Water in the Basement

[Dipper9]

Anybody do home waterproofing for a living?

We get water through the concrete walls in the basement. I think the majority of it comes from the neighbors rain spouts that drain onto my property. Last Fall I applied water proof paint to all the walls in the basement, and that seems to have slowed it down, but when we have big rainfalls I am still getting water. Luckily that section of the basement is unfinished, but its causing some mold to grow, even with the dehumidifyer running pretty much non stop.

Anyone have any suggestions???????

[olehippi]

Dipper...talk to your neighbor about getting downspout extenders to drain the water away from your property? If that doesn't work, another option involves a lot of digging to put in a French drain. Unfortunately, digging is what I had to do to stop the basement leaks at my mother's house. It was a bear!

[weams]

Anybody do home waterproofing for a living?

We get water through the concrete walls in the basement. I think the majority of it comes from the neighbors rain spouts that drain onto my property. Last Fall I applied water proof paint to all the walls in the basement, and that seems to have slowed it down, but when we have big rainfalls I am still getting water. Luckily that section of the basement is unfinished, but its causing some mold to grow, even with the dehumidifyer running pretty much non stop.

Anyone have any suggestions???????

Many years ago, a couple coats of KILZ and Waterproof paint finally solved that issue at a property I owned that was on a hillside. The French Drain is an option but it can be an effort. I never resorted to it and even thought the foundation was cracked a bit it solved the issue as long as I lived there.

http://www.masterchem.com/masterchem/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=62de90033f9ff110VgnVCM1000008a 05d103RCRD

[xKHx]

My uncle and aunt put in a sump pump and it worked for them really well. They pumped it to a drain they had installed to a small room they made and just had the door closed. This is what they did in the early 90's I don't know if anything has changed. They lived in Towson by the apple orchard at the bottom of a big hill so they would really get flooded when it rained.

[Dipper9]

My uncle and aunt put in a sump pump and it worked for them really well. They pumped it to a drain they had installed to a small room they made and just had the door closed. This is what they did in the early 90's I don't know if anything has changed. They lived in Towson by the apple orchard at the bottom of a big hill so they would really get flooded when it rained.

Oh, I have a sump pump and it works great. I am talking more about the water that "leaks" through the walls. I did the KILZ and waterproofing paint thing last year but it hasn't seemed to work very well. Maybe I'll try TAR! lol

But speaking of Sump Pumps, I have been meaning to get one of those battery backup systems so that in case power goes out we still have the pump working. Well last Saturday I had to take my daughter to a gymnastics meet, and you guessed it, the power went out during that storm. My poor wife had to bale water out of the sump pump hole all night long. So, two questions.

One, anybody know a good battery backup system to use for sump pumps?

Two, we were recently told that sump pumps don't last long and you should replace them every few years. Ours works fine but is at least 5 years old. (it was in the house when we bought it). Should we replace a perfectly fine sump pump????

[RHall31]

Oh, I have a sump pump and it works great. I am talking more about the water that "leaks" through the walls. I did the KILZ and waterproofing paint thing last year but it hasn't seemed to work very well. Maybe I'll try TAR! lol

But speaking of Sump Pumps, I have been meaning to get one of those battery backup systems so that in case power goes out we still have the pump working. Well last Saturday I had to take my daughter to a gymnastics meet, and you guessed it, the power went out during that storm. My poor wife had to bale water out of the sump pump hole all night long. So, two questions.

One, anybody know a good battery backup system to use for sump pumps?

Two, we were recently told that sump pumps don't last long and you should replace them every few years. Ours works fine but is at least 5 years old. (it was in the house when we bought it). Should we replace a perfectly fine sump pump????

Never heard that sump pumps go so quickly. I guess it depends on how often they are cycling. You could just buy a spare to have on hand just in case...