Hi guys,

History-
I own a home that was built in about 1952. I don’t know all the history, but at some point one of the previous owners had some sort of drainage system put in, in the basement. It looks like they broke the floor up about 12” wide around the exterior walls in the basement, dug down some distance, filled it with gravel and maybe a pipe with holes, then covered over that with gravel and then a coat of concrete. It appears to be connected to the floor drain near the washing machine etc based on the “scar” on the floor from new concrete being put in.
I was attempting to paint one of the bedrooms in the basement and as I was preparing the walls, I noticed that one area was soft. I cut into the wall and discovered that water had somehow been getting in. I removed the drywall from the floor up to about where my sprinkler valves are on the outside thinking there may have been a crack in the foundation, but there wasn’t one. The insulation was wet and the paper on it was black and rotting. So, I then removed the drywall about 20” from the floor and below and discovered an opening filled with gravel on the floor directly under the finished wall and saw that each 2x2 was rotting about 12” from bottom. It appears whoever did the drainage system didn’t remove the baseboard. They just filled in concrete up to it and then caulked it with silicone. Then, I am guessing that water had been weeping up into the insulation etc. I live right near a small stream, and I am guessing the water table is somewhat high for this area.
So, the other day I went to fill in this opening on the floor with concrete, after I had removed the excess gravel, but I decided to check the other exterior wall, thinking it may have a similar situation. The area where I checked was in the same condition, but after removing, again, about a 20” high portion of drywall I discovered that it wasn’t the same situation across the whole wall. But there was a “hole” in the wall that led nowhere. I can feel cool air coming out of it. It looks like a cinderblock at the back of the hole with a space between it and the footing. On the top part of the hole it is wood. It looks like the construction may be this, starting from the inside: drywall, 2x2 with vapor barrier insulation, a concrete coating about ¼” thick, some type of block, about a 1/4th” space, some other block, then—guessing here—some sort of coating and finally the outdoors—either underground or above.

Question-
What should I do with the hole before filling the opening with concrete and replacing the wall where I removed it? And is there anything else I can do, should do to try and keep water out?

Thanks,
Brent

Here is a link to the photos of this problem

Brent Taft's Photos - Basement Problem | Facebook

This is a fairly complicated issue. I believe it can be solved with the appropriate time and effort. It is difficult to tell for certain based on your pictures, but it looks like perhaps the "hole" at one time went to a part of the house that may have been a crawl space. Is it possible that and addition was put on, or that the particular outside area is a carport?

In any event, since it goes to no where there should be no harm in closing it up. Since it will remain "exposed to the elements" (i.e. ground water, outside moisture, ect), you will NOT want to use wood to close it. I would consider mortar and concrete block. It looks like you have limited space to work so I would consider the solid blocks and possibly stack them on their side vs. laying flat. This will not be any load bearing repair.

After sealing the whole, I would recommend you use a good "hydraulic" type mortar/cement to seal the "gap between your floor and the outside wall. You will need to clean this area REALLY well including creating a bit of a "channel" between the wall and floor. You must mix small quantities of this cement as it sets EXTREMELY fast. I used it to repair deteriarating concrete block in my parents basement. It significantly improved their "moisture" issue as well. They used to have water pour in, but this stopped all of that. After you have sealed the crack between wall and floor, your should also seal it with a product like DAMPLOCK or UGL's DRYLOK. The thing is, based on the age of your house (unknown how long the basement has been finished), your entire wall could probably stand to be "resealed". That may be more than you want to chew... That said, it looks like you have a point where the moisture stops. Accordingly, you could just "reseal" a couple of inches above that with one of these products.

I would replace your junction box. As far as the 2x2's, if you wanted to replace them, you would either have to cut and splice them or remove all the drywall and replace them full length. If they have no significant deterioration or rot, you could treat them (wash them) with a mixture of JO-MAX and bleach to kill any potential mold. Then after they are dry, wash them again with a solution of boric acid (This prevents/retards dryrot). You would then be able to replace your vapor barrier, insulation and drywall. I did find a web site that sells products that sounds like they would work well for you too. I have not tried them so I can not attest to their effectiveness, but they look like they would do well.. . Again maybe more than would be necessary. Basement Waterproofing, Do It Yourself Wet Basement Waterproofing, Wet Basement Repair & Finishing

I hope this is helpful, good luck!

Thank you so much for your input! I really appreciate it!