Almighty BBS, need help/advice. Plumbing and or basement water leak problem. Not sure of why and plumbers we have called said it is a basement leak problem but the basement companies say it may be basement leaking but also could be something else. Of course they want to “sell” you on either a drainage system around the house or put in sump pump systems. Here’s the breakdown of problem. Have lived in house about 4 years and the problem only started a couple months ago. And at first not much water but getting worse. All brick house built in 1976 with basement. The well is in front yard with well cap about 30 to 40 feet from front of house. Water line comes up from well within a 2 to 3 feet of ground and then goes into front of house under the basement slab. Completely finished basement so water line comes up in the middle of the basement into a closet that contains pressure water tank, electric water heater and parts of water filtration system (the two tanks for it are in adjacent closet). The 1 inch main water line coming through the concrete basement concrete slab was placed within a 2-3 inch ABS/PVC pipe. I am assuming this was done to protect the main water line as it came up through the concrete???? From here the water line connects to pressure tank and then from tank to plumbing system. Water leaks from the basement floor in that small air space created by putting the 1 inch main water line into the larger ABS/PVC pipe. The water/air gauge on pressure tank will drop 1 or 2 lbs overnight but all the plumbers say it is not a leak in water line and or plumbing system because pressure would drop more overnight if a leak. Has the ground water just found an easy way to come up into the house in this air space? The water coming into the basement is random. A storm could be going on but we get no water in basement. It can be sunny and dry for a few days but we get a lot of water in the basement. There is no pattern and makes no sense to me but it always comes up through this spot. Why did it recently start? If we had a basement leaking problem you would think it would have happened a long time ago….. One basement company wants to put in a “system” that contains 2 sumps pumps to get water out of basement ($7,000 to $8,000) and another basement company wants to divert water from around house by digging up around house and putting in drain fields and “wrapping house” to waterproof. $10,000 to $15,000. Yikes! Sorry for length of post…any ideas/advice/help would be appreciated? Thanks.
A leak in the water main feed line does seem like the likeliest candidate. Some basic real time water chemistry (e.g. pH, conductivity) of the seepage as compared to tap water might help you identify the source (mains water vs. groundwater). Is there copper pipe involved that might have a pinhole leak? Do you have any large drains that pass under the slab that could be leaking? Have any neighbors recently changed their grading that could redirect water towards your foundation? If it is just a little water perhaps some hydraulic cement in the annular space might do it.
thanks Michael. Good idea on checking water chemistry to compare. Would tell us the source of the water. The main water pipe line coming up is the black ABS type. Not sure if it connect to any copper under the slab. Not sure of the drains. The basement has a full bathroom in it but has been there quite some time. Yes a neighbor did change their landscaping some time ago and may be the cause of it. House is above us and I guess it could have changed how the water diverts from their house but you would think we would get a lot of water after storms. Sometimes we do not. Confusing to me and even some of the people we have had out to the house. Another plumber/well person is coming this afternoon to look at it.
An additional thought - next time it rains pretty well go out during the rain and look for water flow towards the house. It may just be a drainage redirection issue. Any chance you have a blocked gutter downspout or one that discharges too close to the foundation?
checked and cleaned all of the gutters and downpipes. Most downpipes have extensions on them to take water out into the yard. Will do that in the next rainstorm to see if I can see where water is going. I think it may be worth it to dig a small ditch on the property line and put down some drainage pipe to take any water to back of yard. Worth trying before we spend $10,000. thanks again.
In a previous house that was cut into a hill water would flow into the foundation and accumulate in the cinder block and then weep out over time - might explain why rain events and the seepage are somewhat disconnected in time. Ended up having to cut a french drain into the basement floor. Found cement dust in the house for months. Definitely look at drainage first.
I have not seen anywhere that you have located your foundation drain outlets and checked for blockages. I am hoping you have a foundation drain since you have a basement..... It takes days for surface water to filter down through the ground to the footings...... and if you don't have a foundation drain system, it will find a way to get out. Did the neighbor install a sprinkler system??
Can't help you on the leak source but the best solution is to stop the water before it gets into the house. That solves the problem. Anything else is just a band aid. Proper sloping and drains can fix almost all water in basement problems.
If it was the well pipe it would leak all the time. You could turn the pump off and drain the pressure tanks if you happen to be out of town for a few days. I had a similar problem, but without the well. I was also quoted $10k+ for a drainage system, plus they would have to tear off the front porch and most of the landscaping around the house. I ended up going with an inside the basement system for $5k. They trenched all the way around the perimeter of the basement (inside the basement), filled the trench with gravel, and poured the floor back so you would never know they did anything. The end of the trench has a pump to empty the trench. Works great. So far.
If it was you well line leak, your pump would be running a lot, and it wouldnt be intermittent. Sounds like a ground water issue. My house(built in 1967 in an area with a hight water table) will have water coming up through the cracks in the floor in really wet years. I will be installing drain tile inside and an extra deep sump to help relieve the hydrostatic pressure when the ground water level rises.
i am torn between just cutting a 2" deep circle in my basement slab to get it out at the deepest spot and and outside sump pump. not sure i wanna dig up around the house. the bassin the basement sits in just collects too much from around, plus the water table is too close to the foundation. plan B would be to install a sump pump outside , 3 ft deep, close to the foundation...
Have you located the foundation drains and ensured that none of them are plugged up. They tend to disappear over time and no one notices until a leak happens. Water will take the path of least resistance and it sounds like that is the sleeve around the water line at this time. That assuming a house that old even has a French drain system around the foundation.
