Foundation waterproofing issue

Hi guys,

So I own a property which was build in a weird way where they back filled the grade too high all around. In some places water is leaking into the basement between the foundation and where the bricks begin.

Short of lowering the entire property, not a good option, is there anything I can do to seal things up from the outside? Perhaps I could digg down couple feet and attach something to the foundation and go up a few inches up over the brick?

Thanks

 

First thing you need to do is seal up any void!

Do you know if there is any foundation drainage system installed? Are gutters piped away from the house?

 

I have the gutters running down underground out to ditches on either side of the property.

I believe there is some kind of drainage at the footings, but seeing how this place was build who knows how well it's working.

 

I'd start by digging down and inspecting the wall. The voids are definite probably, there also should be [at bare minimum] foundation tar coating the wall up to about an inch of the grade.

 

Thanks for the reply.

What voids are you referring to?

The pic where I pulled a piece of concrete out that's not a piece of foundation, it's just some cement they previous owner slapped in the corner between the patio stones and the foundation. The black area behind the pulled out piece is the foundation, as you can see it's basically at same level as grade and touching the brick.

 

You need to examine the foundation carefully to make sure there aren't any voids. If there is any size to the void - fill it with mortar, it might be ok to caulk minor cracks .... then apply foundation tar over the repairs or anywhere the tar might be missing.

 

I would remove the grass, slope the ground away from the house and put down poly and rock so the water is kept further away from the wall.

 

There is nothing wrong with the way the house was graded. Unless you would prefer to see plain old foundation under the brick. Houses should generally have grade that slopes 1" per foot for the first 10', to get water away from the foundation. (So a level patio of pavers isn't really helpful then, is it?) Below the brick, the foundation should have waterproofing applied to the exterior of the foundation... can't tell from the pics if that was done or not.

You say "in some places water is leaking between the foundation and where the bricks begin." One would obviously want to check the mortar joints in these areas for cracks. Window sills and window trim are a prime location leaks will occur. The bottom joint between the bricks and foundation should be inspected for cracks. You also may not have any weep holes in the bricks or counterflashing to allow water behind the brick to escape. Those are modern methods that may not have been used when the house was built. Water can also enter above the brick in some cases, follow the soffit back, and flow down the air space behind the brick. With no way to escape via weep holes and wicks, it is forced to drain inside. So if you have water showing up inside around the perimeter at grade, it isn't the dirts' fault.

Underground drainage can also become plugged, causing a lot of water to back up right next to the house, or even cause the gutters to overflow during heavy rain.