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To all basement and foundation experts:
I am waterproofing a wall that leaked a considerable amount during
Floyd. The lot is sloping front to back, with the front part of the
side wall with about 6′ of clay dirt covering it, and this slopes down
to 1 ft of dirt right beside my garage door about 15′ down the wall.
(ie over 15ft the level drops 5ft)
I have dug the wall out to the corner and discovered that the footer
is about 2′ above the level of the basement floor near the corner of
the house for about 10′ Then the footer drops 2′ to the level of the
basment floor. A poured concrete 2′ knee wall in the basement next to
the wall holds back the dirt under the footer.
Can I excavate below the level of the higher section footer on the
outside, in order to help prevent water from going under the footer
and into the retaining knee wall inside ?
I know I shouldn’t get too close to the footer so as not to undercut
it. Is 12 inches enough ?
My thought was to dig down to the level of the slab, lay a perforated
drain pipe in a bed of gravel, and waterproof the exposed section of
wall.
Is this a good plan, or should I stop where the footer does and live
with the leaks through the knee wall ?
Thanks in advance,
Randy
Replies
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is there another footer under that poured wall thing? to the drain question- tile at the side and near the bottom of the footer. cover w/landscape fabric to keep out the fine clay and backfill w' only stone all the way up. waterproof the wall. i have the rigid fibreglass 2'' panels from grade down to the top of the footer w/ blackjack on the parged block wall and have had nooooo leaks or moisture or mildew on interior in 11 yrs. hillside house in clay. no gutters. no problems yet. best of luck to ya
*rgalley:Re: "I know I shouldn't get too close to the footer so as not to undercut it. Is 12 inches enough?" The pressure applied by the footer to soil beneith the footer spreads out at approximately a 45 degree angle. In other words, for illustration purposes, if the footer is 1 foot wide the width of the soil bearing the pressure 1 foot below the bottom of the footer is 2 feet wide. Or, assuming very firm soil, if you want to dig a 2' deep trench beside a footer, stay 2' away from the footer .
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> "In other words, for illustration purposes, if the footer is 1 foot wide the width of the soil bearing the pressure 1 foot below the bottom of the footer is 2 feet wide."
Minor correction...you mean 3 feet wide (one
foot on each side plus the 1 foot wide footer).
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Woops!!
I stand corrected.
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Well I dug a little more and found out the acutal situation.
The retaining wall is supporting the footer after all.
The basement was dug out 2 ft below the footer, and the wall supports the footer. What confused me is that the basement is level with the footer at first, and they had thrown some leftover concrete in the trench, confusing matters.
Anyway, I've got the answer now I think. I can dig below, but I need to be far enough out to do so. I'll project 45 degrees out from the edge footer and not violate that.
One foot down, one foot over. Two feet down, two feet over.
My trench is getting wider ;>{.
Is the 2in rigid fiberglass imbedded in the asphalt goo, or simply placed next to it ?
Would heavy mil plastic do as a substitute ?
Also, is the corrugated black plastic stuff, with a nylon silt sock ok ? This will be surrounded by gravel, and gravel up the wall.
*I forgot to say thanks a lot for the good ideas.Thanks a lot !Randy
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To all basement and foundation experts:
I am waterproofing a wall that leaked a considerable amount during
Floyd. The lot is sloping front to back, with the front part of the
side wall with about 6' of clay dirt covering it, and this slopes down
to 1 ft of dirt right beside my garage door about 15' down the wall.
(ie over 15ft the level drops 5ft)
I have dug the wall out to the corner and discovered that the footer
is about 2' above the level of the basement floor near the corner of
the house for about 10' Then the footer drops 2' to the level of the
basment floor. A poured concrete 2' knee wall in the basement next to
the wall holds back the dirt under the footer.
Can I excavate below the level of the higher section footer on the
outside, in order to help prevent water from going under the footer
and into the retaining knee wall inside ?
I know I shouldn't get too close to the footer so as not to undercut
it. Is 12 inches enough ?
My thought was to dig down to the level of the slab, lay a perforated
drain pipe in a bed of gravel, and waterproof the exposed section of
wall.
Is this a good plan, or should I stop where the footer does and live
with the leaks through the knee wall ?
Thanks in advance,
Randy