photos of basement waterproofing with bx - questions and comments?

[tommu56]

If you have it excavated why not plumb the down spouts in with non perforated pipe, to the same outlet that drain tile go's to then you wont have to mow around drain extension above grade?

of course make sure the gutter pipes have lots of clean outs like you planed for permiter drain.

tommu

 

[NuBota]

Atgreene is dead on. Water entering the basement is generally from hydrostatic pressure pushing from below the foundation. And it will take the path of least resistance. Basically the water will percolate up into your trench and pipe and be diverted away. If that isn't there then the wall cracks and cove joint are the path of least resistance.

We generally did interior drain tile systems, but with wall cracks, we would do just like atgreene suggested. Waterplug the cracks - if the are thin, chip away a little to get better adherence. Then we would parge a wider area of the crack with cement, then tar, then plastic - or whatever the new fancy stuff is.

I'm not as impressed with the BX (I know what it can do) as I am with your skills with it. I would have definately taken out at least one window.

 

[LBrown59]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ement-waterproofing-bx-questions-img_0905.jpghttp://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/a...s-img_0905.jpg


You should not be having to dig out rocks like this around the foundation.
Rocks busted up concrete and brick bats should never be used for back fill around foundations culverts and the like.

I helped build a handicapped ramp at a brick church a couple of years ago.
When the church was built in 1950 they must have thrown all the excess bricks and brick bats in against the foundation and mixed them in with the back fill dirt.
Made it a real PITA using a post hole digger to drill the 24 holes to set the 24 post in.

I strongly recommend you don't put rocks like this back in there when you do the back filling.

 

[PA hayseed]

Atgreene is dead on. Water entering the basement is generally from hydrostatic pressure pushing from below the foundation. And it will take the path of least resistance. Basically the water will percolate up into your trench and pipe and be diverted away. If that isn't there then the wall cracks and cove joint are the path of least resistance.

We generally did interior drain tile systems, but with wall cracks, we would do just like atgreene suggested. Waterplug the cracks - if the are thin, chip away a little to get better adherence. Then we would parge a wider area of the crack with cement, then tar, then plastic - or whatever the new fancy stuff is.

I'm not as impressed with the BX (I know what it can do) as I am with your skills with it. I would have definately taken out at least one window.

I agree, but if you have it all dug out, why not parge with portland and sand, then tar the whole thing. Good for another 30 years or so. The drainage system you do will take care of the big stuff, and the tar will take care of the little stuff. I like the fact that you are attacking the problem, rather than bandaiding it like most people do.

 

[richardbro]

I read to install perf pipe with holes down if the intent to to drain water coming from below and with the holes up if the intent is to drain water coming from above. As stated by a previous poster, at footings depth its the hydrostatic pressure in the area of the pipe that will deliver the water to the pipe and it's best to capturwe that water early, so holes down seems to be correct. Either way, a sock/fabric and clean 3/4 rock below and above the pipe is recommended.

Personally, I'm just grateful for getting that 100' snake into the trench without it coiling around me and taking me along with it to the dark depths of **** that I never check for the orientation of the holes. I just escape the beast and have barely the energy left to cover it up with gravel before it escapes...

 

[ampsucker]

here are a few more photos of the progress i made yesterday.

i was wrong about being finished with the digging. i still had to dig the trench for the drain pipe to go into the ditch! it was the shallowest run but also the hardest to dig. it was really tough to get through 30 years of hard packed road clay and gravel. but it's done, and has a good slope so i'm not worried about draining the pipe once installed.

i found two small cracks in the foundation that ran roughly along the seams from the original forms where the metal ties extend out. i chiseled them out a bit (it was hard to chisel so i'm thinking thats a good sign the cement is still very strong) and caulked them good with UGL drylock caulk. then painted over everything with blackjack rubber coat which you can see in the photo.

i'm thinking its a good idea to snap off the metal ties as atgreene suggested. i was originally thinking they would stick into the foam insulation board and help hold it into place, but they would also poke through the plastic film making holes where water can get in, so i guess they are gone.

as far as laying the perf pipe, my mom had the idea of orienting the drain holes on the side of the pipe instead of up or down. she reasoned that having them on the outside away from the foundation would be a kind of a best of both worlds solution. i do admit this idea is appealing to me because it keeps the bottom of the pipe smooth and free flowing and as the water rises, it hits more and more holes giving it more and more places to flow. i suspect if this was REALLY a good idea, someone else would have suggested it by now.... any body think this is a good idea? The pipe I have has three rows of holes so putting them on the side would put a row near the bottom one in the middle and a row near the top.

today, the first coat of asphalt sealant i put on yesterday is still drying. we had a cool, dewey night last night, so the thick stuff down near the base is still wet. after the sun comes out a couple of hours, i'll be able to apply the second coat and then start putting up the plastic and insulation board and laying the pipe.

i'll probably use contractors glue from the caulking gun to hold the top of the plastic and foam board in place until the backfill is in. as far as i can see, the only other option would be to use some type of concrete anchors and that is just putting more holes in it. any thoughts on the best way to secure the plastic and foam board? i bought flashing to go over the top of the foam board and i think i can glue it in place and that will divert any water that gets under the eaves and flows down along the wall.

thanks for all the advice and tips so far! really appreciate it! project is progressing, but slower than i had hoped (don't they all??)

amp

 

[ampsucker]

lbrown59, i agree that rocks like this should never have been backfilled. we have a whole rockgarden and pond made out of rocks this size, smaller and larger, that were blasted out to make way for the foundation by the initial builders. most of them were piled in the yard some distance from the house, but many of them made it back in when they leveled the yard (i guess).

that particular rock has been a headache for us since we lived in the house. it prevented us from planting things there as well as leveling a flowerbed border. and, i think it could have really been contributing to the leakage problem since it extended well beyond the edge of the roof and any rain water that fell on it would have been diverted back against the house wall instead of out into the yard.

yes, i was very glad to see it gone and no, we won't be putting any large rocks back in! i've been handpicking them up as i can, and will be working on the rest of them as the backfill is slowing pushed into the ditches later in the project.

right now still waiting for the asphalt to dry. will be heading out to take off the loader and BH and do some mowing until i can get a second coat on....

amp

 

[2manyrocks]

It looks like everything has been pretty well covered. My understanding is that the drains holes go down.

One more suggestion for the filter fabric is that it should laid in the trench for the drain pipe, crushed rock should be used to bed the drain pipe and be placed around and on top of the drain pipe, and then the filter fabric should wrap around the whole thing so that silt stays out of the pipe and the rock. As one person described it, it is like wrapping a burrito.

 

[frwinks]

great work ampsucker...I'm still a few weeks away from doing just that. Keep the info/pics coming

 

[ampsucker]

here are the pics of our "burritos". mom wrapped them with fabric yesterday and we secured with tie straps to hold it in place until the fill is packed in around the pipes.

amp