Should I worry too much about water coming through my foundation?

[Mick_VT]

In really heavy rain, or in the spring thaw, I get water seeping (almost running) through tight cracks in my foundation wall. The wall has to be many decades old and is otherwise sound, but water comes through and drains away through a sump drain. From my estimation the cracks are about 3-4 feet below grade and do not appear to be affecting the integrity of the foundation structurally. Is this something I should worry about or is it more of an inconvenience?

[Neighmond]

I have a nasty old wore out red tile foundation with the same problem, and the two foundation companies I have called in here told me to either put exterior drains in to make sure the water never reaches the foundation, or leave it as is. If you seal the inside of the foundation, apparently water can gain enough pressure outside (especially when the winter comes and freezes it) that it can blow a wall in.

[Mick_VT]

If you seal the inside of the foundation, apparently water can gain enough pressure outside (especially when the winter comes and freezes it) that it can blow a wall in.

Yikes!

My issue comes from being on the side of a very steep hill with not a great deal of earth before you are down to the rock (one back corner of the house is on ledge). I think that means water from the hill has little place to go other than around or through my basement. I have considered putting gutters on the back for at least the summer / fall rains. Of course I would have to take them off for the winter.

I had thought about a french drain system, but I'm not actually sure what I would do to get the water away given the rock at one end. Part of me also says "well that cement foundation has lasted the last few decades and seems sound enough, manage the water - let it come in, and get it back out as fast as you can."

[Neighmond]

If I recall, Don M. has a spring that comes in and goes out the basement of his house, or had a house that way. I saw one on oldhousedreams a year or so ago with the spring actually run in a trough so they could put milk and butter in the water to keep it cool!

[oaktree]

I have this issue as well. I have a "Michigan basement", which basically means stone walls with a dirt floor. I have concrete floors now, but water still comes in through cracks in the stone walls. They were never meant to be watertight. I am worried about it. I had my stone mason look at it (who did a great job on my stone chimney). He said if he patched the cracks from the inside I would have leaks again after the first winter because of water coming in from outside and freezing. He said he could only fix it completely if it was patched from the outside, but digging around my foundation might be bad for the house. I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do about it, but I made sure that my sump pump is working well. I also run a dehumidifier in the basement.

[Vala]

My foundation is the same way. However I have a rather unusual foundation where half is brick and the underground half is some kind of cementy gravel stuff which yea, does spring leaks and drains out through a drain in the basement floor. Its always like that whenever we get a big downpour. I assume its normal for most old houses.

Photo of what I'm describing with my foundation.

[oaktree]

I also got another quote from a foundations company that said they would put drains around the house (10k+) and make the stone watertight by sealing it somehow...I think I'm not ready for that unless things get severe! I also worry about my house shifting if you dig that much around it. It's stable now...I think I shouldn't push my luck. Every time there is a big rain, my basement floor gets damp and you can see water coming in through cracks in the stone. Before I do something this big, I might try regrading the dirt around the house.

[heartwood]

I can't really speak to your particular situation but.....my house has two roof valleys (slate roof) and when it rains heavy, the water enters the stone foundation onto the dirt floor...the oil filler pipes and propane tank are in one corner...I built a shed roof over the area which diverts the water away and (hopefully) will keep snow away for the oil delivery guy (and me too as I do shovel the area!)

I recently moved from a house built in 1991 that included a dry basement with concrete floor, woodstove, garage door and big windows to a 1920 stone foundation house with dirt basement floor...it smells and worries me...glad to know I have plenty of company...
...jade

[jharkin]

Mick, what is the construction of your foundation? Sounds like its concrete but Ill ask to be sure (poured concrete, block, brick, mortared stone, dry laid stone?)


I get water... sometimes waterfalls.. coming in between the stones when we get really wet springs. I have a sump pump and run a dehumidifier year round. I have read the same neighmond did - sealing the inside can cause big problems. There are articles on buildingscience about this.

In my case sealing the outside is a practical impossibility... When we have had to excavate areas for utility work we found there is no well defined point where the stone wall ends and the soil begins. So we pay the dehumidifier bill and live with it.

[Mick_VT]

it is very old poured concrete, probably dates to the 1940s or 1950s. You can still see the impressions of the rough wood used when it was poured. It also looks to have been poured in stages, as you can see multiple layers. Its between two of these layers where the water seeps in