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Hello all,

I've lived in my house for about 1 year, and never noticed any water
until now. I have a small shallow puddle [about 4-5 square feet area,
1 cm depth] on the basement floor, adjacent to the bulkhead entrance.
It has been raining for the past few days, and apparently some water
has penetrated the bulkhead and found its way into the basement.

There is some wetness on the bulkheads steps, but it is not obvious
where the water penetrated the bulkhead. I assume this is a relatively
common problem. Does anyone know how water typically gets through a
basement bulkhead and some ways to mitigate the problem?

Through the door, through the weatherstrip where bulkhead attaches to
house/foundation, up through the drain in the stairway pit (if so equipped),
seepage where the steps attach to the foundation (if it is a precast unit),
any or all of the above. It could even be coming right through the concrete.

Time for a light/gardenhose test. Close and dog down the bulkhead, turn off
all the basement lights, a see if daylight leaks through anywhere in bulhead
area. Or light up the inside, and see if any light leaks out at night. Once
it dries out, saturate one side at a time with a garden hose, and try to
recreate the leak. Once you pinpoint where the leak is, the needed repairs
should be obvious.

aem sends...