I have a customer that had a waterproof basement company come in and inject clay around her foundation to “solve” water in the basement. It didn’t work and the company is out of business. She asked me for ideas. The details that I found: there is only 4′ of ground between her foundation and the neighbors and it had been covered with blacktop a long time ago. At a back corner the blacktop is gone and it’s the low spot in the alleyway, so all the water drains to there- which of course, has caused the water to drill a slouce-way right down her foundation and into her basement. Her house has gutters but the neightbor’s does not, and never will since it is a neglected rental- so there is all that roof water coming into the alleyway.
My question is, what’s the best way to fill in the hole created by the water (I can put a stick down ~12″- but it’s only about and inch wide at the top), and what’s the best way to seal the top?
I’m thinking dig it out some so I can better compact the soil (how far down should I go?) then pour a cement “top” that is slightly higher than the blacktop surrounding it. Or should I do it in blacktop patch to be compatible with the current blacktop, and try to get the two backtops to “seal”… Or pour cement (which I’m thinking will fill the hole better completely) and finish it with blacktop patch to seal with the other blacktop.
Hopefully someone has great ideas? Thanks all!
Replies
The quick and cheap would be to fill that hole with bentonite clay ( it expands up to ten times its volumn when wetted to force a seal) and then cover over with blacktop, being sure that the surface pitches away from the house so water cannot be led there.
I can picture the neighborhood setting.
Better fix would be to install a drain bucket right there to lead the water away underground.
Best is to dig everything out to th e footings and install a new perimeter drain and then waterproof the walls. That gets expensive, but is the only sure way of doing this.
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Thanks Piffin, you always have great solutions. I like the first idea, not heard of the bentonite clay (maybe the clay the waterproofing company used? Maybe they didn't seal the top), will look into it, sounds "solid" :)
The houses in the neighborhood are 1850's to 1900- singles and duplexes, so all close together and right on the street. I've never been there in a rain storm, so I'm not sure were all the water goes other than the basement- and probably in the neighbor's basement.
There is no clearance to put in a drain bucket, since there is no place to drain underground. The properties slope down towards the rental next door, and so to keep it on my client's property would have to go up hill- and there's a chain link fence starting right at the back corner of my client's house (2' from the water hole), and the neighbor's back yard right there is backtop as well, since it's under a second floor deck. I'll try sloping it all to the back yard more to "solve" both basements.
Thanks again- Piffin to the rescue!
Bentonite is a clay and does the clay thing: it expands as it gets wet and shrinks as it get dry. Only bentonite does it "on steroids" as its expansion rate is very large.
So, you put it it dry. As water goes in through seep holes, it get carried in. It dries, and some is left in the foundation leak. Next rain, a little more gets carried in. Soon, there is enough that when it gets wet, it seals the crack -- in theory. In reality it will work well enough for small cracks. But large cracks won't work as the flowing water will simply sluice it out.
So, reading your problem, you should see if there are large cracks in the foundation. Seal those (maybe from one of those firms that inject epoxy into the crack? I have also heard of people using waterglass.). Then get the clay and put it down the hole dry. Then do something to get the rainwater away from the house.
Is the bulk of the problem the neighbors roof water runoff?
It might be cheaper (and more effective) to put gutters on that side of their house for free...buic
Edited 8/2/2008 7:19 pm ET by BUIC
Ha! Interesting idea... and the landlord would never know! Maybe tough sell to my customer- pay for improvements on negligent neighbor's house... :-) will be interesting presentation!
Then on the other side of house I'm working on, I need to seal 6" clay pipe that's next to the foundation that goes ?????? I'm guessing it used to be a downspout drain to who knows where- will snake it to determine length and direction. I think it is related to a corresponding clay pipe coming in at the basement floor level less than 6 feet away- will snake that too and see if they connect. Old houses are filled with mysteries, that's why I love them!
And of course, I have to quote on fixing the problem, without committing to a guaranteed fix, since it's not my area of expertise, and the basement waterproofing company couldn't fix it. Best guess-timation again- but it certainly will be much better than before.
Had similar at an old rental.
Mixed 2 sacks of cement (NO aggregate) to a cream consistency grout and poured it in, sealed everything.