water in basement (job, houses, contractor)

[kizzy1]

we now have water in basement. we are thinking of digging up the foundation ourselves to try to remedy this problem any suggestions?

[Fort Lauderdale mermaid]

Originally Posted by kizzy1

we now have water in basement. we are thinking of digging up the foundation ourselves to try to remedy this problem any suggestions?

How much water? Is there a sump pump in your basement that might not be working? Don't dig up the basement till you figure out where your water is coming from! Yikes!

[kizzy1]

no sump pump. water seeping in through front wall and back wall looks like footing and wall level. When we bought this place the disclosure strared minimal seepage during heavy rain or thaw. this is more than minimal

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by kizzy1

we now have water in basement. we are thinking of digging up the foundation ourselves to try to remedy this problem any suggestions?

You are kidding right? DON'T dig up your foundations yourselves unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing. That is the fastest way to end up with a house broken up in what was the basement. Ever hear the old saying that a house is only as stable as its' foundation? It is true, don't mess with it unless you know how to do it right.

Call in a contractor if the water is that bad and get their recommendations. If there is only water a couple of weeks out of the year, and it isn't that bad, a sump pump may be all you need. Unless you or somebody in the house is a builder and have done this type of project already, this is NOT a do-it yourself project.

I have built houses before, I have done basements before, I have been in Construction on the Electrical side for 26 years and there is NO WAY IN HELL I would tackle this in my house, myself.

[mainebrokerman]

there are many different types of sump pumps, i have a sump pump basin, that pumps into pvc pipes out of the basement, i have a 1/2 horsepower sump pump that is powerful enough, it triggers on about 20 times a day now.

i also have a 1/3 horsepower sump pump for a back up, im worried about losing power, so i do have a generator, but i have to be here to start it, last weekend, i looked at a battery back up sump pump kit at lowes, (called watch-dog) that if i did lose power, it would still work,,,now i looked at the initial battery back up kit, at around 150, then you have to purchase the specific battery separately, then beyond that,,,the battery acid separately, i decided not to buy and to hook up my own contraption, i had another sump pump,, just needed to hook up a battery somehow, i did buy a 400 watt (800peak) dc to ac inverter for $32, then a deep cycle marine battery(54.00 at walmart) and it does work!! (make sure the power inverter has battery-like clamps on it to hook to battery)
its hooked to a 1/3 hp sump pump, which draws 350 watts and 3 amps,,

my back up has a garden hose going out my basement window.

my best advice is...if you dont know much about sump pumps look them up online, read a bit about them,,,ive had the best luck with "submersable" ones,,,,(not the stem or stand-up ones)

if its not a major water problem, or potentially major, i also have a 6 volt battery operated plastic one that does a great job with a smaller rubber hose,,
many many different levels of sump pumps

good luck!

one more thing, since i live in a floodzone, ive had water almost halfway up my walk-out basement sliding glass door (scary) the "greatstuff" insulated foam works well(inside) around doors and windows, and as an added precaution (outside) i place plastic sheathing around doors and windows.

[contented]

start with a sump pump.

is the front wall and the back foundation wall concrete and is the seepage thru the tie holes or between the footing and the wall?

does the roof shed water in both those locations or are there gutters and if so do the conductor pipes lead away from the house?

is there a perimeter foundation drain and do you know where it comes to daylight?

this is my first cup of coffee thoughts and i'm sure others will add plenty of wisdom.

good luck

[bringselpup]

X2

My initial thoughts are you may get a lot of benefit by making sure everything possible has been done to divert the runoff away from the house. Even if for now what you do is above ground at least it gets it away and you can evaluate your success in that regard. Then you can plan to initiate a more involved subterranean project in better weather.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

To everybody else on the Maine forum, never buy a house with a cellar that does not gravity drain.

For kizzy1, If your house has a place on your own property that is below the level of your cellar floor, hire somebody to install a gravity drain when the ground thaws in the spring. For the time being, the advice above will get you through until spring. That happens around May 20 here.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

To everybody else on the Maine forum, never buy a house with a cellar that does not gravity drain.

For kizzy1, If your house has a place on your own property that is below the level of your cellar floor, hire somebody to install a gravity drain when the ground thaws in the spring. For the time being, the advice above will get you through until spring. That happens around May 20 here.

While I agree with NMLM that gravity drains are wonderful, they are expensive to install especially in an older house.
You have to dig down around the foundation to at least two feet below the frost wall/foundation joint, lay in a base or crushed stone and gravel then lay in perforated drain tiles to a common drain pipe. The drain pipe should drain to a buried dry well or catch basin from where it will seep into the surrounding ground. You then should hydro-clay or in some other fashon waterproof the foundation, layer crushed stone and gravel to grade, then loam or seed the area. As mentioned previously you run a real risk of foundation collapse if you remove the backfill from the foundation to install this type or drain. It aint cheap and few homes in Maine are set up this way. A sump pump is far and away easier and infinitely less expensive to install.

[boonskyler]

I have Google for a simple disign for gravity drain for new construction with NO luck, if some one run across the site, can you post it. I beleive our building site may allow for this type of system.

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

To everybody else on the Maine forum, never buy a house with a cellar that does not gravity drain.

For kizzy1, If your house has a place on your own property that is below the level of your cellar floor, hire somebody to install a gravity drain when the ground thaws in the spring. For the time being, the advice above will get you through until spring. That happens around May 20 here.

as quote by Maineah it is expensive, but i am looking for a simple system that
just drain water out to the lower area with out dry well or catch basin..

While I agree with NMLM that gravity drains are wonderful, they are expensive to install especially in an older house.
You have to dig down around the foundation to at least two feet below the frost wall/foundation joint, lay in a base or crushed stone and gravel then lay in perforated drain tiles to a common drain pipe. The drain pipe should drain to a buried dry well or catch basin from where it will seep into the surrounding ground. You then should hydro-clay or in some other fashon waterproof the foundation, layer crushed stone and gravel to grade, then loam or seed the area. As mentioned previously you run a real risk of foundation collapse if you remove the backfill from the foundation to install this type or drain. It aint cheap and few homes in Maine are set up this way. A sump pump is far and away easier and infinitely less expensive to install.