product endorsement for leaky basements

I have a 35 year old house with my shop in the basement (metalworking content) and it has developed a leak at a crack in the wall. I looked around online and found a kit that looked like it might work. The outfit is LCR - liquid concrete repair.

The system is you glue up the crack with pretty ordinary epoxy stuff, but include injection ports every foot or so. Then, after that epoxy hardens, you mix up a tube of much thinner epoxy and inject it into the ports with a caulking gun. I did a bad job on the first part, there were several leaks where I didn't get all the branches of the crack sealed, or had little leaks around the injection ports. So, when I injected the stuff into the crack, it started leaking out.

Also, the crack is VERY narrow at the bottom, where the water was leaking in, and I used huge pressure on the caulking gun but couldn't get much of the sealant to flow in. It flowed easily near the top of the crack.

So, I was a little worried I hadn't gotten the sealing stuff deep enough into the crack. But, we had some serious rains last week, and not a drop came through! This isn't an absolute guarantee that the leak is fixed, as it could be very unpredictable which rain would cause a leak. But, it is looking quite likely it is fixed.

The kit cost something like $78, you get 2 huge pots of the surface sealing epoxy, and two tubes of the liquid sealer. I only used one tube.

Just thought if somebody else has the same problem, they might try this stuff.

For the little leaks in the concrete form tie rods which eventually rust out and leak, I made up my own system. First, you get a 1/2" diamond core drill at Lowe's, they are about $18. Drill around the leaky rod about 3/4" deep. Then, try to either bash the rod deeper into the wall, or if that fails, torch it off. I used an Oxy-MAPP torch, heated it white hot and then quickly grabbed it with pliers and twisted. Sometimes it took several heating/ twisting cycles to get the exposed rod to break off. Then, when the wall cools, clean the hole of all loose concrete and fill it with JB weld. I bet you could also use PC-7, which is a lot cheaper. So far, this system is also working.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson
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I'm a basement shop guy too. Its a walk out so I can drag in all sorts of projects. Got one huge crack that really leaks. i'll give this stuff a try.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

I hope it works as well as mine seems to have done. One comment, if the crack is really narrow, hair thin, at the bottom, I probably should have used a small masonry bit to drill into the crack just near the very bottom (where the leak is, of course) to allow the sealer to flow deeper into the crack. Then, you'd put the injection port right over the drilled hole. But, anyway, we had another big thunderstorm this morning, and it is still holding.

I'm a HAPPY camper! I HATE leaky basements, with all the stuff I have there.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

The process that seams to work best up here is one where they drill into the crack at an angle, so the bore catches the crack about mid-wall. They inject a resin - I think it is a poly-urethane - not sure - and it fills the crack from the center out, both ways with an expanding and somewhat flexible material that REALLY sticks to the concrete.

Reply to
clare

A house is not a submarine. If it is sitting in a wet area with improper drainage, water from outside will find its way in.

I had a leaky basement too. That house was next to a river. Sold it and got one on a hill, with proper drainage. No more leaky basement.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus16101

This house had been tight, but during really heavy rains (like

6" in one-two days) we would get a puddle from this crack. Otherwise it was quite watertight. So, I wanted to see if I could fix it, but didn't want to spend big bucks for some contractor to come in and do it. It seems the $76 or so kit has done the job!

The house is somewhat U shaped, with the U facing toward the uphill grade. That probably is a bit of a mistake.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

The other way to solve the issue is to make a "dam" of silicone sealant around the room near the walls.. Something like

5cm from the wall. Then either leave the water there and let evaporate (if small amounts) or use the same silicone to couple of thin plastic tube from dam to drain.. Use same colour silicone as floor (say, light gray) and the dam is practically invisible.

Works well!

Reply to
Kristian Ukkonen

you sort of have a point here about floods not really being too surprising.

Here in Chicago if you're the lowest point on the block and your drains are clogged, you're going to flood and that's that.

People still get shocked by this when it happens over, and over, and over again.

Any place with a sump pit is also a warning the place has and will flood again.

Reply to
Cydrome Leader

I have a sump pit in my house, and it never floods. The sump does work during rains.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus21087

I won't buy a house that needs a sump pump. Period. If your sump pump fails, what happens??? The house floods. When does power fail? During storms. When does the sump pump run? During storms.

1+1=2 It is THAT simple
Reply to
clare

Nor would I buy a house below street level. Both the driveway and landscaping funnel water toward the house.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

We had a house in Midland, Michigan for 9 years, built in the '70's. No sump, and it didn't flood in a major flood in the early '90's, when probably 80% of the houses did. ALL new construction in Midland after that was required to have a sump in the basement.

We did finally get a leak, fixed by excavating and renewing the waterproofing on the outside. That was to put the place on the market.

No basements here in Texas. I miss the space, but not the worry. And now that we built a shop, I don't miss the space.

Pete Keillor

Reply to
Pete Keillor

Not buying a house with a sump pump pretty well guarantees you won't be buying below street level ---1+1+1+3

Reply to
clare

Well that is a simple minded approach. On the other hand how much does a generator that will run the sump pump cost? 1+1+1=0

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

the fact that you need to pump out water is a sign of poor location, design or construction in the first place.

Reply to
Cydrome Leader

So now you need a generator to run a pump or your place floods? Sounds half-assed, like a roof that leaks and falls apart if gets wet or something like that- "just install a heater and fans to keep it from falling apart like a wet paper towel".

Unless you live in a gigantic building with basements going down many stories you should not need a sump pump, unless the place is just poorly situated and built.

Reply to
Cydrome Leader

I have a great finished basement. Always dry, well lit, friendly to kids and adults.

Two sump pumps, one 110v and one has a 12v battery backup. Also a generator, if necessary, to run the whole house.

The pumps are connected to separate pipes to spit out the water, for extra safety and simplicity. No check valves, "Y" valves etc.

The pumps only work in rainy weather.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus25937

Not really. Snowstorms, for instance, don't quickly raise the ground water level. A proper sump is a foot or two below your basement floor, so water removal need only be reliable enough that ground water doesn't rise that far before power is restored.

Reply to
whit3rd

Take a look. Pretty interesting.

H&S

Wonder why movies need to gross $200 Million? This is just amazing!!!!! A railroad built from the ground up, including rolling stock,

? for the movie The Lone Ranger.

The train set was built in NM.

This is worth watching!!!!!

Click

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Reply to
Brian Lawson

I was replying to Larry's comment that he would not buy a house with a sump pump because the power might fail. Buying a generator is an easy fix for power failures. They are not only good for sump pumps , but also for refr igerators , lights and other things.

I certainly would not hesitate to buy a house with a sump pump if that was the only problem with the house.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

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