I bought a small house in Cincinnati Ohio that was built in the
early 70s knowing that it was in bad shape, with a leaky basement, and
I am rehabbing it. The gutters were broken, and the land near the
block-foundation of the basement was sloping towards the basement in
some spots. I fixed the gutters and directed downspout water away from
the house. I also put dirt in the appropriate spots around the house so
that the land around the foundation sloped away from the house for
about 2.5 feet. However, the backyard generally slopes toward the
house, and there is a swale at the Northwest corner of it that is lower
than the SW corner of the house. I should also mention that the house
has a sump pump (on the NE corner of the basement), and I installed a
back flow preventer about 3 weeks ago, and both of those steps helped
significantly when there were lesser rains. Also, the sump pump water
flows out about 15 feet from the house in a pipe that I installed to
handle the water flow.

On Friday night and Saturday morning we got about 2.6 inches of
steady rain, and there were small puddles of water that appear to have
come from the NW back corner, the NE and SE front corners. (Since I
don't live in the house yet, I was not there to see exactly where the
water came from.) There are a number of anomalies that appear to be
suspicious to me. Downspout drain pipes on the south side of the house
are apparently clogged -- I ran a hose into the the SE downspout, and
it caused a significant amount of water to go into the sump pump's
inflow pipe, so I capped it off, and I have the water from that
downspout running down what is mostly a very subtle slope from the
frontyard to the street. The other southern downspout was in a window
well, and when I ran a hose into that downspout's drain pipe, the
window well became soggy. So I removed the downspout and capped off
the drain pipe.

Also, I installed perforated drain pipes on the north and south
sides of the house (about 2.5 feet from the house) to take advantage of
what is generally a slight slope from the back of the house to the
front yard and street. The idea of the pipes was to absorb large
amounts of flowing water and take it from the back of the house to the
street in the front yard. However, I wonder whether the pipes, which
are covered with gravel are merely attracting water and that the water
is somehow flowing to the base of the basement -- Following the Friday
night and Saturday morning rain, there was virtually no standing water
near the house, and the ground on the surface was not mushy. Also, I
didn't see any water flow in the pipes shortly after the rain.

Finally, there are about twenty 1/2" diameter holes drilled
through the basement floor that are spread all throughout the basement.
I don't know why they are there, but maybe they have some effect on
the flooding. Since, I don't live in the house yet, I can't say
whether any water is coming up through them or not.

On the basis of this situation, I am puzzled as to why the
basement is leaking. If someone could give me their ideas as how the
leaks are coming about and how to fix the problem, it would be greatly
appreciated.

Thanks,

JD

wrote:
I bought a small house in Cincinnati Ohio that was built in the
early 70s knowing that it was in bad shape, with a leaky basement, and
I am rehabbing it. The gutters were broken, and the land near the
block-foundation of the basement was sloping towards the basement in
some spots. I fixed the gutters and directed downspout water away
from the house. I also put dirt in the appropriate spots around the
house so that the land around the foundation sloped away from the
house for about 2.5 feet. However, the backyard generally slopes
toward the house, and there is a swale at the Northwest corner of it
that is lower than the SW corner of the house. I should also mention
that the house has a sump pump (on the NE corner of the basement),
and I installed a back flow preventer about 3 weeks ago, and both of
those steps helped significantly when there were lesser rains. Also,
the sump pump water flows out about 15 feet from the house in a pipe
that I installed to handle the water flow.

On Friday night and Saturday morning we got about 2.6 inches of
steady rain, and there were small puddles of water that appear to have
come from the NW back corner, the NE and SE front corners. (Since I
don't live in the house yet, I was not there to see exactly where the
water came from.) There are a number of anomalies that appear to be
suspicious to me. Downspout drain pipes on the south side of the
house are apparently clogged -- I ran a hose into the the SE
downspout, and it caused a significant amount of water to go into the
sump pump's inflow pipe, so I capped it off, and I have the water
from that downspout running down what is mostly a very subtle slope
from the frontyard to the street. The other southern downspout was
in a window well, and when I ran a hose into that downspout's drain
pipe, the window well became soggy. So I removed the downspout and
capped off the drain pipe.

Also, I installed perforated drain pipes on the north and south
sides of the house (about 2.5 feet from the house) to take advantage
of what is generally a slight slope from the back of the house to the
front yard and street. The idea of the pipes was to absorb large
amounts of flowing water and take it from the back of the house to the
street in the front yard. However, I wonder whether the pipes, which
are covered with gravel are merely attracting water and that the water
is somehow flowing to the base of the basement -- Following the
Friday night and Saturday morning rain, there was virtually no
standing water near the house, and the ground on the surface was not
mushy. Also, I didn't see any water flow in the pipes shortly after
the rain.

Finally, there are about twenty 1/2" diameter holes drilled
through the basement floor that are spread all throughout the
basement. I don't know why they are there, but maybe they have some
effect on the flooding. Since, I don't live in the house yet, I
can't say whether any water is coming up through them or not.

On the basis of this situation, I am puzzled as to why the
basement is leaking. If someone could give me their ideas as how the
leaks are coming about and how to fix the problem, it would be greatly
appreciated.

Thanks,

JD

Well I can make a few guesses and suggestions.

2.5 Feet is not enough to do any real good. You need more like 15 feet
plus. What you are trying is the right idea, but I think you have failed
because you did not go far enough.

I suspect you may have a problem with the local water table. How close
are you to the river and how far above it?

Those holes are interesting. Maybe someone thought it would drain the
water or maybe it has something to do with radon?

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

wrote:
I bought a small house in Cincinnati Ohio that was built in the
early 70s knowing that it was in bad shape, with a leaky basement, and
I am rehabbing it. The gutters were broken, and the land near the
block-foundation of the basement was sloping towards the basement in
some spots. I fixed the gutters and directed downspout water away from
the house. I also put dirt in the appropriate spots around the house so
that the land around the foundation sloped away from the house for
about 2.5 feet. However, the backyard generally slopes toward the
house, and there is a swale at the Northwest corner of it that is lower
than the SW corner of the house. I should also mention that the house
has a sump pump (on the NE corner of the basement), and I installed a
back flow preventer about 3 weeks ago, and both of those steps helped
significantly when there were lesser rains. Also, the sump pump water
flows out about 15 feet from the house in a pipe that I installed to
handle the water flow.

On Friday night and Saturday morning we got about 2.6 inches of
steady rain, and there were small puddles of water that appear to have
come from the NW back corner, the NE and SE front corners. (Since I
don't live in the house yet, I was not there to see exactly where the
water came from.) There are a number of anomalies that appear to be
suspicious to me. Downspout drain pipes on the south side of the house
are apparently clogged -- I ran a hose into the the SE downspout, and
it caused a significant amount of water to go into the sump pump's
inflow pipe, so I capped it off, and I have the water from that
downspout running down what is mostly a very subtle slope from the
frontyard to the street. The other southern downspout was in a window
well, and when I ran a hose into that downspout's drain pipe, the
window well became soggy. So I removed the downspout and capped off
the drain pipe.

Also, I installed perforated drain pipes on the north and south
sides of the house (about 2.5 feet from the house) to take advantage of
what is generally a slight slope from the back of the house to the
front yard and street. The idea of the pipes was to absorb large
amounts of flowing water and take it from the back of the house to the
street in the front yard. However, I wonder whether the pipes, which
are covered with gravel are merely attracting water and that the water
is somehow flowing to the base of the basement -- Following the Friday
night and Saturday morning rain, there was virtually no standing water
near the house, and the ground on the surface was not mushy. Also, I
didn't see any water flow in the pipes shortly after the rain.

Finally, there are about twenty 1/2" diameter holes drilled
through the basement floor that are spread all throughout the basement.
I don't know why they are there, but maybe they have some effect on
the flooding. Since, I don't live in the house yet, I can't say
whether any water is coming up through them or not.

On the basis of this situation, I am puzzled as to why the
basement is leaking. If someone could give me their ideas as how the
leaks are coming about and how to fix the problem, it would be greatly
appreciated.

Thanks,

JD


Have you discussed possible basement water issues with the neighbors? If
your problem is an intermittently high water table then all of the
immediate neighbors who have basements will probably have similar
problems and whatever solutions they have come up with may work for you too.

Oh, and a visit to the city engineering office will probably yield some
information about the soil the home is sitting in. If you find that the
water table literally rises to ground level during heavy rains then your
solutions are going to be different (and a lot more expensive!) than if
the water table stays down 10 meters at all times.

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

probably coming from the holes or the bottom edge, where the joint is
between the walls and floor.

Empressess #124457


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wrote:
I bought a small house in Cincinnati Ohio that was built in the
early 70s knowing that it was in bad shape, with a leaky basement, and
I am rehabbing it. The gutters were broken, and the land near the
block-foundation of the basement was sloping towards the basement in
some spots. I fixed the gutters and directed downspout water away from
the house. I also put dirt in the appropriate spots around the house so
that the land around the foundation sloped away from the house for
about 2.5 feet. However, the backyard generally slopes toward the
house, and there is a swale at the Northwest corner of it that is lower
than the SW corner of the house. I should also mention that the house
has a sump pump (on the NE corner of the basement), and I installed a
back flow preventer about 3 weeks ago, and both of those steps helped
significantly when there were lesser rains. Also, the sump pump water
flows out about 15 feet from the house in a pipe that I installed to
handle the water flow.

On Friday night and Saturday morning we got about 2.6 inches of
steady rain, and there were small puddles of water that appear to have
come from the NW back corner, the NE and SE front corners. (Since I
don't live in the house yet, I was not there to see exactly where the
water came from.) There are a number of anomalies that appear to be
suspicious to me. Downspout drain pipes on the south side of the house
are apparently clogged -- I ran a hose into the the SE downspout, and
it caused a significant amount of water to go into the sump pump's
inflow pipe, so I capped it off, and I have the water from that
downspout running down what is mostly a very subtle slope from the
frontyard to the street. The other southern downspout was in a window
well, and when I ran a hose into that downspout's drain pipe, the
window well became soggy. So I removed the downspout and capped off
the drain pipe.

Also, I installed perforated drain pipes on the north and south
sides of the house (about 2.5 feet from the house) to take advantage of
what is generally a slight slope from the back of the house to the
front yard and street. The idea of the pipes was to absorb large
amounts of flowing water and take it from the back of the house to the
street in the front yard. However, I wonder whether the pipes, which
are covered with gravel are merely attracting water and that the water
is somehow flowing to the base of the basement -- Following the Friday
night and Saturday morning rain, there was virtually no standing water
near the house, and the ground on the surface was not mushy. Also, I
didn't see any water flow in the pipes shortly after the rain.

Finally, there are about twenty 1/2" diameter holes drilled
through the basement floor that are spread all throughout the basement.
I don't know why they are there, but maybe they have some effect on
the flooding. Since, I don't live in the house yet, I can't say
whether any water is coming up through them or not.

On the basis of this situation, I am puzzled as to why the
basement is leaking. If someone could give me their ideas as how the
leaks are coming about and how to fix the problem, it would be greatly
appreciated.

Thanks,

JD

Joseph Meehan wrote:

Well I can make a few guesses and suggestions.

2.5 Feet is not enough to do any real good. You need more like 15 feet
plus. What you are trying is the right idea, but I think you have failed
because you did not go far enough.

Joe,

I only have about 10 feet between adjoining landowners, so I
couldn't pile up dirt for 15 feet even if it was practically feasible.
There is generally a subtle slope from the back to the front, so I can
direct the water from the back to the front to the street in front of
my house if I need to. However, I am concerned that I have some weird
situation where possibly old weeping tiles or the old clogged drain
pipes are somehow attracting more than the normal amount of water to
the foundation, and I am afraid that if I do more grading working, it
won't work. Also, afraid that maybe there is something at the bottom
of the basement that is causing the leaks although I am aware that 95%
of basement water problems are caused by poor drainage.
I suspect you may have a problem with the local water table. How close
are you to the river and how far above it?

I am 10 miles from the river. Also, I am about 100 yards away
from the beginning of a plateau that sits above land that is about 100
feet lower. Additionally, I called a hydrogeologist at the county
water department, and he told me that my house sat on bedrock, so I am
pretty hopeful that I am not sitting on top of a low water table.

Those holes are interesting. Maybe someone thought it would drain the
water or maybe it has something to do with radon?

Have no idea -- wondering what others think.

JD

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Joseph Meehan wrote:

Well I can make a few guesses and suggestions.

2.5 Feet is not enough to do any real good. You need more like 15 feet
plus. What you are trying is the right idea, but I think you have failed
because you did not go far enough.

Joseph,

I only have about 10 feet between adjoining landowners, so I
couldn't pile up dirt for 15 feet even if it was practically feasible.
There is generally a subtle slope from the back to the front, so I can
direct the water from the back to the front to the street in front of
my house if I need to. However, I am concerned that I have some weird
situation where possibly old weeping tiles or the old clogged drain
pipes are somehow attracting more than the normal amount of water to
the foundation, and I am afraid that if I do more grading working, it
won't work. Also, afraid that maybe there is something at the bottom
of the basement that is causing the leaks although I am aware that 95%
of basement water problems are caused by poor drainage.
I suspect you may have a problem with the local water table. How close
are you to the river and how far above it?

I am 10 miles from the river. Also, I am about 100 yards away
from the beginning of a plateau that sits above land that is about 100
feet lower. Additionally, I called a hydrogeologist at the county
water department, and he told me that my house sat on bedrock, so I am
pretty hopeful that I am not sitting on top of a low water table.

Those holes are interesting. Maybe someone thought it would drain the
water or maybe it has something to do with radon?

Have no idea -- wondering what others think.

JD

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

John McGaw wrote:

Have you discussed possible basement water issues with the neighbors? If
your problem is an intermittently high water table then all of the
immediate neighbors who have basements will probably have similar
problems and whatever solutions they have come up with may work for you too.

John,

My immediately adjoining neighbors on the north and south of me
do not have basements, so I can not use their situation as a barometer
for mine. However, there is a house that is 2 houses away from mine
and built identically to mine that has not had basement problems when I
had them. I haven't questioned them about the most recent storm, but I
will.

Oh, and a visit to the city engineering office will probably yield some
information about the soil the home is sitting in. If you find that the
water table literally rises to ground level during heavy rains then your
solutions are going to be different (and a lot more expensive!) than if
the water table stays down 10 meters at all times.

I have called the county's hydrogeologist, and he told me that
my house sat on bedrock. From that I implied that the house is not in
an area with a low water table. I may follow up with him, and ask him
specifically about the water table where my house is located, but my
memory is that he strongly implied that I did not have water table
problems. Thanks for your input.

JD

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

wrote:
I bought a small house in Cincinnati Ohio that was built in the
early 70s knowing that it was in bad shape, with a leaky basement, and
I am rehabbing it. The gutters were broken, and the land near the
block-foundation of the basement was sloping towards the basement in
some spots. I fixed the gutters and directed downspout water away from
the house. I also put dirt in the appropriate spots around the house so
that the land around the foundation sloped away from the house for
about 2.5 feet. However, the backyard generally slopes toward the
house, and there is a swale at the Northwest corner of it that is lower
than the SW corner of the house. I should also mention that the house
has a sump pump (on the NE corner of the basement), and I installed a
back flow preventer about 3 weeks ago, and both of those steps helped
significantly when there were lesser rains. Also, the sump pump water
flows out about 15 feet from the house in a pipe that I installed to
handle the water flow.

On Friday night and Saturday morning we got about 2.6 inches of
steady rain, and there were small puddles of water that appear to have
come from the NW back corner, the NE and SE front corners. (Since I
don't live in the house yet, I was not there to see exactly where the
water came from.) There are a number of anomalies that appear to be
suspicious to me. Downspout drain pipes on the south side of the house
are apparently clogged -- I ran a hose into the the SE downspout, and
it caused a significant amount of water to go into the sump pump's
inflow pipe, so I capped it off, and I have the water from that
downspout running down what is mostly a very subtle slope from the
frontyard to the street. The other southern downspout was in a window
well, and when I ran a hose into that downspout's drain pipe, the
window well became soggy. So I removed the downspout and capped off
the drain pipe.

Also, I installed perforated drain pipes on the north and south
sides of the house (about 2.5 feet from the house) to take advantage of
what is generally a slight slope from the back of the house to the
front yard and street. The idea of the pipes was to absorb large
amounts of flowing water and take it from the back of the house to the
street in the front yard. However, I wonder whether the pipes, which
are covered with gravel are merely attracting water and that the water
is somehow flowing to the base of the basement -- Following the Friday
night and Saturday morning rain, there was virtually no standing water
near the house, and the ground on the surface was not mushy. Also, I
didn't see any water flow in the pipes shortly after the rain.

Finally, there are about twenty 1/2" diameter holes drilled
through the basement floor that are spread all throughout the basement.
I don't know why they are there, but maybe they have some effect on
the flooding. Since, I don't live in the house yet, I can't say
whether any water is coming up through them or not.

On the basis of this situation, I am puzzled as to why the
basement is leaking. If someone could give me their ideas as how the
leaks are coming about and how to fix the problem, it would be greatly
appreciated.

Thanks,

JD


I seen the holes you describe, usually in the treatment of termites.