What to use to seal hole in concrete wall

[Zebrafive]

At my Mother's house she has leak in the basement. I went and looked. It's where the water line comes thru the poured concrete wall. It looks like a motar of some type had been used and has cracked and fell out. About 3/4" gap around the pipe. Dirt and water has come in from the recent rains. First time it has leaked since the hose was built 15 years ago. Any suggestions of the best way to fix? I am hoping there is something that comes in a caulk tube that will make it an easy fix.

 

[k0ua]

get some hydraulic cement.. mix with water and wear rubber gloves.. work fast. it gets hot and sets very fast... This will fix you up.

Search Results for hydraulic cement at The Home Depot

James K0UA

 

[jinman]

I think James's suggestion is a good one for the average concrete sealing problem, but anytime you seal around a water pipe with rigid material, either the material will fail or the pipe will be damaged. The problem is that the concrete and the pipe do not expand at the same rate with heating/cooling cycles. I think you need something around the pipe that will have a pressure seal, but be both flexible and waterproof. The real problem is the drainage on the outside of the wall is not sufficient, so this will be a recurring problem area in my opinion. I believe you need some soft material around that pipe that can be packed in enough to stop flow, but still flex slightly. Now, I could be terribly wrong, but every time I see a pipe come through a concrete foundation or wall in Texas, they always have a foam expansion boot around the pipe. These are not really expected to be water tight.

 

[rd_macgregor]

I wonder if there is a flexible, closed-cell, spray-on expanding-foam product that would work for this use? I think regular spray foam insulation/sealant probably gets too rigid/brittle when it sets up. I have a similar problem in my house with two wall penetrations (one pipe in from the well and one out to the barn) both of which allow water to leak in in very early spring, when the ground is super-saturated (and the ground is frozen everywhere but right against the house!), or after a very heavy rainfall in summer.
BOB

 

[Misfire]

I just changed out the water line coming into my basement. The penetration was sealed with clear silicone caulk, so I resealed it using the same stuff. Never had any issues before and don't expect any now. As was pointed out, the sealant needs to be flexible to handle movement and vibration.

 

[k0ua]

I hadn't though about the different expansion and contractions around the pipe,, I have use hydraulic cement to seal cracks. and it works well, but agreed this is different..

James K0UA

 

[boggen]

use a closed cell spray foam. i normally use "great stuff" in red can.

as someone else mention do not use hydrualic cement, you could cause the pipe to break.

dig the area out and clean it up. spray foam it. let the spray foam expand and cure (any were form 24 hours to a full week, pending on what you get) then go back with a steak knife (from kitchen) to get big globs off, and clean it up with a razor blade. and then paint it, suggest waiting a week before painting to allow spray foam to fully cure.

an another alternative would be.... Koiphen.com and search for "pipe boot" it will give details of how to cut a hole in a liner such as roofing liner or pond liner. and make a water tight seal. though for you , would need to make another step of making water tight seal between liner and wall of house. if you had some concrete anchors, masonary bit, and some wood you might be able to clamp the liner between wall and wood. to get water tight seal there.

 

[Misfire]

Thought I should point out that you are going to have to seal it from the outside to do it right, no matter what material you use. Rereading your original post, it's not clear if you were looking for something to seal it from the inside only, or were planning to dig down to the exterior penetration point. I'm afraid that's part of the job.

One thing about using foam, some foams shrink as much as 5% over time. I don't know about spray foams, though. Shrinkage is definitely something you should consider when selecting the material. Also, a lot of materials aren't rated for below grade use. That's something else to check.

 

[Hill-Billy]

I have used products from radonseal. They worked great fixing cracks in my foundation wall. No more leaks. They sell a product to stop leaks from thru wall pipes in foundations. I don't know if I can post the link, but go to radonseal "dot" com

 

[POC]

I keep seeing this stuff on TV. I can't remember the name. "It's rubber in a can" It's the one where they take a screen door and replace the bottom of a boat with it after spraying this stuff on it......don't know.

Lots of good suggestions already here.