water damage to foundation

[Kype]

when we moved in to our house the gutters were in shambles and even had tiny trees growing out of them. we replaced gutters, cleaned gutters, and all the downspouts. some downspouts were completly clogged shut with debris. 

anyway, not a single gutter is leaking near or around foundation and everything is draining well. in this corner of the basement i even had installed a 6" gutter to collect even more water. nothing is leaking anymore. and im happy with my gutters, but i think the damage is done.

the pictures below are one corner of the basement. where i  had installed the new 6" gutter. it use to leak like hell. but not anymore. the rest of my basement is good.

heres my question- i want to get any moisture that is trapped, out. i have heard mixed thoughts on the drylock paint. some say do it, others say dont because it traps the moisture in. makes sense. i also run a de humidifer to get any moisture out but im emptying the bucket every day. 

i was thinking of drilling a few small pilot holes in the block to get moisture out. yes or no? will that get moisture out? or will it just be a new path for moisture to enter? 

keep in mind, i never have water in the basement. the basement is dry. just the walls appear to have water damage.

[Nomad]

I would just keep running the dehumidifier and nothing else.

[RPK0620]

Can't directly answer your question but I have one of these that my dehumidifier empties water into versus the dehumidifier bucket. When it fills it pumps the water UP and thru my basement wall to an outside drain. I don't have to worry about emptying the dehumidifiers bucket.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Little-Giant-0-02-HP-Plastic-Condensate-pump/1002499226

 

[Swamp_Yankee]

32 minutes ago, Kype said:

when we moved in to our house the gutters were in shambles and even had tiny trees growing out of them. we replaced gutters, cleaned gutters, and all the downspouts. some downspouts were completly clogged shut with debris. 

anyway, not a single gutter is leaking near or around foundation and everything is draining well. in this corner of the basement i even had installed a 6" gutter to collect even more water. nothing is leaking anymore. and im happy with my gutters, but i think the damage is done.

the pictures below are one corner of the basement. where i  had installed the new 6" gutter. it use to leak like hell. but not anymore. the rest of my basement is good.

You did the right thing with the gutters but I think you are dealing with groundwater at this point.  Our old house had full perimeter french drains that were pitched to two sump pumps.  The pumps didn't always run but the sumps always had some water in them.  We also always ran a dehumidifier and had a nice dry basement.  Other neighbors on our street who didn't have drains or dehumidifiers had standing water and mold-even in dry weather, because the groundwater table was so high.  I wouldn't drill holes because it is just going to provide another path for water to enter.   French drains would help the most, but that's a very expensive/labor intensive solution.  The dehumidifier will allow you to keep up with it-the moisture will wick from the wet ground, through the masonry into the basement, but if you can move it out just as quickly the basement will stay dry.  I run one of these in my rubblestone foundation basement:

https://www.santa-fe-products.com/product/advance-90/

At $1300 its a far cry from the $200 box store jobs but it removes 90 pints of moisture a day, filters the air while its doing it, and will last forever.  It's also made in the USA.  I have mine plumbed to a condensate pump that drains to daylight.  Even though my foundation walls are three foot thick dry stacked stone my basement is as dry as a popcorn fart, even in wet weather.  If you want to come over and check it out let me know.  

[ModernOutdoorsMan]

It’s called efflorescence, it’s fairly harmless in most instances. It’s caused from water (usually groundwater) soaking through foundation and pulling some mineral with it, leaves behind a chalky coating.

Like mentioned above, this is probably a ground water issue, and a fairly normal one. If you’re not getting water in the basement than I wouldn’t be concerned. I’ve heard mixed reviews on drylok, personally I don’t think it’s a good idea. You want masonry to be able to breathe a little bit or it could cause more issues.

A dehumidifier won’t address the issue, but merely mitigate the symptoms a bit. A french drain system and sump is your best bet, but thats a good deal of money for something pretty minor IMO. 

[NJREALTOR]

Scrape and Drylock also epoxy floor. Any groundwater needs to be redirected from outside through drainage piping.

[tcook8296]

When I was building my house, the foundation contractor told me the couldnt do french drains any longer due to radon gas. 

We have interior and exterior footing drains that drain into 2 sump pits, in addition to the waterproofing on the exterior walls, we also had a fibreglass mat installed on the exterior walls that allows any water that comes up against the foundation to drain down to the footing, into the footing drain and into the sump pit. We also did poured walls instead of block. 

We knew the soil sucked when we were building, so we took a few extra precautions and it has worked well for us as we have a dry basement. 

Drylok is good for maybe a some slight seepage issues but water issues need to be fixed from the outside. 

Its not easy when you have an existing foundation buried and it can get expensive to excavate it all up. 

Some issues can be fixed by making sure the grade pitches away from the house and redirecting down spouts further away from the foundation. 

They do make an epoxy that seals cracks and holes in foundations. 

Maybe consult with someone that specializes in this type of work. You could always call a few companies out to see what their solutions would be then attempt it yourself if it falls within your skills. 

Edited June 16, 2020 by tcook8296

[Lunatic]

You have no water then you have no problem. 

[Greybeard]

I have the sani dry system in my basement,  kind of like swamp yankees.  Drains into a canister then pumps out a tube automatically when full.  I have the tube going into the drain for the washing machine.  They suck out a lot more moisture and filter the air.  I also ran my downspouts into underground drain pipes that take the water away from the house.  Haven't had water in the basement since I did that.  Paving the driveway along the other side also helped drain water away.

[Lunatic]

9 minutes ago, Greybeard said:

I have the sani dry system in my basement,  kind of like swamp yankees.  Drains into a canister then pumps out a tube automatically when full.  I have the tube going into the drain for the washing machine.  They suck out a lot more moisture and filter the air.  I also ran my downspouts into underground drain pipes that take the water away from the house.  Haven't had water in the basement since I did that.  Paving the driveway along the other side also helped drain water away.

Where does it pump out to?

[Greybeard]

10 minutes ago, Lunatic said:

Where does it pump out to?

It's only a small plastic flexible tubing about 3/4" diameter that comes out of the pump and it fit into the drain pipe next to the drain hose for the washing machine that is in the basement.  You can run the line outside or into another drain in the house drain line, same as a dishwasher drain.

Edited June 16, 2020 by Greybeard

[Lunatic]

16 minutes ago, Greybeard said:

It's only a small plastic flexible tubing about 3/4" diameter that comes out of the pump and it fit into the drain pipe next to the drain hose for the washing machine that is in the basement.  You can run the line outside or into another drain in the house drain line, same as a dishwasher drain.

I drain mine into the sewer, sounds like you do too, although that’s illegal 

[Greybeard]

1 minute ago, Lunatic said:

I drain mine into the sewer, sounds like you do too, although that’s illegal 

With sewer costing 3x the water usage, and with a lot of water usage not going into the sewer(washing cars, gardens, chickens, etc), some of that seeps back into my basement where I redirect it into the sewer where I already payed for it to go.  They can go f themselves if they get upset over a quart a day when they charged me for 50gl a day that didn't go into the sewer.

[Lunatic]

17 minutes ago, Greybeard said:

With sewer costing 3x the water usage, and with a lot of water usage not going into the sewer(washing cars, gardens, chickens, etc), some of that seeps back into my basement where I redirect it into the sewer where I already payed for it to go.  They can go f themselves if they get upset over a quart a day when they charged me for 50gl a day that didn't go into the sewer.

My feeling as well

[Greybeard]

17 minutes ago, Lunatic said:

My feeling as well

I could move it to the sump pump drain that goes outside to the end of the front porch, or just drill a hole for it to go outside in the same direction.  The washing machine drain was right there and made it easy.