Water coming up through cracks in basement

[Eckie]

#5

My parents just completed the drain tiling last fall after dealing with high water tables/basement flooding all of last year. At one point, they were running 5 pumps and you could "see" the water table through the cement walls.

They contacted a firm out of Fargo that came in and drain-tiled the inside of the basement for them (parents are in early 70's without a size 8 neck ). It wasn't the cheapest project they've ever done, but it fixed the problem. Took the 3 man crew 3 days.

[Hookmaster]

The house about 46 years old. Soil type is unknown past the black dirt on top. When I had my deck redone with deeper footings they hit water the last 6-8 inches. This was done mid to late summer. If I dug a hole now I would have to go very far to hit water. There is standing water in the yard now but nothing coming up through the cracks.

[Tom7227]

Hook - If you hit water at the bottom of the deck post holes doesn't that mean that the water table is close to your basement floor? You can't dig down more than 5-6 feet with a post hole digger - I don't think you can any way. The standing water in the back yard isn't a good thing but probably the frost isn't all the way out yet either.

I guess if I were you I would give the sump basket thing a try. What the heck, if it doesn't work you're not out anything if you end up with a sump system because you'd just end up attaching the drain tile lines to it then. I would give some consideration to digging a pretty big hole, lining the outside with some or of material to hold back the soil, then set the basket in and backfill with pea gravel.

One last note on my project. Part of my house is a garage that was converted to a family room. There's a slab for a foundation. There is a pistol range built into the basement where the owner put spancrete over part of the garage floor. That means I have a second block wall that is 3 feet inside the basement. When I put in the drain system I drilled 3/4 inch holes in the cores of the blocks on the outside wall and the inside wall. Water shot out 18 inches for at least 2 minutes from both sides. I don't know if it worked it's way around to the inside wall or if it was pushed up by pressure from below. You may want to try popping a small hole in a block near a floor drain just to see if water comes out. If it does then I think you're in for the full monty.

[soldoncass]

The minimum code depth for frost footings are 42 inches below ground level, in my area, yours should be the same. Why did you have footings redone? Were the old ones being pushed up with the frost? If so that is much more likely in a heavy soil such as clay. Is the "standing water" in your yard close to the house? The dirt level next to the house usually goes down (gets washed away) , over time, and needs to be raised back up. The dirt should slope away from the house 6 inches in the first 10 feet, ideally,so do whatever it takes to get that. That pushes surface water AWAY FROM the foundation, and keeps water pressure away from your house foundation. That AND the sump pump suggestion, MAY be all you need to do.

ps. You only had a problem 2 out of 22 years, so I doubt it is a huge problem area.

[reddog]

No way to treat it from the top side, and if you do, it will only be a temporary band aid fix..

another vote for a french drain around the perimeter to a sump.

[Down Deep]

I'm not an expert at solving water problems, but some slabs are poured on a a bed of gravel. The gravel allows the groundwater to flow under the slab. If you have a design like this you may be able to just install a sump or two to gather water and take the pressure off of the slab. This approach might be worth exploring before bringing in the wrecking ball.