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Block wall joint leaks water

Marshy

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I'll get pictures tonight.

What I have is a retaining wall built off the corner of my house foundation (also block). The joint where the two come together leaks a little ground water when it rains. I was wondering of there is a way to seal this joint. What product would I use?

The purpose for sealing it is I built a small boiler room and it now leaks ground water into the room.

I was thinking maybe I can drill holes up the crack in the seam and inject some low expanding foam (like Great-stuff) into the joint. Is this a good or bad idea?

Any advice other than French tile? I would do that but only have about 3' of head room because the ground is under a 18x30 deck...
 

thomas1

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I'll get pictures tonight.

What I have is a retaining wall built off the corner of my house foundation (also block). The joint where the two come together leaks a little ground water when it rains. I was wondering of there is a way to seal this joint. What product would I use?

The purpose for sealing it is I built a small boiler room and it now leaks ground water into the room.

I was thinking maybe I can drill holes up the crack in the seam and inject some low expanding foam (like Great-stuff) into the joint. Is this a good or bad idea?

Any advice other than French tile? I would do that but only have about 3' of head room because the ground is under a 18x30 deck...

The water is going to seek the path of least resistance. If that path is towards the face of your wall, that's where it's going. If you don't get the water out of there the freeze/thaw cycles will probably end up wrecking your wall. They make several different clear sealants, but they're not 100% effective and they're not going to seal any cracks.

Do you know where the water is coming from? If it's only when it rains, may it be as simple as redirecting one of your downspouts?
 

junkman

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Try cutting the crack with a 4 1/2 inch angle grinder to open up the crack with a concrete cutting blade ,they are metal usually with diamond grit glued on ,then pack with hydraulic cement ?
this stuff expands and makes a water tight seal .

d1b0399f-6bf0-4b80-ad3d-f27e2f00007e_1.27ae679fa559c11943092400dc071e61.jpeg
 

Armbru84

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I am in essentially the same exact situation. I have a deck overhead even...I tried a few different sealers and even dig down outside and re-tarred the joint. That made the biggest impact but it still leaks now and again. Will be spending the money to do it right I believe.
 

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Fix the grading, maybe find someone to do a bentonite injection.

I had a crack that was leaking in my poured basement and I had Kane Waterproofing come epoxy it and inject it with urethane and it seems to be holding up well.
 

Marshy

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Fix the grading, maybe find someone to do a bentonite injection.

I had a crack that was leaking in my poured basement and I had Kane Waterproofing come epoxy it and inject it with urethane and it seems to be holding up well.
I work with a guy that has a side business doing spray foam and he also does slab leveling. He probably has something to inject that will seal it. Never heard of bentonite.

Just looking for something short term right now. I dont have time before winter to entertain any type of tile drain. All my down spouts go to a preimeter drain but the soil under the deck is sloped towards the retaining wall and has no grass. Any tile drain on the back side of the wall would have to be hand dug in a 3' high crawl area under the deck. It might be the permanent solution but would have to wait.
 

Marshy

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Here is a pic. The corner of the house foundation is black. The joint is only about 5' tall and only leaks from the bottom 10-12". Maybe one other damp spot 2.5'off the floor...
IMG_20170814_181718970_HDR-738x1312.jpg
IMG_20170814_182021798-1312x738.jpg
 
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Cracker Boy

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Spray foam in a can retains water.id recomend not doing that.also termites eat it
 

Marshy

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Spray foam in a can retains water.id recomend not doing that.also termites eat it
I thought great-stuff was closed cell foam so it will basically create a water barier... I know it's not intended for that purpose, just the concept of being able to spray an expanding sealer into a void and get it sealed.
 

Cracker Boy

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I thought great-stuff was closed cell foam so it will basically create a water barier... I know it's not intended for that purpose, just the concept of being able to spray an expanding sealer into a void and get it sealed.[/QUOTE
Its closed cell to some degree.i used to use it filling ac 4 in chase lines under slabs.in low lying areas we were having water back up in the chase into the garage were the ah and platdorm are.i quit using it and started to stuff a.c. line insulation and seal with the a,c. Mastic and we quit having problems
 

Marshy

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I have a 4.5" concrete saw for an angle grinder. Going to stop at Lowes and see what they have for material.

We just got about 2" of rain the last 48 hours so it's not a terrible leak considering how much it rained. Still more water than I want in my boiler room. It will get under my 2x6 wall I built and cause issues. I'm not too worried about the retaining wall, it's probably been like that since I've owned the house. I'll fix it, just not an immediate concern. Getting my boiler in is first.
 

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I'm dealing with a similar problem at my real job, school maintenance It looks like we're going to have to excavate around the 1954 foundation and find the problem. I see me running a track hoe soon.
 

Marshy

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I'm dealing with a similar problem at my real job, school maintenance It looks like we're going to have to excavate around the 1954 foundation and find the problem. I see me running a track hoe soon.
Take a look at that bentonite injection before you do, it might work perfect for you.
 

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Take a look at that bentonite injection before you do, it might work perfect for you.
Thanks. That could be a option. My biggest problem is only about 3ft below grade, so we'll see what's in the budget.
 

thomas1

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Nevermind, boiler room framing is nailed to the existing wall, correct?
 
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