OT: How to fix basement leak

[rivalion]

We bought this house about 6 months ago. There is this man made hole in my basement wall. It is about two feet from an identical hole that is where our water comes in the house, copper line attached that brings water upstairs.

Many years ago, I had a house that had a sewer line running out of the basement wall to a grinder pump. After a couple of years, a leak developed around the pipe. I had a contractor use hydraulic cement - didn't work. Eventually, I found a contractor that drilled holes and injected some kind of acrylic or epoxy in the walls and it solved the problem. Later, in another area, the cement walls in the basement developed a couple of cracks that leaked. I had the same contractor come in and inject that stuff around the cracks - problem solved. I wish I could tell you the exact name of the material he used but that was almost 20 years ago.

 

[Plan Ahaed]

It's possible you said fcuk it, some folks are non confrontational and wouldn't know how major of a problem that hole would be. It's also possible you bought a foreclosure/short sale and had no choice, just wondering how a hole like that gets missed, no offense meant.

Since it was buried behind their stuff a few thoughts. I'm going to say this for anyone buying a house, not chiding you specifically, but before closing always make a final walkthrough after the sellers haved moved out all their stuff so if issues like an unknown glory hole come up you can discuss compensation or remedies at the closing table.

Second depending on the laws where you live since the sellers didn't disclose the water infiltration you may be able to go after them for the cost to have a contractor fix it properly.

My personal take on the glory hole is that since it points toward the street it's a waste pipe that was probably installed in the wrong spot during construction. Previous owners tried to cut the end off to get rid of the pipe, but when that didn't go as planned just shoved some wire mesh in the hole. Either way get a professional to do the fix. Foundations and water infiltration isn't something you want to mess around with yourself. You could crack or compromise the integrity of your foundation leading to bigger problems.

 

[lionroar88]

No, disagree. A house is not a boat. It's not like patching a leak in a hull. A foundation is not supposed to be sitting in water. If there's a lot of water pressing against the foundation, you should deal with that IF possible (sometimes not possible because of the the way the house was situated on the lot, soil conditions etc.) Water against the foundation can cause lots of problems over time -- such as erosion, or even potentially sinkholes... and just waterproofing your basement walls is band-aiding the problem.

If it's possible to deal with the water issues outside, the hole (which I suspect was for an oil tank since removed) hardly even matters.

I am all too familiar with water and basements and the causes and potential fixes. My rental in PA has a cracked foundation due to the previous owners not fixing the downspouts, driving heavy equipment on the driveway next to the house, and parking a boat next to the house for decades. I had to dig the foundation out the entire length of the house down to the crack, install a 6 inch drain pipe, cover with 12 inches of stone etc, etc, etc... the problem did not go away because I did not powerwash the foundation and seal the crack correctly. Nothing is going to help him if he does NOT seal the hole correctly. I am speaking from experience, not just some fly-by-night thought process.

 

[androcles]

...review their Seller's Disclosure...
..if it is not mentioned, take several pictures of the problem, have a licensed contractor give you an estimate to repair and go back to the former owners for compensation...
... the presence of steel wool in the pipe and a stained wall is prima facie proof that it happened prior to your purchase and should have been noted on their disclosure...
...your home inspector should have insisted that their stuff be moved prior to inspection to give visual access to the entire basement wall...but that alone does not offset the owners' responsibility to report the water leakage...

 

[lein]

Move

patch it first, then move

 

[Class of 67]

Curious, why wasn't this disclosed in the house inspection when you bought the house? Was it hidden behind stuff? Was it visible but not an issue?

The prior owners, you would think, would have had water leakage at some time in the past. IMHO - worth pursuing.

My immediate thought, also. Are people buying homes without an inspection? Regarding one of the other replies, why wouldn't faulty wiring be uncovered in an inspection? I suppose some homes are sold at bargain prices on an as-is basis.

 

[Peetz Pool Boy]

We bought this house about 6 months ago. There is this man made hole in my basement wall. It is about two feet from an identical hole that is where our water comes in the house, copper line attached that brings water upstairs.

That is steel wool plugging it up.

We had some heavy rain a few days ago, and water came in this pipe/hole and flooded about a 10'x10' area in our basement. Maybe an inch or so of water was there, it looked like.

I have no idea what purpose this hole/pipe serves, other than to allow my basement to get wet. A) No issue with closing this, right? B) What would be the best way to close/seal this?

You have received some really "good" and "bad" informational responses in this thread.

Good: lionroar88 is the only poster who has correctly advised you that you need to repair this problem from the outside, not taking shortcuts trying to do it from inside the basement.

Bad: most everyone else.

Here's what you need to do.

1. Take accurate measurements of where the pipe is located relative to outside walls
2. Excavate a hole on the outside of the house near the "rogue pipe" but be careful not to scrape the exterior wall of your concrete basement wall. It was probably/hopefully treated with a tar/asphalt substance to repel water from weeping into the concrete. Don't disturb the asphalt/tar coating or chip it away.
3. Once you have your exterior hole dug and have carefully scraped away the dirt from the "rogue pipe" location, it's time to go back inside.
4. Remove the steel wool. Measure the thickness of your basement wall by either using a conventional tape measure or if you haven't been able to open up the exterior-end of the "rogue pipe", use a coat hanger to measure how far it will go from the inside of your basement to the outside.
5. From the inside of your basement and using a reciprocal saw with a 10" long, fine-toothed blade ($3 at Home Depot), you need to cut out the PVC pipe by making simple cuts (based on the face of a clock) at 3, 6, 9 and 12 O'clock. This will sufficiently cut the PVC into quarters such that it can be easily removed without unnecessarily damaging the surrounding concrete wall. (I can't believe that certain posters recommended using Hilti-hammer to remove the PVC. Doing so will make a bad problem exponentially worse, but they know who they are)
6. Carefully fill the hole with hydraulic cement. Go back outside and ensure that the hole is filled with cement to the full extent of the exterior wall. Add more cement as needed. Let cure overnight
7. From the exterior, patch the hole area with an asphalt-based coating. I would actually apply two coats separated by 24 hours of curing time.
8. Backfill the hole and use "tboyers" suggestion about re-routing downspout water away from the "problem area"

P.S. Since you have "poured concrete" basement walls, I can tell that this is a relatively new house (post 1980's). If it's a "brand new" house, I'd call the builder and tell him to "fix it".

 

[ILLINOISLION]

Or simply duct tape the opening, that'll fix it. Duct tape fixes everything.

 

[Agoodnap]

I would start by giving the builder a call and asking him why it's there. The house is fairly new so the builder is probably still around for you to ask. Have you ever pulled the steel wool and looked into the pipe? With a flashlight, how far can you see. Does the tube extend for a distance is it shut about a foot away?

The fix needs to be from the outside. Make sure your excavator doesn't hit your incoming water line. Just in case I'd have the water company stop out and close the valve and lend you there wrench, which is a basically a long pole with a fitting attached to turn the valve. The valve will be under that pvc or metal cap in your front yard.

Otherwise, the pool boy gave you good advice.

 

[Nittany.Lion]

You have received some really "good" and "bad" informational responses in this thread.

Good: lionroar88 is the only poster who has correctly advised you that you need to repair this problem from the outside, not taking shortcuts trying to do it from inside the basement.

Bad: most everyone else.

Here's what you need to do.

1. Take accurate measurements of where the pipe is located relative to outside walls
2. Excavate a hole on the outside of the house near the "rogue pipe" but be careful not to scrape the exterior wall of your concrete basement wall. It was probably/hopefully treated with a tar/asphalt substance to repel water from weeping into the concrete. Don't disturb the asphalt/tar coating or chip it away.
3. Once you have your exterior hole dug and have carefully scraped away the dirt from the "rogue pipe" location, it's time to go back inside.
4. Remove the steel wool. Measure the thickness of your basement wall by either using a conventional tape measure or if you haven't been able to open up the exterior-end of the "rogue pipe", use a coat hanger to measure how far it will go from the inside of your basement to the outside.
5. From the inside of your basement and using a reciprocal saw with a 10" long, fine-toothed blade ($3 at Home Depot), you need to cut out the PVC pipe by making simple cuts (based on the face of a clock) at 3, 6, 9 and 12 O'clock. This will sufficiently cut the PVC into quarters such that it can be easily removed without unnecessarily damaging the surrounding concrete wall. (I can't believe that certain posters recommended using Hilti-hammer to remove the PVC. Doing so will make a bad problem exponentially worse, but they know who they are)
6. Carefully fill the hole with hydraulic cement. Go back outside and ensure that the hole is filled with cement to the full extent of the exterior wall. Add more cement as needed. Let cure overnight
7. From the exterior, patch the hole area with an asphalt-based coating. I would actually apply two coats separated by 24 hours of curing time.
8. Backfill the hole and use "tboyers" suggestion about re-routing downspout water away from the "problem area"

P.S. Since you have "poured concrete" basement walls, I can tell that this is a relatively new house (post 1980's). If it's a "brand new" house, I'd call the builder and tell him to "fix it".

If 5. was directed to me, you apparently have problems reading and comprehending what was written, I did not instruct taking out the pipe with a hilti type chipping hammer.

Attempting a fix from the inside is a relatively easy and cheap do it yourself fix that will likely work in his situation, one leak in six months is not a major leak.

As for fixing from the outside and dealing with possible drainage issues that's clearly the best way to fix but it will be not likely be a do it yourself project and depending on what is on the outside could cost thousands. It would at my house, I have 4' landscape retaining walls that would have to taken down to fix a similar problem and the depth of the excavation would be 10' at my house. So it is easy for a bunch of internet experts to say fix it from the outside, it's not their money. Why not spend $100 bucks and try a fix from the inside on the odds that it will fix the problem.

 

[interrobang]

I'd be concerned on what's on the other side of that wall and that capping that pipe might just push the problem upstream and cause bigger issues.

 

[TheBigUglies]

In a past life(career), I installed foundations like this. This is a poured concrete foundation and we used PVC to have holes in the foundation so that the plumber can run there pipes through the walls to connect to whatever they needed to connect to outside. Otherwise the plumber would need to drill\chisel a whole in the wall which would take forever and cost more $$$. Yes, there were times that the plumber decided not to use these pre-made holes for one reason or another. It was then up to the builder to patch these holes. This one was obviously overlooked and some dumbass stuff steel wool in there, really? Who in there right friggen mind would think steel wool would stop water. The other thing mentioned was that this only leaks after very heavy rains? Also, looks like it has been leaking for years. There are several ways this could be patched as mentioned above. One simple test would be to go to Home Depot\Lowes\local plumbing supply store and by one of those plugs that fit the diameter of the pvc. It would be inserted into the pipe and then you would tighten the wing nut which would expand the plug to seal the inside of the PVC.

Then you can wait for the next heavy rain fall and see if it works. If it doesn't and is leaking around the PVC and concrete, then I would dig it up from the outside and seal it that way as mentioned above.

Good luck.

 

[PSU_Chicago]

So, you think I said, "Eh, f*ck it, seems like no big deal. Should be fine."

Obviously, we didn't know about it. The basement was crowded with their shit, and the home inspector didn't catch it either.

Did you end up moving to Western Philly suburbs?