Why Foundations Leak
Why Basements Leak When a house has a basement that is below the ground level outside it is very common for water to penetrate through the foundation and cause either flooding, mold on walls or furniture, or bug infestation.
Once water has gotten into the foundation it is difficult for it to drain further.
What then happens is the water evaporates into the air and causes dampness, mustiness from mildew and mold.
Houses are either built on a slab or on a footer.
Slab houses are not often placed more than a few inches under ground, if even that.
Footer foundations are created by pouring a footer.
This is a continuous pour of concrete around the perimeter of the house in the same outline as the exterior walls.
Once the footer is completely dried then the foundation walls are poured on top of the footer.
The footer is a little wider than the wall and so it commonly sticks out a 4-6 inches and resembles a foot.
The footer and the foundation comprise the foundation.
This is what holds up the rest of the house.
Then the basement floor is poured.
(If there is to be a crawl space and not a basement then the ground will be left as.
Rarely will someone pour a floor in a crawl space, but it happens.
) So far we have 3 things: A footer is poured and then dried.
A foundation wall is poured (set, if block) on top of the footer and let to dry (set).
A floor is poured on top of where the footer sticks out from under the wall.
Here is the problem.
Different concrete poured at different times does not adhere to one another.
In nearly all cases of adhesive or curing this is the case: ceramics, plastics, many aspects of welding, glass, caulking etc.
Where these different structures meet: where the wall meets the floor (the cove seam), and where the wall meets the footer and where the footer meets the floor all have a seam that is large enough for water (a very small particle) penetrate.
Water penetrates through cracks in the wall and through places where pipes come through the wall.
These areas tend to leak much less heavily as there is not as much pressure on the walls as there is upward pressure (hydrostatic) under the wall and floor.
This upward pressure causes the water to leak evenly all around the perimeter or the foundation wall.
Remember water seeks its own level, and so the lower portions of a foundation will see the most leaking.
Often times homeowners may think just because they have a sump pump that it should collect the water.
The problem is in that though there may be a sump pump there is not always a way to get the water to the sump pump.
This is most often accomplished by a sub-floor drainage system to collect and manage the water before it gets into the finished portion of the basement.
Once water has gotten into the foundation it is difficult for it to drain further.
What then happens is the water evaporates into the air and causes dampness, mustiness from mildew and mold.
Houses are either built on a slab or on a footer.
Slab houses are not often placed more than a few inches under ground, if even that.
Footer foundations are created by pouring a footer.
This is a continuous pour of concrete around the perimeter of the house in the same outline as the exterior walls.
Once the footer is completely dried then the foundation walls are poured on top of the footer.
The footer is a little wider than the wall and so it commonly sticks out a 4-6 inches and resembles a foot.
The footer and the foundation comprise the foundation.
This is what holds up the rest of the house.
Then the basement floor is poured.
(If there is to be a crawl space and not a basement then the ground will be left as.
Rarely will someone pour a floor in a crawl space, but it happens.
) So far we have 3 things: A footer is poured and then dried.
A foundation wall is poured (set, if block) on top of the footer and let to dry (set).
A floor is poured on top of where the footer sticks out from under the wall.
Here is the problem.
Different concrete poured at different times does not adhere to one another.
In nearly all cases of adhesive or curing this is the case: ceramics, plastics, many aspects of welding, glass, caulking etc.
Where these different structures meet: where the wall meets the floor (the cove seam), and where the wall meets the footer and where the footer meets the floor all have a seam that is large enough for water (a very small particle) penetrate.
Water penetrates through cracks in the wall and through places where pipes come through the wall.
These areas tend to leak much less heavily as there is not as much pressure on the walls as there is upward pressure (hydrostatic) under the wall and floor.
This upward pressure causes the water to leak evenly all around the perimeter or the foundation wall.
Remember water seeks its own level, and so the lower portions of a foundation will see the most leaking.
Often times homeowners may think just because they have a sump pump that it should collect the water.
The problem is in that though there may be a sump pump there is not always a way to get the water to the sump pump.
This is most often accomplished by a sub-floor drainage system to collect and manage the water before it gets into the finished portion of the basement.
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