What a night of weather: What a night last night. SO much wind and rain. @ 9:30pm Went to find at least an inch of water in the far end of the basement and seeping through the uphill...

kandydisbar Loc: West Orange, NJ

What a night last night. SO much wind and rain. @ 9:30pm Went to find at least an inch of water in the far end of the basement and seeping through the uphill wall just about everywhere. Got out the Regina carpet cleaner and found the hose cracked in three places...duck tape to the rescue. After two hours of wringing out old sweatshirts and rags, at least twenty trips to the sink emptying the cleaner the wall actually sprung a leak and a small jetty of water was coming out. I took a towel, stuffed it behind a pipe where the water was squirting in and when it was soaked through, positioned it to drip into a bucket. Kept emptying that while ringing out towels into the other bucket. Man, my back was not happy.
Oh, I also went out in the worst of the storm and laid two old shower curtains up against the house there with bricks to hold them, hoping to drain off some of the downpour.
@2am the rain let up a bit so emptied the buckets and rested on the couch a little. Checked after a glass of wine and the bucket only was 1/8 full so I finally conked out on the couch. Sun woke me up this morning . Seems OK down there now.
I have laid concrete there in years past but I guess it's not holding so will be looking into alternatives for future.
Thanks for listening.
Oh, and skylight in kitchen roof leaked too, put a plant under that one, lol!

audigger53 Loc: Severn, MD

OK check with your home owners insurance for the skylight (roof) and the cellar.
Don't know what your deductible is, but that can save you a LOT of money if covered.
Just a thought for you. I did that when my skylight leaked and they found hail damage so it was covered for replacing the roof.
Shopped around and got a good deal with a guy that also gave me a discount for being a Veteran.
Prices will be all over the place, so shop around.

Jeremy Loc: America

kandydisbar wrote:

What a night last night. SO much wind and rain. ... (show quote)

Many buildings have bitchathane ( spelling? ) is basically like the shower curtain idea you had. Some roofing felt paper. Tar paper etc to make a seal between exterior or soap and concrete/brick. Concrete can be porous so it can seep. Cracks from settling will cause leaks too. Some concrete ( in little buckets ) is more of a plastic type material after it sets up. Hopefully you can stop the bulk on exterior walls for future.

1Oldboat42 Loc: Kearney, Nebraska

Kandy, some more food for thought is flex seal spray. I have had a leak in the basement of the house we rent for 7 years. It was not bad like yours but it did get things wet if they were close to the wall. Landlords tried 2 attempts to fix it from the outside, including taring but never went deep enough. So I applied a heavy coat of flex seal from the inside and didn't have any leaks the next shower. Now the spring rains will be the true test. Like I said, just food for thought. Dry out now.☔🌈

kandydisbar Loc: West Orange, NJ

Fishing Couple wrote:

Kandy, some more food for thought is flex seal spray. I have had a leak in the basement of the house we rent for 7 years. It was not bad like yours but it did get things wet if they were close to the wall. Landlords tried 2 attempts to fix it from the outside, including taring but never went deep enough. So I applied a heavy coat of flex seal from the inside and didn't have any leaks the next shower. Now the spring rains will be the true test. Like I said, just food for thought. Dry out now.☔🌈

Will I have to scrape away the crumbly cement or just brush it off and then spray?

plumbob Loc: New Windsor Maryland

kandydisbar wrote:

Will I have to scrape away the crumbly cement or just brush it off and then spray?

For another source Kandy check out Drylok cement sealer. Hurricanes did a # on my NC brick home and water would weep through in many places. Fortunately the Tyvek kept it from penetrating the plywood sheathing.

I used Drylok on the chimney every 5 years and problem solved. And yes you would have to scrape any loose materials.

Randyhartford Loc: Lawrence, Kansas

kandydisbar wrote:

What a night last night. SO much wind and rain. ... (show quote)

Multitasking… 😂

USAF Major Loc: Sea Bright, NJ

That is more than 'a glass of wine' story. Empty the bottle!

Larry M Loc: North Clairmount, San Diego

Another option to try maybe.
Your local hardware store should carry it.

Jeremy Loc: America

kandydisbar wrote:

Will I have to scrape away the crumbly cement or just brush it off and then spray?

After getting chemicals on the concrete a layer of something water will NOT penetrate is best. So you are sealing it with more than just one layer. You can research the topic and find the material and proper chemicals. Wet concrete and crumbling concrete may be an issue. I know it’s expensive but there are Companies that deal with this sort of thing.

Jeremy Loc: America

Randyhartford wrote:

Multitasking… 😂

Sad you would make a joke out of this situation anyone is going through.

Jeremy Loc: America

USAF Major wrote:

That is more than 'a glass of wine' story. Empty the bottle!

Agreed. Pop a few corks even.

NJ219bands Loc: New Jersey

The storm ⛈️ shutdown my cable tv 📺 last night in Central Jersey. Today I saw lots of flooding and two utility poles broken in two in South Jersey.

1Oldboat42 Loc: Kearney, Nebraska

plumbob wrote:

For another source Kandy check out Drylok cement sealer. Hurricanes did a # on my NC brick home and water would weep through in many places. Fortunately the Tyvek kept it from penetrating the plywood sheathing.

I used Drylok on the chimney every 5 years and problem solved. And yes you would have to scrape any loose materials.

My suggestion of flex seal was just a quick fix to limp a person through. Plumbob is absolutely right in recommending Drylok. I was a contract painter for some 30 years and used Drylok on new construction and repairs from nothing being used. To have it done right I highly recommend finding someone who is experienced in this type of repairs. Your paint store (Sherwin Williams was my material source) can give you a list to choose from. Good luck.

Jeremy Loc: America

Fishing Couple wrote:

My suggestion of flex seal was just a quick fix to limp a person through. Plumbob is absolutely right in recommending Drylok. I was a contract painter for some 30 years and used Drylok on new construction and repairs from nothing being used. To have it done right I highly recommend finding someone who is experienced in this type of repairs. Your paint store (Sherwin Williams was my material source) can give you a list to choose from. Good luck.

Absolutely should seal the wall and can have a membrane besides that so there is more than one seal. Flex seal has a decent reputation.

Is that something Plummers use? Just curious. I figured they replaced tubing and pipe. Just saying.