How do I stop rainwater from seeping into basement?

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

Hi,

Recently, it was raining a lot and water started to seep through the basement wall between the door and the window. i sealed all cracks and joints, but it seems like water is still find it’s way in. The water seems to be coming down from the flower bed. Should I pour cement over the flower bed to prevent water from going in? I am not sure what to do. Please help. Thank you!

Featured Answer

Izzy Mn

3 years ago

I was able to stop the pooling on patio by having water drain into yard. It wasn't done in one day. Most of it was solved/draining with one area dug a couple of feet long the patio, just a few inches deep. I worked my way around the whole area over the next month or so when I had a little time.

You should still also work out some way to have water from gutters drain further away from home. You can purchase additional lengths of down spouts from a home improvement store. There is probably something on YouTube on how to add the additional lengths to your existing down spouts.

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Comments (14)

Flor Y
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
@User Thank you for answering!!! This helps a lot!
party_music50
3 years ago
Your gutter downspouts — especially what’s shown in the 2nd pic — are dumping water right where you don’t want it. You need to extend the downspouts and lead the water away from the house.
Flor Y thanked party_music50
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Flor Y
Original Author
3 years ago
@party_music50 Thank you for answering!! I’ve been going nuts over this! The gutter downspouts used to be in the back of the house and my basement was still seeping water through the same location. I extended it to that location, but it didnt help either. I will try to relocate the down-sprout again. Is it possible to pour cement all over the flower bed and have water flow out?
party_music50
3 years ago
Your 1st photo makes it look like the concrete slopes away from the house, but your 2nd photo makes it look like the concrete slopes toward the house. In each photo, I see a downspout that dumps water just inches from your house wall. Whether the garden is there or not doesn’t matter if you keep dumping water next to the house.
Flor Y thanked party_music50
Flor Y
Original Author
3 years ago
@party_music50 Thank you so much!!!
cat_ky
3 years ago
If you need to leave that downspout there (not sure why it is there, it shouldnt be), at least extend it all the way down past the corner of the house. No, you shouldnt pour concrete on the flower bed. Thats not going to fix anything. Then the rain water will land on top of the concrete, and still run towards your house. Next to your house, needs to be higher up so that the water runs away from the house, not to the house. It doesnt have anything to do with the flower bed. It has to do with the way the sloping is in that area, and doesnt help that you have a downspout there dumping water inches away from the house. Can you post a better picture of what looks like a doorway on the picture, please?
Flor Y thanked cat_ky
Flor Y
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
@cat_kyThank you for answering!

Sorry the photo is so bad. The yellow circled area is the doorway. We have a side entrance. This photo was taken before and the downspout used to be at the end of the house between the 2 potted plants. The circled red area is where the water from the downspout used to slope towards the flowerbed and all the water was heading towards the flowerbed. The basement started to seep water. (That’s why I tried to extend the downspout pass the flowerbed) But, it still did not help. The water seems to be sloping away from the foundation, but they’re all going towards the flowerbed area. Thank you for your time. I truly mean it!!
Flor Y
Original Author
3 years ago
cat_ky
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
It also appears you have a crack in the corner of your foundation, that should be attended to. The sidewalk, is in the way, of taking care of proper repairs and drainage. It should never be butted up to the house like that. There should have been at least 12 inches between foundation and that sidewalk. Can you run that downspout across the back sidewalk, and further out into your yard, rather than directing everything over to that one side. A french drain on the side of your sidewalk, all the way from back to front, may help some. At least that would drain all the water away from that side of the house. The foundation most likely needs a bit of repair, but, no way to get to it with the sidewalk.
Flor Y thanked cat_ky
Izzy Mn
3 years ago
I had something similar, but it involved water pooling in a concrete patio. The grass and soil had built up over the years to make it slightly higher than the patio so it no longer ran off. Similar to how your grass is next to your walkway. Dig out to about 2 inches lower about a foot out the water will have a place to go. If it still pools to much dig out a shallow trench for water to drain away. Then throw some grass seed on the areas you dug out.
Flor Y thanked Izzy Mn
Flor Y
Original Author
3 years ago
@Izzy Mn Thank you for answering! I want to built a trench but it will be hard to direct the water since there’s concrete in the front, unless I direct it back into the yard. What did you end up doing?
Flor Y
Original Author
3 years ago
@cat_ky Agree with the sidewalk blocking. I will try to extend the downspouts all the way out and see if I can dig a trench. Sounds like a labor intensive project, but hope it helps. Thank you so much for your tips!!!!