Small water puddle in basement after big thaw

3/22/2013 at 4:38:09 PM

I dont think being close to a lake is the problem and there is no such thing as a minor hydrolic problem. The whole function of your foundation is to support your home, create a livable space as a basement and to keep the outside.........OUT. This means earth and WATER.

Your builder should be able to either offer a solution, or be able to fix the problem or refer you to someone that can fix the problem.

Now because this falls out of his warranty period you will likely have to pay for this repair. But you should get this fixed as sooon as the frost gets out of the ground.

Good Luck

3/22/2013 at 7:39:06 PM

Gord's comment was dead on.

You should not have any water entering through your foundation. the fact that it is entering under the foundation and over the footing is troublesome to me.

The whole area should be excavated to the base of the footing. And sealer should be applied liberaly to the whole area. At least fifteen feet in either direction and right to ground level.

The weeper should be inspected, and if need be replaced in that area as well. There should be at least six to eight inches of 3/4" cut clear stone below the level of the weeper along its entire run.

Sadly you are going to be out of pocket for this unless your builder is still active in the area, and steps up to the plate.

Hope it works out for you.

3/22/2013 at 7:54:29 PM

Once water is entered your home from the basement walls there will always be a problem.

Time to dig.

Thanks.

Mark

3/22/2013 at 10:38:37 PM

Hi John,

The other guys have nailed it - you need to address the problem at the source - outside your house. Check the grading - in 6 years it may have settled around the house and caused a depression for the water to run into and down the foundation. If that is all it is you are really lucky. I think Gord and James have it right - excavate and water proof the exterior, check and fix the weeping system and sump system, and document everything so you can go after the builder. Even though you are outside the warranty period, he may offer something partial if you make enough noise. If this is a subdivision, ask around - if others are having the same problems, there was a bad sub contractor on site.

He has basically given you a useless basement and it could actually cause pretty major problems if it creates enough humidity in exposed wood or drywall. You could certainly never finish it until the water issues are dealt with.

Good Luck with it!

Jim Kuzma

Kettleby Handyman Services

3/23/2013 at 11:07:33 AM

There can be number of reasons why u might have a puddle on your basement floor. One could be the house may have settled and might have created a stress crack on your concrete wall and might have broken the seals during settlement. The other reason maybe the sump may be too far from your draining system and due to lots of snow and rapid melt down might be too much for your draining system. Your sump might not be deep enough.

My advice to you is to have the area where your water is collecting. Dig on the out side of that area along the foundation wall about 6ft long and about 2ft deep and keep going down one foot at a time and see if you can see any stress cracks and if u do it is a easy fix. Not costly just labour tense.

Do not let anyone convince you need to dig all around because if the water is in one corner so that is the focus point of your problem. I am almost 100% sure it is crack or the contractor did not use proper water damp proofing material.

Your fix should not be more then 1500.00 if u are hiring a contractor. Or tackle it your self tools are shovel, bushing hammer or small jack hammer, blue seal concrete bond which must have adhesive which will bond the crack and seal at the same time. Use use use blue seal coating. Its accepted by code.

Steve Chandra.

Make sure bonding has flex type bonding.

3/23/2013 at 11:09:45 AM

I am a contractor in alberta and I do foundation repairs. One of the big things that you may have is a cracked foundation. I repair these all the time and you do not have to dig up your yard to repair it, I use an injection system that seals the crack and stops the water from entering your home this is done from the inside and is much less expensive then digging the outside.

What you should look for on the out side is any sign of cracking in the parging and if you see any there is a 9 out of 10 chance that your foundation is cracked and when the thaw comes the water enters. When the summer rains come you will continue to have the leak if it is not dealt with now.

See the attached photo for an example.