What Causes Basement to Leak in Middle

Submitted by Full-Cat5118 t3_1219of7 in DIY

I bought a new house 8 days ago. For the first time, it has rained all day, which it seems it will be doing for several more days. The basement is almost entirely finished. After 12 or so hours of rain, we noticed water coming up through the vinyl floor in an area in the size range between 2×2 and 3×3. The wet area is about 5 feet from the closest exterior wall and 2 feet from the closest interior wall. There is a window well in the nearest exterior wall. The floor does not seem wet in between the window and this area. None of the walls of the room show signs of water damage, but I have noticed since we first toured months ago that some floor in this room is not stuck down like it is everywhere else. Water comes up when you step on those same non-stuck areas, so I assume it's been an ongoing problem. The wet area is directly below a bedroom. There is plumbing for a bathroom about 10 ft away from the water area on the floor above; the nearest basement plumbing is 20 ft away. There is a gutter system that runs into the ground. The gutters need to be cleaned (was my plan for the weekend until the rain) and do overflow in some places. I do not see an overflow particularly close to this area.

  1. What could be causing this to happen in the middle of a room and without wall damage?
  2. How do I go about fixing it? I've started by just trying to keep drying the area with towels every few hours.

Update: I found the most likely problem, which is a window well filled with water directly across from the water patch. The window well in question

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shitacct t1_jdl0gaj wrote

This sounds like it should have been disclosed on the sellers report (seek attorney help). With no other information, I would speculate that this is a groundwater issue and my first guess at solving this first would be to install a sump and pump. You'll have to remove flooring and dig a hole. Hopefully, this is a relatively simple fix and once you start opening things up you'll get more of an idea what is really going on.

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Full-Cat5118 OP t1_jdn08zq wrote

Unfortunately, I think it is incredibly likely that they do not have much in the way of assets to recover through the legal system. They had 7 children, were behind on a number of the bills I had to transfer over, and have gotten a few other bills that I've returned to the post office. They sold the house for only a little over their purchase price from 2021.

I think I found the likely problem, though: picture

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shitacct t1_jdn4uw6 wrote

Moisture problems can have more than one cause. The window well isn't necessarily a cause, it's at least a symptom or indicator of a condition to correct. If you are willing to do the work to fix the issues you can save a lot of money vs hiring pros. I would start with figuring out if the gutters are drained properly away from the foundation. Direct the water away from the foundation. Next, consider whether there are surface drainage issues and consider a French drain and damp proofing your foundation walls from the exterior. Next consider hydraulic pressure of water in the ground. If the water table is very high you may need to remove the flooring and cut into the slab, install a drain line around the interior perimeter of the foundation and drain it to a sump. Be ready to sweat. Don't be scared to rent the right equipment to do the job. Like a small excavator or a concrete demo saw.

If I was in your shoes I wouldn't do any finish work until I was sure the water issues were corrected.

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Full-Cat5118 OP t1_jdndljh wrote

Thank you for your detailed responses. No other window wells show any indication of standing water, even though several other covers are cracked, including the other 2 on this side. The gutters do overflow from the roof in the middles because they are filled with leaves. I put off cleaning them because of many other moving issues that I've been dealing with daily after work. Lesson learned. The ground in the area wasn't particularly squishy compared to any other parts of my property this morning, but it seems like plenty of water did get into the well. I do think the well sits a bit tiny lower than the surrounding yard, although it does have a lip.

The gutters from the house run into the ground, which I think Google has told me may be the French drain that you mentioned. The flooded well is the middle of the side of the house. Is it possible it drains near there for some reason? I think we could fix this if the gutter drainage is the problem. Would I start by digging at the base of a gutter to find it?

Miles and miles of my area are at risk for mine subsistence, including my subdivision. (I have an insurance rider for this in case it results in damage to the home.) That makes me think that water table issues are unlikely.

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shitacct t1_je8jdyl wrote

It's less than good practice to drain gutters into a French drain. The downspouts should be connected to a "tight line" system - 4" solid pcv drain pipe that is diverted to as far away from the house as possible. Maybe a retention pit or an infiltration trench or a stormwater pond. Water from your roof should be allowed to percolate back into the local watertable. It's just that you want to keep it out of your basement.

You could try and find where your roof drains ultimately terminate... if there is even a tight line system, so yes start where the downspouts go into the ground. To find the outflow look to the low point of your property. Look for a pipe sticking out of the ground in low areas of your property, if you're near a road side ditch the drain lines could drain there although many jurisdictions prohibit this practice.

If you're concerned that there is no drain system beyond the downspouts dumping water right against your foundation, turn on YouTube and find a how to video.

The ground can be saturated without being squishy, it depends on your soil, sandy, loam, clay etc. they all have different saturation and retention capacities.

If you dig a hole, like a post hole, cover it and it fills up every time it rains then you have a good gauge of your water table. Don't rule it out. I'm sure the mines near you are filled with water.

Good luck with this. Be patient, be observant and you will solve this problem.

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NotWorthTheTimeX t1_jdl7ee3 wrote

Do you have a sump pump? Sounds like there’s probably a floor drain under the middle of the room. They can backup with heavy rains. They are often plumbed into the sump pump basin.

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Full-Cat5118 OP t1_jdmqv7n wrote

I think this likely true. There is one drain that is visible elsewhere in the basement, and I found a very small amount of dampness near it. I will just have to look harder for the sump pump. My guess is that this drain is likely closer to the sump pump and thus overflowing more. Does that make sense? Trying to decide where to start pulling up floor to keep it to the smallest amount possible.

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NotWorthTheTimeX t1_jdmroeb wrote

Pulling up floor to look for the sump pump? If so, no need and just look for the discharge pipe. I’d be very surprised if they put flooring over a sump pump pit.

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Celtictussle t1_jdlgc0u wrote

I bet it's the lowest spot in the basement, and any leaked water is naturally going underneath the flooring to that point.

Tear it up; I bet you they covered over a sump to finish the basement the cheap/easy way.

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Full-Cat5118 OP t1_jdmyz0v wrote

Maybe as the one visible drain shows signs of moisture but not this amount of water. I also discovered this window well this morning that is directly across from the leaky floor picture

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