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I’ve searched the archives for an answer, but while my question has been posed before, nobody answered it. We have a new addition to our house where water is seeping in through the foundation joint between the old and new foundation walls. A major part of the problem is a lack of positive drainage – that we plan to address soon ourselves. However, I don’t like the idea that water can get in at all. I’ve contacted several local waterproofing firms, and only 2 so far seem interested in residential work. Both of them work from the inside, rather than where the problem originates, but I guess they know what they are doing. We are faced with a choice between two methods. One involves cutting out a 1/2″ where the joint is (getting rid of the joint entirely) and introducing a cementitious substance which is supposed to be magically better than the cement that was already put into that joint on the outside. It sounded sort of like a fungus that ‘grows’ into the air spaces in the concrete. The other involves drilling holes and silicon injection. Any idea which is better?
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Amy, this is an interesting question, because I just happen to be doing the same repairs next week on a home, where an older porch meets the block wall. My opinion is, and I'm sure there's lots smarter folks here than I, that water entering through a foundation should, in all situations where possible, be controlled from the outside. I don't think that interior dewatering systems are as good at solving that problem (I think they treat the symptoms), as exterior fixes. That being said, I'll bring in an excavator, dig to the footings, clean the wall, and then inspect it. I expect that the porch has, over the past fifty years, settled at a different rate than the home, so that portion has pulled away. I'm sure this is the same situation you are in; the new addition has settled and the home hasn't, and the joint is cracked.
Once I actually see the joint, I can make a decision on whether to regrout it, use some type of sealant, or just leave it alone and waterproof the outside with a ruberrized sealer and membrane, along with draintile and a sump pump, or actually replace the porch.
That being said (again), my advice would be to attempt to get to the source; that is, the water intrustion from the outside. My costs for doing this came in WAY under what the "interior dewatering companies" were asking for, and I feel it is a better solution. I feel that attempting to get rid of the water once it gets into the foundation is simply asking for different troubles down the road. However, I also understand that you can't always get to the source; a driveway, garage, deck or whatever might be in the way of excavation. In this case, I would look to the best method to stop water intrusion, not get rid of it once it gets in, and I must admit I don't know enough about the systems you've mentioned to comment on them. Hopefully someone else with more experience will give you an opinion. Hope this helps.
*Amy,I can't help you with a particular 'name' of this product but try contacting a poured concrete wall contractor. I asked my sub about what they do if a crack in a foundation wall starts to leak and he told me they use a product that is injected into the crack which actively seeks water. If the crack is not leaking they spray a little water into it first. He has never had to use it on any of the jobs he has done for me but he's been in the business 25 years and warrants against water infiltration of his walls for 2 years. Whatever it is he relies on it. Sorry I can't help more that that.
*Amy, I always go for the jugular and seeing that you know the location, know the cause, intend to change the drainage, I suggest that you excavate if you can and repair from the outside.Having said what I would do. Reality is that you may not be able to do this. Epoxy injection works reasonably well as do a lot of the other method that use a cement type powder. Gabe
*Thanks all for your answers. I, too, thought that going at it from the outside was the right thing to do. However, all of the 'experts' in waterproofing who have come to give estimates have these interior solutions only. The other replies I have gotten are unanswered voicemail and "we don't do residential". It's kind of funny because I am perfectly willing to dig yet nobody has given me the solution I expect to hear. I'm unknowlegable enough that I don't want to tackle this myself, so I have to choose between these 2 interior solutions. It sounds like either will work equally well (or poorly, as the case may be).As a note - I don't hold the concrete sub responsible for this type of joint leak. It is a cold joint that can't be expected to be waterproof. I thought parging, tar, poly barrier and drainage (not complete on surface due to settling of backfill) were the way to go, but that has been inadequate. Thanks again for your help in making this decision.
*By all means, fix the drainage problem; but, might as well seal the crack (literally glue on section of concrete to the other) with expoxy; and, there's no good reason not to do that from the inside.
*I've got a similar problem. I have a block wall foundation that is leaking at one point, and has noticeably moved inward. It is along the driveway (graveled), and I suspect some heavy equipment has done the deed.I have regraded the driveway and moved water away, but it still leaks at that one point. Other walls are damp, but not as bad as before.I want to pave the driveway, but I want to fix the foundation first, from the outside. I have an addition with drain tiles, and want this part to be connected to those tiles. I also want the wall straightened.In these good economic times, I also cannot get anybody to come out to do the work, except for the patented inside sealing folk. (Amusing story there: I had the inside drain tiles installed many years ago--sort of worked. Same company came back years later, and the salesman never noticed that it had been done, EVEN WHEN I POINTED IT OUT TO HIM!! He tried to sell me the same product again. When I told him no, the price dropped 20%. No again brought another drop, after calling his supervisor. Couple of days later there was a TV expose on that company; I got another offer a month later from them for 75% off the original price.)I guess I will have to wait for a business down time to get my driveway paved.
*There are a couple of products that I have seen used to seal cracks on concrete tanks for water or wastewater (I am a civil engineer). I cannot comment on whether these are applicable to your situation, but it may be worth a call to the manufacturers. These are both hydrophobic polyeurethanes meaning that they expand when they contact water. The joint has to be wet to make them work correctly (these are typically used on a tank full of water which is seeping through a crack). The products are DeNeef Hydro Active Flex LV and Hydro Active Flex Cat (these are two-part systems, like a 2-part epoxy) and Green Mountain Grout Flexible and Green Mountain Grout Accelerator B. More info can be found at deneef.com and mountaingrout.com respectively. Talk to the manufacturers and have them get you in touch with licensed applicators in your area. I don't know what kind of $ you are talking about, but at least you can call someone and get some more info. I have seen these products pressure injected from the dry side or injected from the wet side by a diver. I know the application isnt the same, but an application from inside does not seem unreasonable. These work well for "active" (wet) cracks. A pressure injected expoxy joint filler would be more applicable for a dry crack. Master Builders, Sika or Euclid are all manufacturers of this type of joint filler and could probably be found with a web search or a look at thomasregister.com. It is worth the time to get together with some experts and fix it once and for all the first time. Hope this all helps. Good luck!
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I've searched the archives for an answer, but while my question has been posed before, nobody answered it. We have a new addition to our house where water is seeping in through the foundation joint between the old and new foundation walls. A major part of the problem is a lack of positive drainage - that we plan to address soon ourselves. However, I don't like the idea that water can get in at all. I've contacted several local waterproofing firms, and only 2 so far seem interested in residential work. Both of them work from the inside, rather than where the problem originates, but I guess they know what they are doing. We are faced with a choice between two methods. One involves cutting out a 1/2" where the joint is (getting rid of the joint entirely) and introducing a cementitious substance which is supposed to be magically better than the cement that was already put into that joint on the outside. It sounded sort of like a fungus that 'grows' into the air spaces in the concrete. The other involves drilling holes and silicon injection. Any idea which is better?