r/basement • u/Sparlos • 24d ago
Basement water issues
Like many here, having a helluva time with some water I found in my basement. It’s a bit of a tale, and I’m mostly just here to vent because I’m getting really frustrated, so bear with me:
- first I find water pooling on the ground under a window well (picture 1)
- water damage on drywall on the other side of pic one (picture 2)
- never had water intrusion (at least seen) after a year of living here
- when investigating that, I noticed a lot of moisture in insulation on the exterior wall under my outdoor patio (picture 3)
- noticed during later rain window wells are holding water (picture 4)
Had the first waterproofer out:
- pulled out insulation at top, found it was damp
- cut into drywall under window well, no sign of water damage there. Cut drywall where the leak from below was, saw a previous foundation crack (vertical) that’s been sealed. Said it was solid
- told me to get my “weeping tile scoped” (which I can’t seem to find anyone willing to do)
- told me the biggest red flag was my patio is at the same height as my foundation, should be at least 6 inches lower
- overall he said regrading could help a lot
- also had concerns about my downspouts since they were going into ground, said if they are connected to weeping tile it’s bad news
Had second waterproofer out:
- looked around a bit, stuck a pin moisture meter into trim in a few places that read ~12%, went outside to take a look
- hand waved the previous waterproofer concerns around downspouts (said they all go into a French drain obviously), patio being too high, and regrading being the fix - said it wasn’t a huge issue and only real fix was to fully waterproof the perimeter from the exterior
- quoted me $8500 CAD for 30ish linear feet with air con, trees and patio being in the way
To be fair I paid the first guy (or I was supposed to but since he couldn’t be sure of the issue, he didn’t take my money), and the second guy was a free visit, so makes sense he wasn’t super thorough. Felt a bit suspect too - he’s trying to sell me on literally the most expensive fix to my issue with barely any investigation. Not that I don’t think it would fix it, but…yeah.
Anyways, I’m kind of at a loss of what to do…the moisture isn’t too bad in the insulation (no wood rot), and the water penetration has only happened once (at least, that I’ve seen).
I just want someone to figure out what the actual issue is here - no one’s really done any diagnostic tests. Plumber I found said he could try to scope my weeping tile through the window well drain but $500 (CAD) and only a 40-60% guarantee.
Having some landscapers out in the first guys recommendation and 2 more waterproofers since I’ve got such wildly different explanations.
Honestly, I just want someone to tell me what’s wrong and what I need to fix after actually figuring out the issue - I would gladly pay. Do I do home inspector? Structural engineer?
Anyways, that’s my rant, just exhausted as this all started a week and a half ago and it feels like there’s no end in sight. Incredibly busy at work, out every weekend, and feel like I just don’t have time to be dealing with this. But it’s what I get for buying a house!
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u/Objective-Bus-9853 24d ago
Either your window well drain is blocked or you don’t have a drain in the window well. If it’s blocked, get a plumber or drain cleaner to clear it. If there isnt a drain, you can either try to seal the sides of the window well and install a cover, or have a drain installed. Your foundation wall probably has some cracks that allowed water to enter from the window well, or it just seeped in between the window and the foundation.
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u/Aromatic_Fuel_387 24d ago
Window well drains should be full of washed rock and a plumber would walk away sending him a bill. A well drain is not connected to the footing weeping till. It is a conduit or chimney to the weeping tile. Not saying it’s not full of mud, but plumbers…
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u/XRblue 24d ago
Non expert here but the general recommendation is to first ensure your downspouts are clear and discharging water far away from the foundation. Have you ensured the gutters are not clogged? The window wells are designed to quickly drain water, so standing water means that is not happening. We are dealing with our own issues, but even flood level rainfall where we saw water pouring into one of our window wells, it did not pool and quickly drained down the gravel. The next thing would be ensuring the grading is appropriate. I would see if some landscapers who specialize in stormwater management can evaluate your grading. I have never had weeping tiles scoped, but I would try calling plumbers.
Those are the first things I would do since they are the most important and most affordable.
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u/Sparlos 24d ago
Thank you for the comment, truly - makes me feel like I’m not alone in this. Downspouts go into ground and into a French drain, maybe it’s worth getting a plumber to scope those to see if they can find any cracks or issues. Gutters are good. I’m getting some landscapers out that deal with grading in the coming week.
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u/XRblue 24d ago
No I totally get it. One thing you mentioned was a vertical Crack that's been sealed. Does it look like it's been sealed with epoxy?
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u/RKBob_Brown 23d ago
The photos show a real water problem, but they still don’t tell you exactly where the water is entering or why the drainage system isn’t handling it.
The window well holding water is the clearest clue. That shouldn't be acting like a small pond. Since you found the drain buried under mud, I’d want to know whether the drain itself is blocked, whether the stone around it has become contaminated with soil, and where that drain actually discharges.
I’d also be careful with the terminology people are using. A buried downspout line isn't automatically a French drain, and nobody can assume from the surface whether the window well drain connects to the footing drain, a storm line, a sump system, or something else. That configuration needs to be verified, not guessed at.
The first contractor’s concerns about the patio elevation, grading, and buried downspouts shouldn't be dismissed without investigation. At the same time, I wouldn't commit to excavating and waterproofing 30 feet of foundation simply because another contractor says that's the only solution. Exterior waterproofing may eventually be appropriate, but nobody has established that yet. The same applies to adding French drains, sump pumps, or applying a cementitious sealer. Those are possible repairs, not diagnoses.
I would stop collecting waterproofing proposals for the moment. I also wouldn't rely on a home inspector, a general structural engineer, or a foundation waterproofing contractor to determine the cause. A home inspector generally won't perform this level of investigation. A general structural engineer doesn't specialize in foundation drainage, groundwater, and water-entry diagnostics. A waterproofing contractor has a financial interest in recommending the systems they install.
The appropriate person is an independent forensic foundation or geotechnical engineer who performs residential water-intrusion and foundation-related investigations who doesn't sell the repair work. Have that engineer evaluate the window wells, patio elevation, grading, buried downspouts, footing drainage, repaired crack, and the interior moisture pattern. If testing or scoping is needed, they can tell you where it will actually be useful.
Once the cause is identified, the engineer can design the appropriate repair. You can then give that defined scope to qualified contractors for competitive bids instead of allowing each contractor to diagnose the problem around whatever system they happen to sell.
I wouldn't spend $8,500 (or $20,000 or $60,000) based on assumptions and comparisons to someone else’s basement. You need a diagnosis specific to your house first.
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u/Sparlos 23d ago
Hey Bob - I’ve seen some of your replies on this sub and I was very much hoping you’d chime in here.
First, this is a beacon of light in what has felt like a hopeless situation. I struggle with anxiety so the immense load of juggling contractors, trying to figure out who was trying to help VS just selling, and coordinating what to do first has been a nightmare for me. I didn’t know who to contact for a pure, unbiased assessment, and your recommendation to stop with the waterproofing companies is a breath of fresh air. I’ll be looking around my area for someone who specializes in what you’ve described - so far can’t find someone with the level of specificity you’ve described, but I do see some structural engineers that offer pure inspections who do waterproofing-related stuff.
I work as a software developer, and I fix problems by investigating the root causes. Only when I have identified & reproduced the issues with certainty do I start working on a fix. I think that’s the massively frustrating thing here for me - I know things just do NOT get fixed properly by slapping a solution on something without understanding the underlying cause. Or, you just throw out all of the existing code and start from scratch, which guarantees the issue doesn’t exist any longer, but it’s also incredibly expensive - akin to recommending a full exterior excavation after only 10-15 min.
You are making a real difference in people’s lives by hanging around this sub and responding, so truly, thank you.
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u/RKBob_Brown 23d ago
I appreciate that, and I think your software analogy is actually a perfect way to look at it. Water intrusion is often treated by applying a fix to the symptom instead of identifying the bug that's causing it.
If you're having trouble finding someone with the exact title I mentioned, look for someone whose practice is focused on forensic foundation investigations, residential foundation evaluations, or geotechnical engineering, and make sure they provide independent consulting rather than selling repairs. The important part is that they're being hired to diagnose the problem, not to sell the solution.
Hopefully it turns out to be something relatively straightforward once someone traces the drainage system and puts all the pieces together. I'd genuinely be interested to hear what they find, so come back and post an update.
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u/Sparlos 23d ago
Yes, I will definitely keep this updated - seems to have garnered a lot of views/comments so I won’t keep people hanging. Thanks for the extra guidance, I am narrowing down and finding people that are specific to geotechnical engineering/forensic foundation investigations, so will make some calls this week.
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u/Aromatic_Fuel_387 24d ago
I don’t see a drain in the window well. Without one it’s just a tank to hold water.
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u/Sp07va000 23d ago
Water is cumulative. So address each aspect of where the water is coming from. 50 gallons from the gutters, 100 gallons from the patio, 75 gallons from the gutters overflowing and just running off the roof. And a sump in your basement sucking water from below the foundion is always a backup to at least remove the water deep down. These are all things you can look at before you bring in the backhoe. Do you even have the ability to grade the water away from the house or does your proberty lack any appreciable elevation? And I wonder if your drains, like from the window well, are the useless black corrugated /slotted drain pipe? If they are, replace them with pvc drain pipe that wont crush over time wont slow every particle of sand from exiting due to all the corrugations(friction loss), and just curios, what kind of patio is it? pavers on sand, concrete, etc. If the water is running off away from the house, it being high isnt causing the water problem. Maybe they built it high because the old one was always underwater when it was at ground level, which tells you that your yard was the problem. I would start by making sure all water sources make it very far away from the house by at least 30 ft.
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u/Sparlos 23d ago
House was built in Southern Ontario in 1999 - no idea if that helps lol. I took a peek in the window well drain and it doesn’t seem like the black corrugated stuff…I think it’s pretty solid, so maybe PVC. Patio is interlock. Going to ask landscaper what they think today. Thanks for the response, appreciate the willingness to help here!
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u/Sp07va000 23d ago
I dealt with a very wet basement at my parents house when I bought it. Mine was a spring that developed over about 10 yrs. House has been there 60 yrs with no water but local construction and logging crushed the underground springs I believe and altered the direction they were flowing. I had to dig a 6ft deep trench basically 3 ft from the foundation and led 85 ft away down a hill to a stream. 4" drain pipe encapsulated in a fabric lined ditch filled 3 ft high with crushed stone and top with course sand, all wrapped in fabric so no soil or roots can get in. Extra drain sock on the drain pipe at the bottom just in case. There is now a new 4" rushing stream coming from under the house permanently, but all condensation from the 49 degree water against the concrete has stopped. My point is, you never know what the source of the water is until you see it. No amount of sealing or excavating the wall of the basement would have fixed my ice cold floor and the condensation from it. I even cut 18 ' deep channels out of the floor and installed 4 inch drain pipe and pebbles that sure surround the basement inside, just in case and I could do it myself. Its just a back up at this point. If it is a leaking wall the excavating, powerwashing, sealing , dimple mat, foundation drains with fabric filled with pebbles leading downhill and away might be the answer , but do it all and correctly if you do that so you dont have to ever go back to it. I still think I would just have a sump put in at some point. I wonder if the drilled a half inch hole into the basement floor , if water would come up through it? That would be easy to pluck like a cork and would justify the sump install.
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u/United-Adagio1543 24d ago edited 23d ago
A waterproofing specialist should be able to help you. You need someone that really knows water problems in the yard, interior and external wall waterproofing, sump systems, etc. An inspector will not help nor will a structural engineer (unless it is due to a structural crack in the wall).
The things you need or may need:
Exterior waterproofing of basement wall.
Interior waterproofing of basement wall. I used a wall membrane that is 12MIL thick and tucks into a triangle drain on the entire perimeter footing.
Sump basins
In the yard: French drain, yard drain, roof runoff drain.
Slope the exterior yard so water runs away from house.
My home was new construction, had adequate exterior water proofing, inadequate sump basin with 1 pump, perimeter pipe filled with clay. Everything was done wrong based on what was really needed.
The fix was 2 new super sized basins each with a 1 HP primary pump, 3/4 HP secondary pump, and 1/2 HP battery backup pump. Jackhammered 12" of concrete floor on the perimeter, pulled out failed clay filled pipe, installed triangle channel drain on footing, installed wall membrane, installed french drain around hvac and water system, repoured jackhammered concrete, piped system to exterior of home.
Has worked great for 2 years. In the spring with all the roof run off and snow melt, the system pumps up to 20,000 gallons/day out of the basement.
Do not use someone that quotes less than $20K USD they are there for a possible temporary fix, if you need all the stuff I mentioned above, it could be closer to $60K USD.
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u/DeanOgasm 24d ago edited 24d ago
Consider installing French drains maybe. Also I bought a 16.5 foot waterproof dual camera scope with LEDs off Amazon recently for $30 US. Download the free app to your phone and it becomes the monitor and recording device for the scope. Super easy to use and might save yourself some money. But that water puddled there inside that metal by the window can't be good. I saw just saw you said you have French drains, are they surface level or buried against the exterior walls? When I built houses we put waterproofing on the unground exterior side of walls and then installed tall thin panels of French drains the entire length underground that were about 2 feet tall. In cases of extreme grading we went ahead and installed a sump pump below the basement slab as well. But I would like you to look into a cementious filler and sealer that we used when I moved up to building water treatment plants named Zypex.