Water is leaking into the basement where the walls meet the floor [Quick Fix] (2023)

Most people experience water seeping into the basement where the walls meet the floor. It is important that this problem is fixed as soon as it is discovered to prevent further damage to your home and even your foundation.

One of the most vulnerable areas for water ingress is the fillet where the wall meets the floor. This type of water leak is called a fillet and is not that difficult to fix. With a few tools and a modicum of experience, you can fix it.

A quick fix for this is to waterproof the floor, cover any gaps in the floor, lengthen the gutter, install a drain curtain, and repair damaged drains.

Water seeps into the basement where the walls meet the floor

Water that seeps into your basement through the area where the walls meet the floor is called a cavitation leak, and to understand how to properly fix it, you need to understand how it occurs.

How concave joint leakage occurs

During the construction process for your basement, a large hole was dug and its surface covered with poured concrete, which supports your foundations and prevents your building from settling or lifting.

To create the concrete base, wet cement is poured into a wooden form and a specially designed board is inserted in the center of the wet concrete along its entire length to create a tapered channel.

File: How to lay wood floors on concrete

Also known as a keyway, this tapered channel helps create a path right down the center of the entire foundation, and when the foundation is completely dry another concrete form is placed on top to create the foundation walls.

Then the newly created form is filled with concrete and the finished part fits into the groove of the original concrete base. This is allowed to dry completely so that the foundation wall remains in the keyway and lies snugly against one another.

Therefore, the entry point is the point where the foundation wall enters the foundation and helps prevent lateral movement. One thing to note is that the base and foundation are not fused together, they just fit like a plug into a socket.

This is where the problem of leaks comes in as the foundation and footing are different pieces and when they are joined together there is still some space left between them to allow the water from the soil surrounding the subgrade to penetrate.

When water begins to seep into your home through the small gap between the foundation and the keyway foundation, it enters the basement and causes what is known as a cove leak.

Causes of concave joint leaks

drainage problem

If you haveclogged or collapsed drains, this can lead to a leak in the basement and will need to be cleaned or repaired. Sometimes carpet, hardwood, or laminate floors can clog the drain, causing waste water to run under the floor.

leaking pipes

When plumbing in your home is hidden behind finished walls, water leaks can occur when one begins to leak and water runs down the wall and pools under a finished basement, causing water to drip onto the floor.

groundwater

When it rains, the water is absorbed by the ground; Therefore, if it rains constantly or if the snow on the ground begins to melt after a heavy snowfall, the ground will become saturated with water.

This water is then put under great pressure and forced into your home through the basement floor or walls.

In most cases, people experiencing leaks in coving or water from the basement are caused by groundwater.

The absorbed water seeps into the ground around their homes and begins to push against the basement floor and walls, where hydrostatic pressure is very high.

In the case of high soil water saturation, water enters your home through the easiest entry point, which includes cracks in the floor or wall, and since the basement floor is usually concrete, the porosity of the concrete allows water to enter. He.

If you have a cove leak because groundwater is flowing through the floor and pushing against the basement floor and walls, there's not much you can do about it.

If you suspect groundwater to be the cause of the leak, you should call your local impregnation specialist immediately, or do the process yourself if you know how.

Water damage in your basement should not be left unattended as it can not only damage your home's foundation but also pose health risks.

How to repair a leak in a cove

There are various causes of a coveted grout leak and the repair method depends entirely on the cause. Therefore, before attempting to repair a leak, you must first find the source/cause.

fill gaps

If you notice water seeping into your basement through cracks or gaps around your plumbing pipes, an easy fix is ​​to cover the gap or opening with hydraulic cement or polyurethane caulk, which you can get for less than $20 .

If water comes out of a hole, either through a drain or wet soil, you can fix it with dowels. However, if water rises through the bottom or bay, the problem is in the water table and the plugs cannot fix it.

Expand your gutter

If you have gutters that deliver water within five feet of your home, you can extend the water further by adding plastic or metal gutter extensions.

However, gutter extensions are not the easiest or most effective long term solution as you are likely to trip over them or even run over them with a lawnmower.

For a more permanent solution, you can use an underground drain pipe that is both invisible and capable of directing large volumes of gutter runoff much farther from your home.

You can get these underground drain pipes for about $10 a foot. To install them, you can hire a landscaper or waterproofer to help you dig a sloped trench and install a pipe, or you can do it yourself.

crown replacement

If you've installed gutters correctly and sealed vents and gaps, but water is still seeping into your basement or high-wall crawl space, surface water is probably not draining from your home as it should. .

You should be aware that your home will typically stand on a "crown" of earth that slopes at least 6 inches in all directions for the first 10 feet, but over time the earth around the foundation may settle, but you can rebuild it with a shovel and dirt.

You will need a mix of clay and potting soil, which costs about $30 per cubic yard and is available at a landscaping supply store.

One cubic foot of this soil mix is ​​enough for a 2 foot wide, 3 inch deep layer on a 57 foot base.

transform landscape

Due to the fact that your home's siding may slightly overlap your foundation, crown construction can bring soil that sometimes contains rot and termites to be comfortable, so leave at least 6 inches.

You can simply create a mound of earth, known as a berm, or a wide, shallow ditch, known as a ditch, landscape features so water is diverted before it reaches your home.

What you should do depends on the size of the area. If the area is small you will need a berm and you can hire a landscaper to build one for a few hundred dollars but if you have a larger area a ditch is more effective and you can dig a ditch for around $1000. Berms and ditches can be an attractive feature in your yard once the landscape grows.

Repair of damaged shoe drains

If you notice water seeping into your basement through the walls or at the seams where the walls meet the floor, then the likely cause is hydrostatic pressure pushing the water off the floor.

The first thing you need to do is check if you havefoot drainsor underground pipes installed during the building process of the house to transport water from the foundation.

You can find this out by looking for a sewer or drain in the basement floor, or a cleaning pipe several inches above the ground.

If you find the drains are clogged, you can open the drain and wash the pipes with a garden hose. If that doesn't work, you can enlist the services of an Augur plumber who can fix the problem for around $600.

Install curtain drain

If you find that you don't have working permanent drains, you can install a curtain drain to divert groundwater flowing into your home.

One type of French drain you can use is a curtain drain, which is a shallow ditch 2 feet deep and 1.5 feet wide filled with gravel and a perforated pipe that controls the flow of water into your house stops and redirects it downhill. safety distance.

If the drain goes through an area with trees or shrubs, you should use solid pipes to reduce the risk of roots growing in the pipe and clogging it. You can get drain pipes for about $10 to $16 per linear foot.

pump the water

You have to find a way to drain the groundwater inside if you can't keep it outside. To create an internal drainage system, you need to cut a channel tip somewhere around the perimeter of the floor, remove the concrete, and insert a perforated pipe into the hole.

The pipe should be connected to a collection tank at the lowest point in the basement, where a collection pump will pump the drained water out of the house.

While this method is slightly more expensive than the other, which costs around $3,000, an indoor system is the most efficient and least disruptive option for use in an easily accessible, unfinished basement.

If you have a mature landscape that can be destroyed by digging an external drainage system, this is the best option.

waterproofness

This is another effective long-term solution to leaky inlet connections; In fact, simply installing an indoor drainage system without waterproofing will not get the job done efficiently.

To waterproof your wall, you need an external system: a French drain to reduce hydrostatic pressure and external waterproofing to protect the foundation.

File: How to impregnate wooden floors

Caulking your wall is not an easy task and will require digging around the house, but it is the most effective solution, especially if you have a multi-hole foundation. This helps keep clutter and water out, which is the best option if you don't want to ruin a finished basement.

However, waterproofing your walls can be very expensive as the price can be as high as $20,000 and you may have to remove decking or sidewalks during the process.

A water leak or moisture damage in your basement is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately as knowing how to fix "water getting into the basement where the walls meet the floor" is considered very important. Allowing a grout leak to go unattended can damage your home's foundation and also pose some health risks.