I want to finish part of my basement. The house is 100 years old and has the old solid poured concrete walls. For the most part the walls are fine... except... when it rains a LOT. If we get a good solid day of rain, I get some water. Not a lot at all, a little. There is a trench that runs about 10" from the wall that catches the water and off it goes. I would like to finsih part of it.

What should I do? I have read about dricore and barricade flooring which seems like it would work. But what about the walls? Just one wall has some of that wetness erosion (white powder and some loosness of a little of the concrete)

Help! THANKS!

Clean loose particles and vacuum walls. Paint concrete with water proofing paint.This paint seals the pours of concrete.
Lest expensive way to stop water.

If possible, dig up outside where water is coming in and water proof concrete using tar coat and felt. When back filling be careful of large stones hitting wall. Grade soil away from house.

The second method is the better way to go but a lot hard er and more expensive.

Extend leaders from gutters away from house 2 to 3 feet with a splash block or feed leaders into a dry well.

The trench that is in basement. Where does it take the water?

Chuck

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Originally Posted by ;

There is a trench that runs about 10" from the wall that catches the water and off it goes.

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This sounds like a french drain, Tell me more. Where does the runoff go?
A french drain, (see image) or a dry well ,(see image ) comes to mind. Either one would solve your problem. Good luck, n tom

Are those walls original to the house? Poured walls were not common until much later, 1950's or so. Make sure the grade slopes away from the house.

@ma0641 - yes, they are original for sure. You can tell they are quite old. Cement with rocks mixed in, solid.

@speedball1 - the runoff runs around the edge to the back of the house (which has a walkout door) - it goes to a hole just below the door which runs out under the concrete patio to what I believe is a french drain.

@creahands - no way to dig the outside.. I would have to go down about 7-8 feet! Lol.. was thinking of the paint but was not sure of what the impact was of stopping the water "in" the walls?

Can I do this:
Seal or use plastic (like a vapor barrier) against the walls, then build the framing leaving a 1/2 space underneath for weeping. That, with the combo of the DRIcore floor tiles... good? Bad?

Other thoughts? Like I said.. it only happens when it rains a lot or if we get a quick snowmelt.
The gutter up front runs straight out pas the porch (which has a fruit cellar below and also gets a little wet). Its never been a major water issue, just an annoyance.

Thanks All!

I did my walls with paint on inside about 3 yrs ago. Have seen no ill effects to this point. 2 walls block and 2 walls poured concrete. Don't know why just is.

The paint is suppose to close pours in concrete and penetrate into concrete. Have don't taken any out to check. It is working for me.

Chuck