Is this fixable? water in the basement (floor, foundation, springs)
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We have not had a flooded basement since after the 08 ice storm and Dh installed a battery powered backup sump pump. However, there is a very long crack in the floor, and the last couple of hard rains, water will seep up through that crack. It's not a lot of water, and it doesn't increase, so that must be the sump pump keeping things under control. I think the last time it happened, Dh mopped it up and that was that. Last night we had a lot of rain, and this morning I noticed a long puddle again.
Is this fixable? It can't be as simple as plastering cement over the crack, can it?
No you shouldn't plaster over the crack with just any cement. That fix wouldn't work well. You will probably have to suffer this event out and then use the method pauloman said, with a thin epoxy that will flow in the dry crack, and cure away from water. While he may know better of an epoxy that can deal in water directly. I have done this but with no water present.
Water has pooled under the cememnt floor, and if the crack is large enough you could have someone walk on the area and looking closely see the floor float!
Probably outside the walls the drainage isn't built right in the first place, to shed water away in general. The snow load where I am in 07 nearly 7 feet deep caused a water problem in the cellar here, as it ran off and melted in rains. Fixing that problem might be a more permanent fix, but it sure will cost more.
If the water seeping up from the floor crack is from the water table rising then your sump pump can't keep up with it or the pump may not be deep enough below the level of the basement floor.
When this is all over and the water level drops, check out how deep the sump hole is in your basement floor. If it is possible., you may have to dig the hole a little deeper but not more than a foot or so. Maybe a more efficient pump would work better too.
I had a flooded basement a while back because a Kleenex got sucked in and jammed the impellor! Check out the pump and see if is in good shape. Some pumps trigger on when the water reaches a depth like 18 inches in the sump. Look up the type on the internet and get the specifics.
I'm no expert in these things, however... when we first bought our current house, our basement flooded every time it rained (luckily, it's a very unfinished, dug-out kinda of basement). One time I went down there to check, it looked like springs bubbling out through cracks and holes in the cement stairs leading from the bulkhead down!
I got some sort of special cement repair that was meant to be used while wet, and mixed it up and packed it all in according to the directions. It's never leaked since, let alone bubbled like a bubbler! and that was nearly 30 years ago. I think I just asked at the hardware store for something to fill in that would keep the water out. sorry, I don't remember what it's called, but there was something and it has worked and it wasn't epoxy, it was some sort of cement looking mix.
You may be thinking of Hydraulic Cement. I had water pouring in around the hole where my water pipe entered the foundation. We mixed a small amount of this cement and pressed it into the space around the pipe while it was still actively spewing water. 5 minutes later it was sealed.
I suggest the Hydraulic Cement [not too expensive but might not work] until you can install adequate perimeter drains inside or outside of your foundation [expensive]. You could always leave the crack alone and be prepared to mop up a little water after extraordinary rain [low expense as you already have the mop and mopper].
I have a friend in Concord who told me she has the same problem. They fixed it 3 years ago with hydraulic cement. Interesting that it works when water is present! So we could try that first as a cheap fix. But Dh is talking about digging french drains outside the house. Yesterday he noticed that with all the erosion water was blocked up and collecting too close to the house. He dug a long trench and was able to divert the flow away from the house towards the sump pump output. Has anyone heard of having exterior french drains on the property just to divert rainflow?
Yesterday he noticed that with all the erosion water was blocked up and collecting too close to the house. He dug a long trench and was able to divert the flow away from the house towards the sump pump output. Has anyone heard of having exterior french drains on the property just to divert rainflow?
Yes...you can actually hide them under soil/grass as well. They won't work AS well as having open gravel of course...but they will definitely provide a place for water to percolate into more quickly and then be carried away elsewhere.
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