Basement leak. help needed

[atgcpaul]

My wife discovered a leak in our basement just now. It looks like water is
coming in from around the city water pipe inlet--around the PVC jacket.
Some mud is also being leaked in. It's not too bad but it still worries me for
the future. We have rags underneath and the dehumidifier running. Is there
anything I can do to seal around the hole like a hydraulic caulk or something?

Our lawn is completely saturated now and there is water pooling next to the
foundation outside where that downspout is--always has for the past 2
years. When we build our patio, I plan on putting a drainage channel next to
the pavers that will direct the water to the driveway or something.

Thanks, Paul

[just started]

There is hydraulic cement mix you can get and stuff in around the pipe. Once you mix it you only have a few minuets before it sets, and it will even set under water, and it expands as it sets to fill in all the little spaces.

[crokett]

Don't just plug the hole - you need to fix the water pooling next to the house. I would dig down and plug the hole from the outside of the foundation as well as the inside. Then I would regrade and/or add an extension to the downspout to get the water away from the house.

[atgcpaul]

Thanks for the quick responses. Another 2" of rain still expected by midnight.
I looked closer at the inlet pipe and it seems like it's plastic pipe inside a
PVC sleeve. I was expecting an iron pipe or something. Do you think the
hydraulic cement could actually crush the PVC sleeve?

I think the best I can do is work on better drainage. The other side of that
hole is 4 feet underground with a wrap around porch sitting on top of that.
I did my best to get the current downspout temporarily rerouted--for now.

With the dehumidifier running, the wet wall is already drying up.

[jonmulzer]

Hydraulic cement it. I would not worry about crushing the pipe coming in. It should be either copper or possibly poly. Make sure you dig out inside the jacket and clean out any mud and if you can wait for it to dry up. It will set up under water but will not work real well sealing leaks that have water running through them like mad. I have used it to fix leaky manholes before with water spraying into them where it had a stream like a water pistol, but those are the exception and not the rule, it failed more often than it worked. If it happens to fail again you will have to chip out the PVC sleeve running through the poured in place wall so you can get a bond to the concrete, be extra careful not to hit the water line though.

[Seedy]

Paul
Another thing you could try is oakum. An older plumber should have some. Just pack some around the pipe with a screwdriver or a smooth stick. The moisture will make the fibers expand and become waterproof. BTW, when you get the leak fixed, be prepared to find another leak. The water will just stack up outside the basement wall until it finds another way in.-Craig

[crokett]

Paul
BTW, when you get the leak fixed, be prepared to find another leak. The water will just stack up outside the basement wall until it finds another way in.-Craig

QFT - this is why you need to regrade and get the water away from the house. I had water coming through my concrete block basement walls when it rained until I regraded and ran the downspout away from the house. Reminds me that I need to go clean my gutters.

[rnelson0]

Remember, regrade could be as simple as taking a shovel and removing a few inches of depth in one direction so that you get a slope that takes the water away from that front wall and into the side yard.

You can then worry about putting in a french drain system later, when it's not raining cats and dogs.

[Russianwolf]

One night I had water/mud coming in through the Bilco door. went outside and found that the drain for the downspout was blocked and everytime the sump cut on it was sending gallons of water along the side of the house, and into the bilco.

Quick fix was a 8 inch deep drainage ditch that led about 4 feet to the spot in the lawn that was lower than the pipe. Threw the extra dirt against the side of the house to help divert the water to the little ditch.

Worked like a charm. When everything dried up I resealed the Bilco.

[JimD]

Regrade first. French drains - plastic pipe with holes in a bed of gravel against the foundation and draining with the grade or into a large drywell - is a more reliable solution. Plugging the hole could force the water to find another path in. Reducing the hydraulic pressure trying to force water in is a much better solution.

Jim