Water Comes Through Tiles In Basement How Do I Stop It

[rexnong]

I have recently bought a new house and there is a long room which is 2 ft under ground level, i am not sure why it was designed like this but when we get a good downpour i have noticed some of the grouting seems to let small amounts of water in , houses near us let much more in

What can i do apart from re-tiling the whole room is there a fix as i want to use the room and put a sofa and bed down there but dont want to keep mopping up water

I am sure someone can help

I have been told to just cement and re-tile the whole room but will this stop further leakage?

Thanks

[LivinLOS]

1) this is internet computer and technology related how ??

2) retiling wont stop this, if you have water seepage as opposed to just damp your damp proof course / liquid barrier membrane was either not put in or installed incorrectly when creating the floor. You need to stop the source of the water (which wont be easy) retiling will just mean water looks for a new way through and it might persistent.

We had a (rental) villa where water kept coming up through floor tiles.. They had the floor up, windows out, walls redone (suspected it was coming in from a complex wall / window setup and travelling further across each time a leak was plugged) etc etc.. They never fixed it despite much work.

[fezzi]

Check your firewall... there must be the leak... ;-)

[wimpy]

Sounds like you need a French drain. French drain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[siamect]

1) this is internet computer and technology related how ??

Don't be silly, the guy just made a mistake and posted in the wrong forum...

Ok drain... the simplest idea that may work, if the amount of water per hour is limited, is to dig down a well in close proximity to the house and pump the water out from the well when a certain level is reached.

The idea is to lower the ground water level slightly.

The problem with this method is that when the groundwater level is lowered in a limited area, the water from other areas will find ways to dig channels and fill it up quickly, so it may work well in the beginning and then it may be impossible to pump out all the water...

I have seen this work in Sweden close to a lake where the ground water level was basically the same as the ground itself. The ground condition was clay... not soil.

I have also seen it work in Pathumthani somewhere but it was a very small well, maybe just 75cm deep and about the same diameter.

Martin

[rexnong]

siamect your the best poster here thanks for the 'dont be silly comment' as i didnt mean to post in the wrong forum

The best advice is from people who dont try to see the mistakes and give a clever comment and actually try and help because maybe they have nothing better to do apart from drink huge amounts of beer chang and watch Germany loose the world cup again

Anyway after a big downpour the next day i can mop up the excess water in a few minutes but i dont want to always do it as througout the <deleted>$£ing hot season its fantastic

I am looking at 3-4 months a year of a little bit of water coming through the grout nothing crazy but still i dont want to slip and slide if i dont notice it maybe trying different grout as it dosent seep through everywhere just a few places?

1) this is internet computer and technology related how ??

Don't be silly, the guy just made a mistake and posted in the wrong forum...

Ok drain... the simplest idea that may work, if the amount of water per hour is limited, is to dig down a well in close proximity to the house and pump the water out from the well when a certain level is reached.

The idea is to lower the ground water level slightly.

The problem with this method is that when the groundwater level is lowered in a limited area, the water from other areas will find ways to dig channels and fill it up quickly, so it may work well in the beginning and then it may be impossible to pump out all the water...

I have seen this work in Sweden close to a lake where the ground water level was basically the same as the ground itself. The ground condition was clay... not soil.

I have also seen it work in Pathumthani somewhere but it was a very small well, maybe just 75cm deep and about the same diameter.

Martin

[Donnyboy]

i agree with another poster that re cementing and retiling wont work as it doesnt address the water ingress, however a short term cheap solution could be to regrout with a silicon based grout to stop any water coming in, but that may cause further problems with water getting inbetween the tile and cement wall.

[opalhort]

Yes, regrouting with a silicone based grouting or one treated with waterproofing chemicals will be a short term solution, BUT only if the tiles are placed in a way that they don't touch each other!

In most places I've seen here (including our home) they place the tiles close together and the grouting is only for decoration never actually going down to the base of the tile.

The problem is that in 1-2 years you'll have mould in the wall behind the tiles and they will evetually start to drop off.

I think the only long term solution would be to dig around the wall where the water comes in right to the very base of the wall and coat it with tar or some other waterproofing sealant. You have to stop the water from getting into the wall in the first place. Stopping it at the tiles is only a short term solution.

opalhort

Edited June 13, 2010 by opalhort

[wpcoe]

I'm no engineer/architect, but only thinking out loud: Since the water seeping through doesn't seem to be very much, how about recementing, but first laying a layer (or two?) of thick plastic?

The plastic I'm thinking of is what my landscapers used in the USA (Nevada) underneath a layer of xeriscaping rocks/pebbles to keep weeds from poking through.

[bpwchiangsean]

well i would suggest that you dig around your foundation and lay some stone making sure you have it on a slight grade to a well to which you could install a pump to carry it away from the home. this has to be done because you have to stop it at the source. I have knowledge in this being from canada and also with building homes. if you do not stop the water it will break down your cement floor over time. this i think will work because there is not that much water to deal with best of luck

[bpwchiangsean]

well i would suggest that you dig around your foundation and lay some stone making sure you have it on a slight grade to a well to which you could install a pump to carry it away from the home. this has to be done because you have to stop it at the source. I have knowledge in this being from canada and also with building homes. if you do not stop the water it will break down your cement floor over time. this i think will work because there is not that much water to deal with best of luck

[bpwchiangsean]

well i would suggest that you dig around your foundation and lay some stone making sure you have it on a slight grade to a well to which you could install a pump to carry it away from the home. this has to be done because you have to stop it at the source. I have knowledge in this being from canada and also with building homes. if you do not stop the water it will break down your cement floor over time. this i think will work because there is not that much water to deal with best of luck

[philliphn]

No problem.

Run a pipe to the Maprachan reservior in Pattaya.

[hartam]

I'm no engineer but u need the whole lower floor TANKING, its a costly job,,,,but it will hold all water out of yr basement,

look for companys what do this,in bkk,,,or im sure others will give u better advice,

patrick &nid