Leak in Basement Wall

[ws6whiteshark]

What is the name of your state? Maryland

My wife and I built a new home 2 years ago. While we were doing our 90-day punch out list we noticed down in the basement (unfinished) that there was an area with some water on the concrete floor. I pulled the insulation apart that was attached to the wall and noticed the concrete wall was wet (soaked through). We informed the builder who dried the block wall and said they waterproofed them, so it shouldn't happen again. Recently we have noticed again water soaked concrete walls and a little puddle at the bottom of this same area. We notified the builder and they originally wanted to come out and dig a trench along the foundation wall at this location to see what's going on. Now they are saying and I quote from their email:

"John ran by your house yesterday and checked a few things that could be affecting the moisture at the block.

We_d like to set a meeting with you for John to run by with the laser to shoot the grades at the foundation. It appears that the landscaping may be holding the water against the foundation. We_ll decide the next course of action after this meeting.

Please let me know when you are available to meet. John will probably want to come out before to set up the equipment and not use any more of your time than is absolutely necessary."

Now, I can tell you that our landscaping has nothing to do with this situation since we had a leak at this very same spot when we first moved in. At that time there was hardly any landscaping and the grade has always ran away from the house.

The product they used to waterproof the foundation walls is called Rub-R-Wall Plus and the manufacture guarantees their product will not leak or they will take care of it.

Does it sound like the builder is playing games or what??? Any ideas???

S

 

[lcannister]

While we were doing our 90-day punch out list ... Recently we have noticed again water soaked concrete walls and a little puddle at the bottom of this same area.

Has it occured to you that the first problem has nothing to do with the second incident IF there has been no water in between the two times you noticed? Has it been very dry in your area so that there might not have been more water between the two incidents?

Perhaps it is time to get someone independent of the "builder" out to inspect the problem and give you some advice on what might be wrong with the wall/basement area.

Do you have a sump pump area in the basement?

 

[ws6whiteshark]

Has it occured to you that the first problem has nothing to do with the second incident IF there has been no water in between the two times you noticed? Has it been very dry in your area so that there might not have been more water between the two incidents?

Perhaps it is time to get someone independent of the "builder" out to inspect the problem and give you some advice on what might be wrong with the wall/basement area.

Do you have a sump pump area in the basement?

I don't camp out down in the basement every time it rains, so I couldn't tell you if this is only the second time it occurred. Since it's behind insulation, if it doesn't puddle and I don't have a reason to go downstairs into the basement, I wouldn't know about it. I just happened to notice it again in exactly the same area as before. Regardless, a leak is a leak no matter how they slice it. We do have a sump pump in the basement and we are on top of a vista (hill) so water naturally flows away from the house with the grade.

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state? Maryland

My wife and I built a new home 2 years ago. While we were doing our 90-day punch out list we noticed down in the basement (unfinished) that there was an area with some water on the concrete floor. I pulled the insulation apart that was attached to the wall and noticed the concrete wall was wet (soaked through). We informed the builder who dried the block wall and said they waterproofed them, so it shouldn't happen again. Recently we have noticed again water soaked concrete walls and a little puddle at the bottom of this same area. We notified the builder and they originally wanted to come out and dig a trench along the foundation wall at this location to see what's going on. Now they are saying and I quote from their email:

"John ran by your house yesterday and checked a few things that could be affecting the moisture at the block.

We_d like to set a meeting with you for John to run by with the laser to shoot the grades at the foundation. It appears that the landscaping may be holding the water against the foundation. We_ll decide the next course of action after this meeting.

Please let me know when you are available to meet. John will probably want to come out before to set up the equipment and not use any more of your time than is absolutely necessary."

Now, I can tell you that our landscaping has nothing to do with this situation since we had a leak at this very same spot when we first moved in. At that time there was hardly any landscaping and the grade has always ran away from the house.

The product they used to waterproof the foundation walls is called Rub-R-Wall Plus and the manufacture guarantees their product will not leak or they will take care of it.

Does it sound like the builder is playing games or what??? Any ideas???

S

**A: typical games. Hire your own waterproofing engineer. Post back with the report.

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

The waterproofing should be on the outside of the foundation--otherwise water will continue to soak and break down the blocks because it is trapped inside.

 

[ws6whiteshark]

The waterproofing should be on the outside of the foundation--otherwise water will continue to soak and break down the blocks because it is trapped inside.

The waterproofiing is on the outside foundation walls... however, for some reason when we get a pretty good rain, I am finding that some of the blocks in this area are soaked in some spots about 1 to 3 feet off the floor.

 

[MtHoodRising]

I had a similar situation...

--in a house we had built in Wisconsin in 2004 and sold in mid 2006. We noticed some pooling of water on the floor of an unfinished storage area of the basement along with some water running in from where the foundation meets the wood framing above. The builder came out and told me that the ground that was added by my landscaping company was to close or actually meeting the top of the foundation in that area outside. Since we only had issues in the spring, I finally regraded, reducing the dirt level to about six inches below the foundation/brick level and added aluminum edging for security. In the two months after fixing the issue until the time of the sale of the house, we didn't get any more water over the wall in the basement nor have we heard from the buyers of any issues in the last 16 months.

So the question is if the water is actually coming through a crack in the foundation (you said that the concrete wall had soaked through - how can you tell this?) or the water is coming in from the seam at the top of the foundation. I would have a foundation company come out and give a report/estimate and then meet with the builder so that you are educated on what needs to be done. Get it fixed now so that it is not an issue if/when you sell the place down the road.

 

[ws6whiteshark]

--in a house we had built in Wisconsin in 2004 and sold in mid 2006. We noticed some pooling of water on the floor of an unfinished storage area of the basement along with some water running in from where the foundation meets the wood framing above. The builder came out and told me that the ground that was added by my landscaping company was to close or actually meeting the top of the foundation in that area outside. Since we only had issues in the spring, I finally regraded, reducing the dirt level to about six inches below the foundation/brick level and added aluminum edging for security. In the two months after fixing the issue until the time of the sale of the house, we didn't get any more water over the wall in the basement nor have we heard from the buyers of any issues in the last 16 months.

So the question is if the water is actually coming through a crack in the foundation (you said that the concrete wall had soaked through - how can you tell this?) or the water is coming in from the seam at the top of the foundation. I would have a foundation company come out and give a report/estimate and then meet with the builder so that you are educated on what needs to be done. Get it fixed now so that it is not an issue if/when you sell the place down the road.

I'm not sure if it's soaking through or if it is similiar to your situation. It could be coming in where the brick meets the block foundation and every third block cell is filled with concrete and the water could be entering the block in the hollow cells... Not sure. It seems odd that only a couple blocks get wet in the basement (wet spots).