HELP! Water leaking in thru cement

[the_dungeon]

OK. So.. The dungeon is in a basement. When we first started it looked like this:





It was soooooooo dirty , full of spiderwebs and had 4 - 12 inches of dry and wet dirt. We cleaned it all out.. Shop vacced and created our chamber.

So once it was cleaned out we framed a room with 2 x 4's and Stapled and taped black and white poly on the inside and outside. Heres some pics so you can understand how its set up.












OK in this last pic, if you walk straight, then turn a left, thats where my flower and veg chamber entrances are.

Inbetween the two i have a grip of water leaking or seeping in










There has not been any rain or any busted pipes or anything. The only thing i can think of is that the whole house is surrounded by grape vines. They were recently harvested and I think maybe before they harvested they flooded the whole lot? When i saw the water I ran out side to see if there was any water anywhere near the house but outside EVERYTHING was dirt dry!!


What gives??


So my question is, What would be the best way to seal up the cement so water cant leak in here. I need to take care of this now because in the winter it can rain a grip!! please any sort of suggestion is better than none!!


oh to top it off were almost done flowering!! and all this water is raising my humidity.. i dont want/need mold >_<

 

[BubsNugs]

Good job looks like a lot of hard work. I dont know exactly wtf you should do to stop the problem but as a bandaid solution and to keep your humidity in check I would set up a dehumidifier.Make sure as well that theres no electrical stuff on the ground or anywhere it might get wet because that could really suck if u had a fire or electrocuted yourselves. Good luck.

Peace

 

[cocktail frank]

you can buy sealer paint from the depot or paint store.
maybe there is a higher water table where you live and its coming in from underneATH.

 

[Americangrower]

Is there any cracks in the cement or just seeping thru...it looks like once grapes are harvested the water table in the soil rises....to 1/2 way up your foundation...i would buy a good size dehumidifier and use the water collected in it to feed the plants.....my cellar does the same thing...it makes getting clean water easy...

be well

 

[the_dungeon]

Thanks for the reply. And yeah some sort of sealer was what i was thinking about. I dont have a dehumidifier but we got a heating fan to dry the water up. And yeah all cords are way outta the way of the water

 

[the_dungeon]

Is there any cracks in the cement or just seeping thru...it looks like once grapes are harvested the water table in the soil rises....to 1/2 way up your foundation...i would buy a good size dehumidifier and use the water collected in it to feed the plants.....my cellar does the same thing...it makes getting clean water easy...

be well

Yeah there are cracks in it. But the thing is it doesnt collect into a big enough puddle for me to collect. Its bringing in alot of dirt/mud with it and its leaking into the flower chamber.


Did you try to seal yours up by chance?

 

[yamaha_1fan]

I think the proper way is to install proper drainage and waterproofing on the exterior. This would mean digging up all around the house. Maybe I watch too many home improvment shows.....


For a temporary fix, I guess using some waterproofing paint.

Maybe a sump pump?

 

[the_dungeon]

I think the proper way is to install proper drainage and waterproofing on the exterior. This would mean digging up all around the house. Maybe I watch too many home improvment shows.....


For a temporary fix, I guess using some waterproofing paint.

Maybe a sump pump?

hahah yeah thats what i first thought. My dad is a contractor so ive been around a grip of construction sites working with him.

But due to funds and location of the dungeon that is not possible. Plus I would have to dig a good 15 feet down!!


Is there a certain type of waterproof paint I would need? Or just look for something that is used on cement.

again, thanks for the replys!

 

[Americangrower]

I don't have a crack and the water sealer paint only stops so much...

To fix the cracks you need to use hydraulic cement .. you chip a v cut along the crack (to open it up)and then fill it in....then paint it..

be safe




edit..... and yes 1 of those outside of the cellar drain systems is the way to go if you have the $$$

 

[HighonPottery]

i, too watch too many construction/renovation shows and i don't think the waterproof paint will work unless you get the outside of the wall, too. remember...water will ALWAYS find a way in/out. to me, sounds like you need a sump pump. should be your most direct fix and somewhat affordable,too. pretty simple system, but can be expensive to have someone install unless you do it yourself. basically just a trash can-size hole in the lowest spot of the floor with a "strainer barrel" submerged in it and pea-gravel that keeps debris from entering the pump. pump pushes water vertically so you can drain it outside. pump can have a sensor to automatically turn on/off the pump when it reaches a certain height and keep the water from eroding your foundation - which will really suck.

i saw how to install one on "this old house". i'm sure you can find a video on the net. shouldn't be too much $ in parts.

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

good luck man.

 

[the_dungeon]

thanks everyone for the replys .. the good options sadly, arent possible.


I guess im just gonna try the water paint sealer. Then use maybe some sort of caulking or gap filler under neath the 2x4 frame so the water cant get into the flower chamber.


I already removed the tarps and carpet padding cause i didn't want it to get moldy and i put back in my 400watt hps instead of the cmh. 5-10 mins later the water in the chamber was gone.

But now there sitting directly on the cement which i know is bad. I might lay 2x4s on the bottom and then lay plywood on top to get a lil raised floor. I know I need to use pressure treated wood. I will also paint the wood with that paint, if i have any left.


Damn.. just when everything is starting to run smoothly this happens




and once again, thanks everyone for the help and comments.. really appreciate it

 

[cocktail frank]

put the flower box up on a stand or something.
if at all possible.
keep it off the ground floor.
or get a french drain

and get rid of those ph plastic probes you got on your work bench.
they are junk

 

[the_dungeon]

yeah thats what im gonna have to do. Ill hopefully be able to go work on it tomorrow.

whats a french drain?
EDIT: never mind i wiki'ed it. ill keep that in mine also


Double EDIT: HAHAHAH.. yeah cocktail frank those things suck balls

 

[killedkilleryo]

only way to fix it is to dig down all the way to the footing of the foundation ,sometimes cavities form in the concrete wall in which u would need to inject with epoxy then seal the foundation with an elastomeric coating or bichuthene or use a product called paraseal .then run drainmat all the way around then backfill with loose gravel.i was in the roofers waterproofers union and have done that crap hundreds of times lol.

 

[killedkilleryo]

oh yeah trying to seal it from the inside is a bad idea because a. it will still leak and b. its bad to let the concrete stay saturated and moist eventually weakening the concrete .if its property u own or family owns then it should be fixed no matter what. if u dont own it fuck it.

 

[2buds]

I've seen water puddle inside the block. Had to bust small holes at the base of the blocks to drain the water. As said, standing water inside your block is real bad, sealing it from the inside will cause more trouble. Get some fans and a dehumidifier. They make a commercial dehumidifier that has a built in pump for removing the water rather than just catching it in a tank. I'd for sure set yourself up some sort of sump pump so if it rains hard and floods while you aren't there the standing water on the floor will be removed automatically. Also consider some gutters and long downspouts to get rain water away from your foundation.

 

[ben ttech]

waterproofing from the inside is fruitless...
you mabe by a season or two...
less if you DIDNT wait for the walls to be at damn near zero humidity before you applied it...

one thing you can do is find the low point of the room nearest the leaking and cut out a hole and put a sump pump a couple feet below...

this MAY allow for enough pressure reduction [ water is soil creates pressure... forces it through the concrete... will eventually force off any sealer you put on the inside surface ] and reduce the walls leaking...

you can ALSO sequester water to the edges of a floor if its not coming up throught the floor...

buy cutting a groove with a diamond blade saw a few inches away from the wall...
then [ when it dryed out ] you can silicone a piece of SS sheetmetal into the groove...

sticking up a inch or so...
this will create enough of a wall to prevent water from cascading across the floor and help channel it towards where youve installed a sump pump...

these measures can cut your problem down to just a film of water...
humidity... and of course the damage occuring to the foundation...


guess you found out how a foot of dirt got into the basement...
id build a platform out of pressure treated lumber for the grow...

mabe even a gangplanked walk to it...

good luck...




oh and btw...
when your near agricultural property...
odds are there are old water lines running in addition to the municipal lines to your house...

their much older... usually metered differently... and MUCH more prone to leaking...


whomever owns that house should get an accustic leak detector out to the house and determine the source of your infiltration...

bad news for a foundation...

 

[jarff]

Good info from the ppl who know the only way to solve the problem is to fix it from the outside.....It needs to be dug up,new drainage installed and cover the outer walls with a rubber membrane to basically make the basement waterproof......I know b,cause I did this to my basement this summer,,,and it works great...not a drop of water penetration anymore even after three weeks of heavy rain in month of Aug...but it is a lot of work and $$..I was lucky and fixed mine for $3000..but if you,re not in a position to do it then you have to clean the florr often and use peroxide to kill any algae that is growing from the water penetration.
all I can say is good luck..hope things go alright for ya
jarff

 

[VenturaHwy]

Like most have said don't waste your time sealing from the inside, outside is the only way. I lived in different houses for 15 years with the same problem. The last house had a sump pump, just knock a hole in the cement and put in a sump with auto on off . Cold water on the floor doesn't cause mold, mold is caused by warm moist air from plants when it escapes the plant room and it condenses on cool surfaces.....