New Construction Regret - Water Ingress

[conmoto]

This is my first winter with a newly constructed 24x24 in slope garage. 6 courses of block on the backside, heavy clay earth, outside of block was sealed down to the footings.

We had a considerable thaw here in MN and now a large portion of my back block wall is soaked with a path of water sloping to the front. The top two courses are dry. I suggested drain tile before construction began and he said "no need" because I had already decided on gutters plus the underground block would be sealed. I have a feeling his convincing me not to add drain tile was a BIG mistake.

After recently noticing all the water ingress, I asked him if I'd need to dig out and add drain tile. His response was, "The short answer is no. The ground is frozen and hasn't naturally compacted yet and many other first season issues."

Please tell me if his response was correct.

 

[jives]

No. Answer is incorrect.

 

[sixty4]

What he did no footing drains? Sounds like BS on his end.

 

[850xpeps]

Fire that tard. Dig it up and properly waterproof because that’s not done either if your getting moisture. Use blueskin or similar and then add clean rock with no fines and wheeping tile.

 

[Chris705]

What was it “sealed” with... Anything short of a sticky rubberized asphaltic sheet good is not waterproof. Even troweled on asphalt coating is no good... joints crack, block sometimes cracks and the coating cannot bridge gaps. Yes it sounds like you can eventually get this corrected with the drain tile you thought you should have....hopefully you can take it to daylight.

 

[ford33]

A picture would be helpful.

I am not a structural building engineer. We have seen this before and have read about it in other installations. Poor drainage will cause you to have a weakened foundation and high garage humidity resulting in rusting tools and fixtures. You will need to provide water drainage behind that wall. Eventually the pressure from all that water behind that wall will cause it to collapse.

There are some threads on GJ that others have posted about this very same issue.

That contractor was BS'ing you about waterproofing blocks and gutters. I would not trust him with any further work. It's not the trivial amount of water from your gutter but possibly hundreds of gallons flowing down the hill to your garage that is a concern.

What does your contract state about providing a water proof foundation or weatherproof interior? If it states that the structure is built to a standard you may have some recourse. If not, you may need to start digging on your dime. That's unfortunate.

A basement waterproofing company may be able to do the job in the spring for a reasonable price. They have equipment sized for small structures.

There is so much information on concrete block construction and proper drainage that you could have investigated his claims in five minutes. Trust but verify when it comes to contractors. Engineers typically hold a licenses to practice and are more conservative and trustworthy, within reason. They do not want to lose a license or be reprimanded. Still, a simple google search on "block wall garage construction on a slope" would have provided a lot of information contradicting the contractor.

I wish you well in resolving this issue.

 

[wssix99]

Please tell me if his response was correct.

This could be correct, depending on your local soil conditions. Loose soil could be trapping a "moat" of water against the wall, which should go away as the dirt compacts.

... It might also be BS. I'd get a second, local opinion.

 

[dfiler2]

Being from MN too, I would guess the issue is the ground is frozen, you have a quick thaw and the water runs against the block and down along the outside. If that's the case, drain tile, if it were there, would not do any good. It seems to me the sealing on the outside of the block may not be doing it's job.

Just went back and re-read your original post and you state the "underground" block is sealed, it may be as simple as sealing the above ground block also.

 

[glentre]

Seems like yet another case of no or inadequate project specifications detailing how the walls should have been constructed, how they should have been waterproofed, and that no seepage of exterior moisture would be permitted, especially considering the downhill slope.

I know I sound like a broken record, constantly posting the need for complete and detailed plans and specifications for every phase of a build as part of the contract documents. But, if my ranting can keep fellow forum members out of trouble and save them headaches, heartbreak and money, I'll continue to do so.

No matter how good or trustworthy a contractor is, there needs to be complete and legally backed up contractual communications between him and the owner. Not just for the benefit of the owner but also for a contractor who often will encounter an unreasonable owner who expects things to be done that were not agreed upon before work started. If it is spelled out in the documents, then it's the contractor's responsibility to do it. If it's not in the documents, it's a change order.

In this case, it looks like the contractor may be trying to throw out a BS story about the soil in order to buy some time until the thaw and the water table drops in the summer when the problem will go away. Next fall and winter the water problem will likely reappear and it will be very hard to get the contractor to do anything about it at that late date, especially if the usual one year warranty has expired.

Glen

 

[850xpeps]

A bituthane sealer like blue skin is what should be installed. With a primer to help adhere. It should wrap down the wall on top of the footing and down the footing face at least a couple inches. With the drain tile at its highest point no higher than the top of footing.

If you have moisture through the block, while the ground sealing might help, it’s not the end issue. The block should still be sealed you shouldn’t see moisture coming through the wall.

 

[Jon_E]

Anybody who doesn't engineer and construct a proper drainage path for surface and groundwater to get away from a foundation, is asking for trouble. Unless your soil is 100% coarse sand and gravel, you're going to get wet if the proper waterproofing and drainage isn't installed.

My house foundation has bituminous self-adhesive sealer (probably about 25-30 mil) adhered to the entire subsurface area, wrapped over the footing. There is a foot of crushed stone wrapped in geotextile and a 4" perforated drain to daylight around the entire perimeter. I don't think you could get my basement wet unless you drilled a hole and stuck a hose in.

Your contractor is incompetent. Good luck getting the proper work done.

 

[matt_i]

Imo the "first season issues" is an old saw to buy time because there's nobody but you to deal with the "second season issues" and beyond...

 

[readhead]

If he installed the "water proofing" you can have him dig around the foundation and replace it at his expense under warranty. While the foundation is exposed install a proper drain system. He has to dig and backfill. Your only expense is the drain work.

 

[TractorJeff]

Heavy Clay Earth?
Should have had Drain Tile and Stone as others have said.

 

[gnpenning]

Also try diverting as much surface water away from the building as possible

 

[BDT/NWMN]

Is the garage heated?? The freeze-thaw cycle on a saturated block wall isn't going to help matters.. Get that damn clay away from that wall, put in a drain tile, and backfill with rock or coarse gravel.. A contractor tried pulling similar **** with My poured basement walls back in 1975... Drain tiles were in, but they were going to backfill with clay.. I called the gravel trucks in. The Erskine area has allot of wet, damp basements, but mine is not one of them.. Try to get rid of the water before it gets up against the wall.