How to Stop a Basement Wall Leak

There are few things more annoying than a basement wall leak. Water comes in through the wall, runs down and get on the floor, and then leaves you with a mess. There are a few things you can do to solve this problem for a poured cement basement wall.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• hydraulic cement
• silicone caulking
• Drylock paint
• wire brush

1. For poured walls there is usually a crack which is leaking. Remove any loose material in the crack, then wire brush it to get it clean. Take your hydraulic cement and pack it in the crack. This will work with the wall being wet or dry.

2. A good 50 year silicone caulking will work when the wall crack is dry. It will remain flexible if the wall moves during the seasons. You'll need to apply this with a caulking gun during a dry period. Be sure to inject it in as deep as you can.

3. Drylock paint will often solve your wet wall problem for a long time. This paint requires the wall to be wet when you paint it on. This will work best if it's put on after you caulk or seal the crack. It acts as a sealer and resists water pressure trying to push through the wall

4. Epoxy or Polyurethane injection is a good bet to solve your problem also. This process is usually done by a professional. The material is injected into the crack and travels throughout the crack all the wall to the other side of the wall. Epoxy is more for a structural stabilization although it will seal the crack. Polyurethane is for waterproofing.

Tips & Warnings

• Nothing is going to seal a block wall for very long. You'll need to correct the source of water infiltration.
• For more foundation repair or waterproofing information see www.expertbasementrepair.com
• This is only a stop gap measure. More damage will occur in the future without fixing the cause of the leak