There's a Hole in the Bucket: Foundation Leaks

This was truly one of the most innovative DIY solutions for foundation leaks that we’ve seen here at Hughes Construction.

Sometimes our clients get very creative before they call us. This homeowner used tape, a bucket, plastic sheeting and a garden hose to direct water from a leaking crack into a nearby drain.

This DIY water management system was likely necessary as a result of the following issues:

Lack of Anchorage-A contributing culprit is many years of insufficient foundation anchorage. The lack of sufficient anchoring during construction has resulted in wall movement. This, over time has led to cracking and subsequent foundation leaks. One component to the long-term success of any structure is for the foundation walls to be appropriately anchored at the time of construction. This helps to stabilize the structure and counter the external pressure exerted on the walls from the soil and water.
Soil too high-Another issue was that the soil on the exterior of the home was too high. This can allow water to infiltrate your home through the top of the foundation wall. The engineer on this project recommends that soil should be at least 4″ below your brick and 8″ below your siding. Additionally, the soil should be graded to slope away from the home.
Lastly, poor drainage. Water was discovered trapped in a void under the patio. This is indicative of a drainage issue. An appropriate drainage system on the exterior of the home is imperative. This will improve the chances of success for the foundation. It will also help to minimize the pressure exerted on the foundation walls, and ward off water infiltration.

Prior to hiring Hughes Construction Company, this homeowner worked with Buyers Protection Group’s designing engineer to determine the cause of the home’s symptoms and the best path forward to remedy the situation. The engineer called for several repairs to stabilize this home:

Soil needed to be lowered to at least 4″ below the brick masonry and 8″ below the non-masonry exterior siding.
Epoxy injections to seal the leaking cracks.
Steel angles and steel beams (pilasters) to anchor and brace the wall.

Now that the wall is stabilized, and cracks injected, this homeowner will work on discovering the source of the pooling outside the wall. We will check back in with them and perhaps there will be a part II to this post, so please stay tuned!

Note: DIY foundation leak solutions should always be temporary. Not all foundation issues are created equal, so there will not be a one size fits all approach to repairing them. The most qualified person to assess the situation, identify the root cause, and recommend the best repair is a licensed structural engineer. Here at Hughes Construction Company, we require structural engineers on all of our foundation repair projects. The engineers we work with on a regular basis can be found here.