 feet and empty into a cement gutter that drains into the street.

So you think the chimney needs to be redone? Do I contact a mason?

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by JrzDefector

So you think the chimney needs to be redone?

No; but brick to structure/foundation joint(s) are a common problem.
Investigate how it all was done when built and the current condition.

[JrzDefector]

Ah. Ok. Thanks! I will look into it.

[BirdieBelle]

First you have to find the source of the water.

If it is groundwater, it's more difficult and expensive to solve.

If it's a leak, it's better news. In addition to Mr. R's advice, check flashing on the roof around the fireplace too.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life

First you have to find the source of the water.
If it is groundwater, it's more difficult and expensive to solve.

^^Even if you actually understand the work and have open access to the area...

[JrzDefector]

Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life

First you have to find the source of the water.

If it is groundwater, it's more difficult and expensive to solve.

If it's a leak, it's better news. In addition to Mr. R's advice, check flashing on the roof around the fireplace too.

Pretty sure it's groundwater. It's not coming down the wall - it seems to be coming in at the spot where the wall meets the floor in both the chimney and alongside it.

And I do have s sump pump. I may have to have the area reconfigured a little to get it to flow towards it more efficiently.

[BirdieBelle]

What is your lot like? (topography)

[animalcrazy]

Basements and water have been the bane of our existence with some rental properties. One in particular has foundation issues and cracks that form from time to time. There are companies out here that specialize in repairing these cracks with an epoxy that's injected into the crack. You need to find exactly where the crack is and that can be difficult if the basement is finished. There may also be more then one. We're about due for another one to open up and I'll be sweating the spring rains this year. I hope your problem is an easy fix.