Help- Basement Water

HU-397462096

last month

Help! Our home was built in the 1930’s. We have three spots where pipes from outside divert water into our basement. It flows into a poorly designed trough that just has a piece of cement on the side. The basement is underground with steps that lead down into it from inside and outside. It is always wet in the trough. Our basement is humid and we have a dehumidifier. if it rains, it just goes out on the floor. The picture I have shared has two pipes that bring water in. i need to know how to make it so the water is diverted to the larger drain area quicker.. i also would like to not have wet areas all of rhe time.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

Yvonne Martin
last month
To solve this you need a good plummer who also handles outside water plus $$. Typically they will install a drain pipe all around the basement, either inside our outside the wall plus a sump pump to carry the water out.

There might be simpler solutions to get you part way there, but engineering is the way to get a dry basement.
3onthetree
last month
The goal is to get any water enclosed in a pipe and routed to a method of discharging it. Your picture is not clear enough of the entire basement - but it is definitely a strange setup (but worthy of the Roman aqueducts) and eliminates usage of the basement. Agree that you will be cutting up concrete and installing some piping and certainly a sump pump, whether you need a full interior perimeter french drain system or exterior footing drain tile is yet to be determined.
Related Discussions
Water filled yard after basement was dug...help!
Q
Comments (4)
There are ponds and then there are ponds. You didn't say what the recent weather has been, or if the level of water changes much. If a hole is dug into the ground and it rains for a week, the water level will lower only as fast as the surrounding soil can absorb it, which may not be fast at all. Although with frequent heavy rain it may seem like the water never drains away, actually the collected water may be replenishing with the rainfall as fast or faster than it can drain. Keep in mind that if it rains overnight, and the surrounding soil is very clay-ey, that water will be ve-e-ry slow to drain away. In heavy clay soil, it is fairly common to see basement holes filled with water which may take weeks to drain -- and in my area, that is a sure sign that french drains are likely to be required if one wants a dry basement. Is the builder going to admit that? I doubt it because french drains are quite expensive to install, although cheaper if done while the basement is in process. It is also common to see the basement hole fill because the surrounding area "feeds" or guides rainfall into the hole -- as well as collecting whatever rain fell. The water may be slow to drain, but it does drain. In that case, it's probable that infilling and grading (to guide rainfall away from the basement) will cure the situation. If it isn't the surrounding grading for your house (which IS most likely), then it could be possible ~~ depending on your local soil structure ~~ that a seepage area was uncovered during the grading for the basement. A seepage area is not a spring, but it is (in my area) a layer of gravelly soil that helps conduct the surface rain water from rain downwards. It may also be fed by local springs. This happened to a neighbor, and a local hydrologist (sp?)/geologist defined the problem. His recommendation was to change the location of the house, because a retaining wall would have to be very deep (footings well below basement floor level) and very wide, as well as being strong enough to resist future water pressure. If your present site is not being fed water from surrounding higher areas, then contact a local hydrologist to see if seepage areas or tiny spring/s have been breached. One thing is sure --- I wouldn't want to proceed with building until the present problem is defined.
...See More
Water backing up in basement floor drain...Help!
Q
Comments (2)
The plumber did not snake it out good enough, call him back. Maybe a little late, but never use laminate in a bathroom or area with a drain, kitchens included.
...See More
Where to send basement water with a small, flat lot
Q
Comments (7)
Thanks for your input all. Additional info: I have municipal sewer, but sump connections are not allowed as I understand it. I’m not sure if exceptions are ever made. Surface runoff does not pool on my property much. Mostly would be running to street I suppose. An apartment building all along the back of my flat lot. I do have a drywell in back for gutter discharge from the back side of the house. i haven’t clarified with the town yet. They said sumps can’t discharge directly into the street, but not sure what happens if it discharges to the lawn 15 ft from the street, then pools, then runs into the street. No other pooling or flooding on site really. Basement seems to have a seasonal high water table and have post-build installed a sump. Perimeter drainage in floor is actually coming from what was supposed to be a radon collection system pipe (ie I’m pumping that water into my sump when water rises to floor level to keep up). I am making inquiries with the town to see if they have any options for me. My best thought is to ask about locating a storm drain by my house or otherwise tapping into that system (which I assume is preferable to the sewer).
...See More
Huge Water Issues/Basement Smells
Q
Comments (20)
I don't think it's impossible to waterproof a stone foundation. I haven't researched it, and maybe someone else here has experience. My guess is that you'd probably have to parge the stone from the outside with cement or something similar, then add the usual sealer and membrane over that. I suppose you'd have to excavate inside the crawl space to get to that part of the foundation, which doesn't sound like any fun at all. If you just can't do a proper exterior waterproofing, I'd suggest doing all the other (exterior) steps on the list - gutters, downspouts, grading, swales. That will at least reduce the amount of water entering the cellar. If it's still too damp, then you need to remedy that. To consider crawl spaces, ventilating them used to be the standard practice. Today there is a trend toward sealing and conditioning them. Personally, I raise an eyebrow at the idea of heating and air conditioning a space that nobody but mice is living in, but who am I to say? In your case, that's all moot. If your cellar is going to be damp, you have to get rid of the excess humidity somehow. You can run up a big power bill with multiple dehumidifiers. Others may disagree, but IMO, it's more economical to ventilate the cellar. You can replace your cellar windows with crawl space vents, and make one or two of them exhaust fans. Fans cost around $100-150 each, and use considerably less electricity than dehumidifiers. I'll be interested to see what others suggest.
...See More
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last month
There is no way for us to answer this you need to talk to an expert on drainage issues but I would not be having water drain into a basement ever but to fix this is going to be expensive but IMO it would be worth every penny. If you want any help here we need to see alot mor eof the issues both inside and outside.
Angel 18432
last month
Wow that is a problem that should be addressed. If it's possible, have a contractor who is an expert in drainage around homes come in and give let you know what has to be done and an estimate. To me, this is a health issue also. I say "if it's possible" because contractors seem to be so busy these days.
Jake The Wonderdog
last month
I think that @Yvonne Martin is right, although we can't see the entire issue.

Usually the solution is cutting the concrete to put a covered perimeter drain that goes to a sump pump. My guess is those pipes are weep holes from a previous - much less sophisticated - attempt to do something similar.

There are contractors who specialize in doing this. Make sure you are also addressing getting water away from your foundation as much as you can. That involves gutters, downspouts, grade that goes away from the house, etc.
PRO
Sabrina Alfin Interiors
last month
You'll likely have to put in some sort of french drain or similar system in your yard that will pull water away from the house and drain into the street sewer grates. I think that's something a contractor and a plumbing sub could do for you and then you could close up the holes that lead to the basement. Get a couple of quotes.
kandrewspa
last month
I used to live in area where all the homes were older and had similar issues. Almost everyone ended up doing French drains. The good news is that if everyone around you has the same problem there should be local contractors who are familiar with the issue and know how to fix it. Start getting bids and hold out for the one with the best reputation even if they're not the lowest price. The other bids are just to make sure they're not way out of line. If this has been going on for almost 100 years I guess another six months won't make a difference.

Help- Basement Water

Comments (7)

Yvonne Martin

3onthetree

Related Discussions

Patricia Colwell Consulting

Angel 18432

Jake The Wonderdog

Sabrina Alfin Interiors

kandrewspa

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US