On May 16, 11:14*pm, gonzo wrote:
Apologies in advance - I'm sure this has been asked & asked, but 2800+
hits on basement and roof is a bit overwhelming.

Old house, roof needs replacement - tabs coming off during high winds,
hope to do this this fall after refi.

Wet spring (2nd wettest on record for area) and first time for water
in basement. *Gutters kinda clogged with roof material, so cleaned
out. *No rain since, unfortunately.

Possible that gutters drain into cistern next to house - brick and
mortar walls, lid caved in during rainy spring. *Have replaced one
downspout (3 total on house) with a pvc tube that directs gutter
output well away from house, 20ft or so into yard. *2nd has drain pipe
on it, again directing well away from house, maybe 12 ft. *3rd might
drain to cistern, I don't know for sure.

Water in basement seeping in from odd corners, flowing across floor to
drain. *Has to go through whole basement to get to drain. *2 areas
definately coming from below. *Basement is poured cement, several
cracks around perimeter that could go through or not (never had water
in basement except what came in through windows via high winds).

Been here ~9+ years. *So about the cistern. *I am pumping it dry (well
away from house) then in the evening, I can pump again for 1.5-2
hours. *I've checked, and it seems to NOT be a leak from our well -
the pump doesn't run constantly, have turned water off and pressure
tank stayed pressurized. *Ground around house slopes ok, except gaping
hole where cistern is.

What are the chances the roof is causing this problem?? *I see
dampness on the exterior basement wall just under (beneath, lower
than) the siding but not from siding to ground, just up on the wall a
bit - I have no idea what this is, where it is coming from. *There is
some efflorescence on one wall in basement, that has been there a
while.

I need to get this sorted out because I think I'm gonna start to have
problems if it doesn't dry out down there. *Am running a dehumidifier
to drain. *It has dried out once (constant pumping cistern AM and PM
until dry) but after our last rain a couple weeks ago, it's been wet
again.

Water is seepage, less than 1/4 inch deep, but it is wet enough to
splash in.

Need some guidance please! *Sorry for long post, trying to get all
nec. info included.

Thanks.

2nd wettest spring, clogged gutters, that will do it, be sure gutters
actualy are pitched to drain and downspouts drain far from your home,
when my gutters are full of junk I flood.

On Sat, 17 May 2008 04:44:04 -0700 (PDT), ransley
wrote:

On May 16, 11:14*pm, gonzo wrote:
Apologies in advance - I'm sure this has been asked & asked, but 2800+
hits on basement and roof is a bit overwhelming.

Old house, roof needs replacement - tabs coming off during high winds,
hope to do this this fall after refi.

Wet spring (2nd wettest on record for area) and first time for water
in basement. *Gutters kinda clogged with roof material, so cleaned
out. *No rain since, unfortunately.

Possible that gutters drain into cistern next to house - brick and
mortar walls, lid caved in during rainy spring. *Have replaced one
downspout (3 total on house) with a pvc tube that directs gutter
output well away from house, 20ft or so into yard. *2nd has drain pipe
on it, again directing well away from house, maybe 12 ft. *3rd might
drain to cistern, I don't know for sure.

Water in basement seeping in from odd corners, flowing across floor to
drain. *Has to go through whole basement to get to drain. *2 areas
definately coming from below. *Basement is poured cement, several
cracks around perimeter that could go through or not (never had water
in basement except what came in through windows via high winds).


I've got the same problem. 60 year old house, poured cement basement.
Always dry. This year snow up to the eaves, which then melted in three
days so one corner of the basement is wet.

The ground is just saturated with water so there isn't anything I can
do. That I know of. I don't have a sump pump and there aren't any
channels to the drain in the middle of the floor.

I've had the dehumidifier on for three weeks and the corner is just
now starting to dry a bit. This winter sucked.

Keri

On May 17, 8:14*am, kerilotion wrote:
On Sat, 17 May 2008 04:44:04 -0700 (PDT), ransley





wrote:
On May 16, 11:14*pm, gonzo wrote:
Apologies in advance - I'm sure this has been asked & asked, but 2800+
hits on basement and roof is a bit overwhelming.

Old house, roof needs replacement - tabs coming off during high winds,
hope to do this this fall after refi.

Wet spring (2nd wettest on record for area) and first time for water
in basement. *Gutters kinda clogged with roof material, so cleaned
out. *No rain since, unfortunately.

Possible that gutters drain into cistern next to house - brick and
mortar walls, lid caved in during rainy spring. *Have replaced one
downspout (3 total on house) with a pvc tube that directs gutter
output well away from house, 20ft or so into yard. *2nd has drain pipe
on it, again directing well away from house, maybe 12 ft. *3rd might
drain to cistern, I don't know for sure.

Water in basement seeping in from odd corners, flowing across floor to
drain. *Has to go through whole basement to get to drain. *2 areas
definately coming from below. *Basement is poured cement, several
cracks around perimeter that could go through or not (never had water
in basement except what came in through windows via high winds).

I've got the same problem. 60 year old house, poured cement basement.
Always dry. This year snow up to the eaves, which then melted in three
days so one corner of the basement is wet.

The ground is just saturated with water so there isn't anything I can
do. That I know of. *I don't have a sump pump and there aren't any
channels to the drain in the middle of the floor.

I've had the dehumidifier on for three weeks and the corner is *just
now starting to dry a bit. This winter sucked.

Keri- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


The roof is very unlikely to be the culprit. If there was a point
source of water in one spot, then there is some chance the water could
somehow be making it's way from a roof leak to the basement without
showing up inside the house first. But if it's coming from multiple
areas and continues for days after a rain, that you can rule that out.

Pumping the cistern and having it fill up again in a matter of hours
with no rain is one clue. This being the 2nd wettest Spring on
record is a major one. That means there is likely enough water to
temporarily raise the normal level of water in the ground and it can
stay that way for weeks.

In addition to making sure the gutters work and take the water 10ft+
away from the house, which you've already done, make sure the ground
around the foundation is properly graded. Next heavy rain, go outside
and verify what is really going on. For example, I've seen cases
where you have a nice corrugated pipe attached to the gutter downspout
and all looks well. But because it's not secured high enough on the
downspout, during a heavy rain the water pours out right there at the
foot of the foundation.

In a month or so, it will very likely return to normal. Then you
have to evaluate if it's worth taking additional and more difficult
steps to preven it in the future, or to live with the probability of
it happening again during another period of extreme rain.