Water in Basement (Mason: renting, townhouse, tile)

[JenSkim]

All,

I couldn't possibly the only one whose basement floods. I'm looking for recommendations on how you dealt with water in your basement. Anything from do-it-yourself treatment to hiring companies to help. I've gotten quotes from landscapers for a french drain ($2000), and also from USS for underground water drainage system ($5000).

Are there any other solutions out there?

[BirdieBelle]

Honestly, I'm surprised USS's quote was that low.

We need more specifics on your lot, the age and layout of the house, etc.

[DonCorleone]

My home inspector once told me there are 2 types of homes in Middle TN, ones with water in the crawlspace or basement, and ones that didn't have water in them the day you checked.

I've had friends with long term basement issues who've gone the french drain route, others who've tried to solve it through re-grading the lot, and others who had to use a professional service like USS. I think you're on the right track, but as Wmsn said we probably need more info.

[JenSkim]

Hi... and thanks for the quick reply.

The house was originally built in 1958. The front faces a very slight slope upwards, the basement is a drive-in garage type that is on the back of the house. The front of the house is fully submerged in the soil, with stairs on the side the lead down to the garage area.

I've been in there for 6 months and during that time have noticed water in the basement three times. Twice the water was sort of smallish pools in the area toward the front of the house. Once, when it really rained for days, i came down one morning to find an inch of water sitting in the garage. It quickly ran out when I opened the garage door.

The USS guy says that the wall facing the front was probably originally covered with tar that has eroded over the years. He proposed two options: one, to excavate in the front down to the footings, put in drainage pipes, filling in with gravel against the wall, and cover with a foot of soil. Two, to go into the basement, remove concrete floor near the wall, dig down, make weep holes in the cinderblock, place drainage pipe, and relay the concrete on top of all this.

The landscaper recommended a 1-1/2 foot deep french drain, and building a berm against the front wall at ground level. The berm would move water away from the wall and into the drain. The drainage would join other underground drainage and safely divert the water away.

[BirdieBelle]

I like the sounds of the landscaper's idea, only because my experience with USS is that they are experts in overkill.

If you look at your lot in terms of the topography of your street, it is easy to see that the slight slope is leading water right to your house, and with the basement level being below grade, you will have water in there.

Since there is a layer of limestone beneath the topsoil here, water runoff is a big issue. Honestly, everyone I know with a below-grade space has had water encroachment. I would start with the landscaper's option, then follow with some DIY indoor treatment like this: STEP-BY-STEP - DRYLOK Masonry Waterproofer. I have no experience with this product, but it may be a back-up.

[Rids78]

Do they do weeping tile down here in Tennessee? I've noticed that the townhouse we're renting doesn't have any around it but we're fairly elevated. I had to check out this thread simply for the use of the word "basement" which I really miss from up north.

[JenSkim]

THANKS! i have already started with a portion of the wall using DryLok.

I'm relieved to get some confirmation here - thanks again.

[JenSkim]

Weeping tile.... hm.. have not heard of it, but I will check it out!

[septimus]

Check your down spouts.

My old house was on Ask This Old House. I had a wet basement. Roger came out and his crew removed a bunch of dirt from the side of the house and then buried the downspout on the corner of the house that had a wet basement to drain into the street.

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by septimus

Check your down spouts.

My old house was on Ask This Old House. I had a wet basement. Roger came out and his crew removed a bunch of dirt from the side of the house and then buried the downspout on the corner of the house that had a wet basement to drain into the street.

This is a very important point.

Make sure the house itself isn't working against you by draining rainwater straight down to your foundation.

If your front yard slopes upward, you can't really go toward the street. Get some of those black corrugated plastic tubes and redirect the water WAY out into the backyard.