concrete help

u mike

Member
Is there anyone with any concrete exp. i am having a problem where the concrete pad and the side of the house meet, the expansion joint is completly gone leaving a good gap about 2 " wide. the wall in the basement seem to be getting very wet. is there any type of filler that will stop this.
 

socal57che

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by u mike http:///forum/thread/381196/concrete-help#post_3319196
Is there anyone with any concrete exp. i am having a problem where the concrete pad and the side of the house meet, the expansion joint is completly gone leaving a good gap about 2 " wide. the wall in the basement seem to be getting very wet. is there any type of filler that will stop this.
There are fillers, but I believe they are going to be a temporary fix. You need to have a professional come and assess the issue. My mother had a crack/bulge and $20K later she had some new walls in the basement.
 

dragonzim

Active Member
It definitely pays to have a pro come in and look at it. I am a licensed Home Inspector and this is the first thing I would suggest in a case like this. Foundation issues are nothing to take lightly.
 

reefraff

Active Member
What ^^^ said. They do make latex seam sealers to fill the gap but you don't know that gap is really what is causing your issues. You want to catch it before it causes a real problem.
A friend who is on the HOA board at his condo complex was just telling me they have to pay about 50 grand to fix 2 basements because the slabs heaved. Problem was caused because the drainage of the rain gutters wasn't far enough away so water was running under the slabs. Some of those 6.00 downspout extenders could have saved them a lot of money. When my house was inspected the guy told me he likes to see them 5 feet way from the house.
 

dragonzim

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by reefraff http:///forum/thread/381196/concrete-help#post_3319335
What ^^^ said. They do make latex seam sealers to fill the gap but you don't know that gap is really what is causing your issues. You want to catch it before it causes a real problem.
A friend who is on the HOA board at his condo complex was just telling me they have to pay about 50 grand to fix 2 basements because the slabs heaved. Problem was caused because the drainage of the rain gutters wasn't far enough away so water was running under the slabs. Some of those 6.00 downspout extenders could have saved them a lot of money. When my house was inspected the guy told me he likes to see them 5 feet way from the house.
3-5 feet is the standard that I look for when doing an inspection on a house. Either that, or straight into the ground into an underground tankbarrel, but thats near impossible to tell if done correctly on an inspection.
 

u mike

Member
the best way to explain is the garage was built 2 years after the house. the down spout coming off the house is running across the lenght of the concrete pad 25 feet, ( one whole piece of black corrageted pipe. (no holes). i was just cleaning out the shed found some old expasion joint from the patio, going to insert that for now until i can get someone out.
thanks Mike.
 

socal57che

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by u mike http:///forum/thread/381196/concrete-help#post_3319364
the best way to explain is the garage was built 2 years after the house. the down spout coming off the house is running across the lenght of the concrete pad 25 feet, ( one whole piece of black corrageted pipe. (no holes). i was just cleaning out the shed found some old expasion joint from the patio, going to insert that for now until i can get someone out.
thanks Mike.
So the crack is between the driveway/garage pad and the foundation of the house? I wouldn't think that this would allow water into the basement, but without a pic it's hard to say. You may have a problem that lies deeper than the visible gap. Do you have any hairline cracks along that wall in the basement? What about where the basement walls meet the basement floor?
 

reefraff

Active Member
If water is shedding in the area of the gap it could easily be the cause the water in the basement.
If it rains does water flow into the crack? If so seal the crack and keep a close eye on the basement. If it solves the problem you are good. If not you at least addressed one issue you had anyway.
 

socal57che

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by reefraff http:///forum/thread/381196/concrete-help#post_3319438
If water is shedding in the area of the gap it could easily be the cause the water in the basement.
If it rains does water flow into the crack? If so seal the crack and keep a close eye on the basement. If it solves the problem you are good. If not you at least addressed one issue you had anyway.
Running over the top of the basement wall? Is the top of the basement wall not higher than ground level. I definitely need a pic. Water can run into the gap, but should still not go over the top of the basement wall. If so, it would do that even without a gap. I must be missing something obvious here.
 

deejeff442

Active Member
i have been in the concrete business for 22 years.only way you would get a big gap is from ground movement.usually after a while it will settle to where it cannot move anymore except up and down with the cold/hot seasons.what you can do is get a bag of sand fill the crack until it is a half inch below the top.find some self leveling urethane.you might have to look up a decorative concrete supplier or in ground pool supplier.i use a two part product that will move around and stick for years.another problem it will create is in the winter the water will get in there and then under the slab and freeze.this will hydraulic up the slab .you dont want that.
 

u mike

Member
basement is in very good shape no cracks i think the pics will help you understand why i think water is coming down this wall. If you want to hear a good story about this basement i have one
Quote:
Originally Posted by socal57che http:///forum/thread/381196/concrete-help#post_3319434
So the crack is between the driveway/garage pad and the foundation of the house? I wouldn't think that this would allow water into the basement, but without a pic it's hard to say. You may have a problem that lies deeper than the visible gap. Do you have any hairline cracks along that wall in the basement? What about where the basement walls meet the basement floor?
 

deejeff442

Active Member
looks like the pad sunk.just do what i said actually home depot sells crack filler liquid that would work.the reason to fill with the sand is because it is alot less money than filling the whole space with the filler.the filler does take like two days to fully skin over so dont let the kids play with it until then.
personally i always put an expansion between pads and drill rebar between them so it doesnt do this.
but you cant do it now .
 

socal57che

Active Member
From the pics, I still don't see why you have water showing up in the basement. The basement wall seems to protrude up to the level of the porch. Is the basement wall not one continuous pour from the basement floor to where the siding begins? Even if the driveway slab was holding water and funnelling it toward the foundation, I can't see where it would enter the basement.
 

socal57che

Active Member
I found a crack in the wall. I'll bet it runs well below the surface of the slab. It's probably where your ******** moisture is coming from. Look at your original full size image. It's a fairly substantial crack.
 

socal57che

Active Member
I just found another crack that runs from the left side of the basement window down to and probably below the driveway slab.
Nevermind...that one is a cable...
 

reefraff

Active Member
If the water is draining between the slab and foundation/basement wall it will saturate the soil and leach through the concrete and show up in the basement either on the wall or up from the floor. Fairly common where I lived in Mt, lot of clay in the soil.
 

deejeff442

Active Member
when water buils up behind a basement wall the pressure increases.i used to do wallcrack repair up north.you need to find the crack inside the basement and have it repaired.my brother still does this and i think he charges around $400 .he chisels a channel about 3 inches deep in the crack then cuts about a 10 by 10 inch hole in the floor.cleans the hole to the drain tile.than puts a foam backer rod in the channel.leaving an inch behind it.this doesnt stop the water from coming in.it deverts it to the drain tile then to the sump.then he puts on some hydralic cement and them sealer over that .adds nes 11/2 inc clean stone over the drain tile and repours the floor.we haVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 15 YEARS.ALWAYS WORKS.YOU DONT NEED TO FIX A CRACK FROM THE OUTSIDE.SORRY HIT THE CAPS KEY.
 
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