Prevent Basement Leaks with Good Drainage

LESLIE: Going way out to Alaska to talk with Theresa about a leak. Tell us what’s going on.

THERESA: Hi, I have some water coming in, in our basement [1], and it looks like it’s just coming in through the cinderblocks. We can’t really pinpoint the exact location. But my question was should we try to find the leak [2] on the exterior of the house and try to reseal the cinderblock area or would applying drylock to the interior walls be sufficient enough.

TOM: It depends. Do you live in a houseboat?

THERESA: No. (chuckles)

TOM: Well, then you really don’t need to seal those walls.

LESLIE: Yeah, you really want to work outside in.

TOM: Yeah. What you want to do is take a look at the exterior foundation perimeter and look at the drainage conditions [3] because obviously something is broken down in the drainage conditions. Most basements flood [4] because of problems with the gutter system. Make sure your gutters are clean, they’re free-flowing, they’re not getting overwhelmed in a heavy rainstorm and, most importantly, look at those downspouts; if they’re not discharging water at least four feet from the house foundation, you’ve got to extend them because that water will shoot down that pipe and just do a u-turn right back into the basement.

LESLIE: And you also want to look at the grading around your house [5]. You want to make sure that the soil is not sloping towards the foundation; you want it slope away. Because any water that’s going to collect there, you want it to move away from it; not sort of sit there or roll back towards the house.

THERESA: Alright, thank you very much.

TOM: You’re very welcome, Theresa. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.