Water under floor

[stu022488]

Alright I figured this might be the best place to help me out. I have water coming in through a wall in my basement where the house ends and the garage starts. Now I recently bought this house and have scoped the drainage around the house which I am told is less than three years old. Perimeter of the house looks to be done with all perforated tile. I assume it is working judging by other holes in the wall that look like they used to leak but no longer do. In front of the garage is a dura slope to keep water from coming in. However whenever it rains the floor of the garage gets really damp (you can see the concrete change colors) and water pours in through a tie snap in the foundation in the basement----approximately 2 gallons through a 24 hour period. Water should not be coming in through an interior wall unless there is some major water in the basement.

Anyhow does anyone have any suggestions as to how to fix this problem. I am currently installing a sump pump basin and tieing into the french drain for the time being on the corner of the wall. I have thought about cutting slab of concrete out in the garage and installing perforated tile draining to the dura slope to help alleviate any ground water that is pooling under the garage.

 

[Kevin54]

Some pics would really help out. Maybe a couple from outside, then a pic or two where it is coming in.

Also not sure what a "tile snap" is.

 

[stu022488]

Tie Snap is like the tie rods used in poured foundations but it is about a 1 inch strip instead of a rod. Ill have some pictures since I am new I don't know if you have to have a post count to upload them but I will try here shortly.

 

[stu022488]

 

[Kevin54]

From what I am seeing is that you have water building up in the window well, then leaking through and running down. Not knowing where your location is in your profile, and I'll bust butts on that about location it may be freezing and thawing over the last couple of years that has caused it.

As far as fixing it, you have a couple of ways to go. First off is a simple solution, put a window well cover over the window well so water doesn't build up in there.

The second option is to dig out the window well deeper and make sure it is back filled with stone, PLUS put a window well cover over it.

Lastly is what you are wanting to avoid and that is having someone come in with a mini excavator, digging down to the bottom of the foundation, make sure the foundation is tiles, sealed, graveled, AND a window well cover.

I'm going from cheapest to expensive.

One thing you do have is a masonry crack. You may be able to dig some of it out and fill it with hydraulic cement, or they make a component that they drill holes and inject it into the crack. Sort of like a heavy duty silicone caulk.

So it's basically up to you as to how far you want to go. If it were me, I would put a window well cover on and wait for the next rain. If it doesn't leak, that would be great. If it does leak, I would skip #2 and go directly to #3 and get a mini excavator and have things done right. I would imagine that you have watched at least one ep[episode of Holmes on Homes and saw how he fixed the problem. Not a cheap fix, but then again, you also have to look at how much a water leak or a compromised foundation takes away from the value of your home.

Seeing that you are just a newbie here, if you would, just keep us all informed as to the approach and solution that you take, along with pics. WE LIKE PICS.

Good luck and WELCOME to Garage Journal

 

[tomd]

Did the seller inform you of the water issues?

 

[nmcqueen469]

I'm in a very similar situation. I know the root of my problem though...insufficient drainage around the foundation.

When it rains HARD, the window well fills up and leaks around the window.

I tried adding a cover with no success. It's ground water that comes in once the ground is saturated and there's no/insufficient tile to get the water away.

 

[stu022488]

I should have added a picture but the window is flush to the garage floor. The part that I was digging up by the duraslope is dry as a bone. I figured it could be coming in through there and draining down by the foundation. Any how I do not this it is coming in from there.

And yes I knew of the leaking crack before I bought it. Father in law bought the house three years ago then sold it to us after redoing the roof etc. He dosn't know much about the drainage as he says he wasn't there when they put it in. But the tile all seems to check out from a drainage stand point

 

[JakeKohl]

It's difficult to tell exactly what the arrangement is with that window, but I think I get it now. Looking at the picture that views into the garage...with the drain in front of the door; I see a window at the bottom of the stairs. I presume this is the window we're also looking at from the basement. I'm also assuming, since there is a drain in front of the garage door, that there is a grade that slopes toward the house on this side?

This is a bit of a "duh-huh", but you are clearly getting a lot of water under the garage slab from somewhere. What does the topography/grading look like around the house?

 

[WQ59B]

If I see this series of pics correct, the glass block windo is INSIDE the garage (that's the shadow of the step from the basement side) - therefore it's not a factor directly. Since there IS a windo inside the garage, it points to the garage being a later addition, correct?

Seems clear ground/surface water is penetrating between the 2 pours (house foundation & garage footing/slab). You need to make sure all ground pitches away from the garage on all 3 sides (I'd look hard at the rear seam between the 2, also).

If it were my house, I'd dig down to the garage footing and seal the hell out of that vertical seam, same at the rear, then verify my grading. I would also use hydraulic cement inside the basement to seal that hole.
That Dura Slope is closed off on that end under the hose bib, right? Also check your gutter downspouts discharge a good 8-ft from your house all around.

 

[stu022488]

Yup jake kohl that is right. Topography around the house is fine slopes away to a perforated tile about two feet from the perimeter of the house. The garage was an add on. WQ how deep do you think the footer would be on the garage would I need a backhoe to dig down to waterproof the outside. I'm in the process of filling the hole with hydraulic cement just kind wanna take care of the outside problem else the water will just end up somewhere else in time. Thank you guys for the great responses too

 

[WQ59B]

^ The general guideline is 3' (4' in colder climates), so you should be able to get away without a machine. This really only addresses surface water, but it can't hurt. The other issue IMO is ground water coming up from below. Once you eliminate factors like downspouts & grading, you should seal the inside of the basement & get your sump pump set up. I would discharge this as far from the house as is practical.

Can you detail the 'perforated tile' set up more? Where does the perforated tile flow go, or is it merely draining into the ground 2-ft from the house? If so, that's too close- I may be unclear on this particular...

 

[Kevin54]

I see things clearly now. THe window is in the garage.

Is this crack damp all of the time, or just when it rains? Where are your downspouts located? Does your downspouts run into any tiles?

Can you post a pic a little further away so we can see the house and garage and the ground surrounding it? Does the ground behind the house set higher than your house? Also is there any possibility that this may have been some sort of abandoned tile from years back. By that I mean, where your house is now,is it by itself, or are you in some sort of housing development?

If you are getting that much water in after a rain, which is basically a lot of water for being a wall that is under roof, I wonder if there is not a broken drain tile underneath the slab?

 

[stu022488]

^ The general guideline is 3' (4' in colder climates), so you should be able to get away without a machine. This really only addresses surface water, but it can't hurt. The other issue IMO is ground water coming up from below. Once you eliminate factors like downspouts & grading, you should seal the inside of the basement & get your sump pump set up. I would discharge this as far from the house as is practical.

Can you detail the 'perforated tile' set up more? Where does the perforated tile flow go, or is it merely draining into the ground 2-ft from the house? If so, that's too close- I may be unclear on this particular...

Of course figured I would draw a diagram. BTW I am assuming it is perforated tile as it is covered with stone. When I used to work in construction only perforated was covered with stone and I don't see why they would run drainage around the house without making it perforated. I am thinking of discharging it right into the large 8 inch tile that runs out to the storm sewer. I have visually seen the water coming from the back right downspout all the way to the street where it goes into the storm sewer. Alright I just dug up and put a hose on the tile in the back of the house. It drains all the way to the front duraslope via the path I mapped. I thought the front left downspout drained to the back however that drains to the storm sewer. I dug up the back right downspout piping and that also ties into the back perforated tile and "T"s. There was a small amount of water by the T were the water was flowing.

Edit: the front left downspout drains to the back not the storm sewer

 

[stu022488]

I see things clearly now. THe window is in the garage.

Is this crack damp all of the time, or just when it rains? Where are your downspouts located? Does your downspouts run into any tiles?

Can you post a pic a little further away so we can see the house and garage and the ground surrounding it? Does the ground behind the house set higher than your house? Also is there any possibility that this may have been some sort of abandoned tile from years back. By that I mean, where your house is now,is it by itself, or are you in some sort of housing development?

If you are getting that much water in after a rain, which is basically a lot of water for being a wall that is under roof, I wonder if there is not a broken drain tile underneath the slab?

That is what I was thinking was an abandoned pipe that the garage was just built on. Here are some around the house pics

 

[WQ59B]

Thanks for the pics/sketch.
That's perforated plastic pipe, I was thrown because you were referring to it as 'tile'. The problem with perforated pipe is.... it's perforated. Any water that gets into it also gets out. I agree that it's possible a length is going under the garage, tho again; the footing should be down 3', and I doubt this PP is that deep anywhere- (tho that builder may have poked it thru the garage sub-grade walls). PP is commonly used around the basement footing (below the floor level), so water flows down to it. Here, it's well above the floor and.... it's perforated.

I don't think it's doing you any favors. If you don't have grade sloping toward your house/standing water around it, it doesn't seem to me you need perforated pipe near the surface, so close. And I would NOT channel all my roof run-off thru perforated pipe in a 2-foot orbit around my entire house.

Lacking other info, I would abandon the perforated and get the downspouts into solid pipe dumping a good 8 feet from your foundation (and hopefully running away). Again- aside from swampy conditions, your first concern is the downspout run-off... which looks like at most 4 from your drawing.

 

[Kevin54]

Are your pipes "perforated" or do you mean "corrugated"? Perforated will have small holes all along the pipe, Corrugated is what you are showing but without holes.

Do you have any idea what the garage was before it was added on? A porch, bare ground, a carport?

 

[WQ59B]

^ Good point K54 : if it's non-perforated, it's not going to be a contributing factor. This is why I never give a price quote over the phone for work- seeing is everything.

 

[stu022488]

Are your pipes "perforated" or do you mean "corrugated"? Perforated will have small holes all along the pipe, Corrugated is what you are showing but without holes.

Do you have any idea what the garage was before it was added on? A porch, bare ground, a carport?

It is perforated it has small slits. What I noticed during the rainstorm is that the downspout going into the perforated tine in the back right corner is splitting the water both ways so it is shooting back and forth. What needed to be done is it needed to be a directed flow towards the duraslope instead of just shooting into the perforated tile at a 90 degree angle. With the force of the water from the downspout it is pushing the water up hill into this perforated tile where it is probably leaking out under the garage floor and making its way up to the crack in the wall. It makes sense why the garage floor seems wet or damp towards the rear end of the garage. What I will do is dig up the downspout tile and shoot it away towards the house or tie it into the perforated tile down the line so it drains to the storm sewer. For Example I drew the revamped line but I will tie it in further down that way it can push any sitting water to the dura slope also.

 

[stu022488]

Thought I would update. Fixing the downspout in the back has stopped the leak. Re-routing it towards the back yard and not tying it into the other tile has stopped the leak. Couldn't feel better about this thank you for the help