Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 14, 1999 01:24am | #1

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   Hi Gary,

   If you expose the stone foundation in order to install any membrane, you may also be exposing your foundation to more leaks than you have now.

   You now have undisturbed, well compacted soil around your home. Don't touch it unless you have to.

   Its much more advisable to create a swale away from your home for natural surface drainage. Also, you can cast a pad under your drain pipes with a small slope in the middle to "encourage" the water to flow away from the foundation and into a drainage pipe going to your dry well.

   Gabe

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 14, 1999 10:18pm | #2

   *Thanks for your response. BUT (there's always a but) I have a leak in the wall at about mid-point in the house. Every rain always leaks through my paneled basement into my wood shop and under my bandsaw. Ugh! I want to turn this half of the basement into a carpeted extra room for an office or family room. IF I have to dig to the footing at this area then I will have to drain it out to the back of the house, downhill, where the drywell is.Also, I don't necessarily see the sacredness of already compacted soil. Soil is permeable by nature. If the rest of the building doesn't leak, that's probably not due to the soil, but rather, the tightness of the masonry, I believe. Berming the soil away from the house is a good idea and I should also do this. This side of the house is about 4 feet away from the property line which has a cyclone fence. On the other side is the neighbors asphalt driveway. Hey, perhaps his driveway happens to slope towards me at this point?Currently I'm thinking of digging down the 2 feet or so to the footing. Clean it. Maybe add cement if I see any cracks. Then I'll push a membrane against it as I backfill and carry the membrane up and just above the level of the soil. A berm would be a good idea and an easy way to use the extra soil I'll have.Any further comments?

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 14, 1999 10:48pm | #3

   *Is your stonework dry stacked or is it mortared?I'd be inclined to repoint all the stonework with mortar fortified with a bonding agent and hydraulic cement, then your membrane, and a perimeter drain running to your drywell. I'd go all the down to the footings just to be sure. Cover the drain with gravel, then cover with Typar/Tyvek, then your fill, making sure the grade slopes away from the house.

2. 
   George_Wooster | Jul 15, 1999 07:36am | #4

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   Gary,

   I've used Bituthene in cases like this -- it's a very heavy flexible membrane which can be sealed to itself to make a watertight layer. This has worked for about 10 years now (with a french drain) and 2 of those 10 have been "100 year" winters. The stuff isn't cheap, but neither is re-doing the work.

   george

3. 
   Guest_ | Jul 17, 1999 12:04am | #5

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   Thanks for all your advice. Yes I know about
   Bituthane, never used it though. I've seen it used on
   underground houses before. Thanks for the specifics
   on the cement. Do you know a brand? Do I buy regular
   mortar and add hydraulic cement as well as a bonding
   agent? How's it work?

   thanks agai

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 19, 1999 11:58pm | #6

   *Quickrok is one brand of hydraulic cement. I add 1 part hydraulic cement to 5 parts Sakrete mortar mix along with a liquid bonding agent and water.Mix small batches because it sets up quickly. Make sure the stone is clean..... use a hose and scrub brush. I've used this mix on both the interior and exterior of stone foundations ....... it has worked well for me.

4. 
   Norman_ | Jul 31, 1999 09:42am | #7

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   Hi, I Grew up in a house with a dry stacked stone foundation that would leak and flood every time it rained. We solved the problem by parging the inside of the wall with a portland mix and painting it with a product called DRYLOK. This was done 25 years ago and it does not leak a drop.
   PS: You might look into Xypex products as an admix for the parging. DRYLOK is manufactured by United Gilsonite Labratories in Scranton PA.

1. 
   Dallas | Aug 01, 1999 02:18am | #8

   *Gary G: Try using drain board.It usually comes in 4' by 50' or so sections that can be overlapped and interlocked. There are a number of manufactures out there. This will provide a water barrier plus take the good stuff right down to your drain tile. When you backfill use a "pogo" stick? jumping jack? or whatever you call them in your area off of a tag-a-long compressor and tamp the he_ _ out of the soil.

5. 
   gary_g | Aug 01, 1999 02:18am | #9

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   I'm about to do the classic thing, lay PVC
   drainage pipe to route surface water away into a
   large drywell I dug. Problem is; How do you seal
   against a rough stone foundation upon which my +/-
   1910 wood frame house sits? Trooweled-on mastic
   won't hold up, in my opinion. I'm inclined to buy
   sheets of roof membrane and lay it tight to the
   house, and down under the drain line. Then I'll
   backfill with sand, stone,drain, & fabric cover as
   usual. Any comments?
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