The point of entry for the pipes and cables is one likely location. So would be any window frames or other openings in the side of the building. Be aware that water might get into the wall in one spot and travel some distance before coming out in another. Overflowing gutters can also spill water back into the eaves and then on to the wall cavity. A good quality, non-hardening, caulk, and a caulk gun, would address most minor leaks and a strong flashlight, even in the daylight, can be a useful aid in finding them. You should also have a ladder in order to get up close and personal with suspect areas. If you could post pictures of where the water is coming into the basement, where the pipes and cables enter the structure and of the general outside area, it might spur some other suggestions.

Hi Bommai, actually holding the framed wall in the thickness of the coats of stucco is correct so that the surfaces of both walls plane in even. That's why out here we use a z-bar flashing. Picture the "z" being inverted ,(or upside down),so that the upper back flange nails to the framed wall, goes out over the block, with the outside flange hanging down over the block. Then a perforated j-channel is held up 3/8" or so nailed to the framed wall above the flat or level section of the z-bar. Underlayment,lath, stucco coats go over the flanges nailed to the framed wall so that moisture runs off the underlayment, out the perforations of the j-channel, hits the z-bar which directs it out over the block. If they held the framed wall out flush to the block, it would have an overhang because of the thickness of the stucco coats and even with a weep screeding, unless they flashed the transition point framed wall to block, moisture could still seep between. I dont have the know how to post a drawing on this forum, but if you would like to e-mail me, I could take a digital of a drawing and e-mail it to you if you provide me an e-mail address to you or your builder. I dont know of any websites that show this method, but you could google framed wall to block wall transition and see if they instruct on different claddin methods, in your case, stucco.

When we bought our house there was evidence of water instrusion in the unfinished basement.The basement had paneling, ceiling tiles but a cement floor. It is made of cement block walls, and there was like your house a grading issue that was easily fixed with adding soil to that area and around the house and removing three large shrubs that were very close to the house. The biggest issue I suspect was that the gutters were not kept clean. In May the area experienced the most rainfall in two hours that it had seen in over 100 years. Many waterproofed basements were flooded (two destroyed), as well as our neighbor's who had recently waterproofed her basement for the second time and added French drains. She had a foot of water in her basement. This was the second time that she had to rip out her "mother in law suite." We had a small puddle of water. When you ask how big the real problem is I think that is unknown. Did you see evidence of water marks on the wood panels? How long ago were they put up? Can you take one down to look behind it and see water marks on the studs? Can you live with having an unfinished basement that might have a puddle every so often after heavy rains? I would never trust a basement to not leak again after it has shown evidence of a leak which is why I removed the paneling, the ceiling tiles, and keep mine unfinished even though it is has been dry except for that one rain. If you are counting on the basement as true living space then it may be an expensive and ongoing problem.

I have this exact same problem with my 1950's ranch, even after replacing the gutters and putting in new drip edge: water drips down the face of the fascia boards at about six-foot intervals. The water runs down between the gutter and the fascia. Could this six-foot interval be at the gutter-spike locations? It's not at the drip-edge seams -- that is a single 12-foot length. And though there is some debris in the gutters, they are not by any means full or blocked; there is still a good stream coming out the downspout. I welcome your ideas -- for the moment I have cut some of that black-plastic drainpipe in half lengthwise and put it along the house to catch and direct the drips, but that is not a good long-term solution; it has cut the amount of water in my basement, but I'm still getting some. I'm also thinking about attaching a length of light chain at the drip points so water will slide down it into the catchment trough -- no splashing that way. What d'you think? LynnT