Building Homes or Extensions/water

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Expert: - 1/21/2010


Question
Everytime it rains water comes into house at the bottom of an exterior wall.  this wall backs uo to a brick and concrete patio. There is no standing water after it rains on the patio. On this same wall there is a fireplace. We have pulled up the wood floo and there is no visible cracks in foundation. Do u have any suggestions?

Answer

french drain
Hi Kelly, water is a very enigmatic thing at times.  Basically, water will seek it's own level, find any opening to penetrate, and based on the pressure it generates it can force its way through almost any substrate.  It sounds like you are in need of a foundation drain or french drain around your perimeter.  This will allow you to drain water away from your structure before it has a chance to do any damage.  The process is similar to the moats around the castles of old.  You dig a trench around your property deep enough to capture the ground water at the elevation depth you desire.   Say your lowest floor elevation is -5' below finished grade..the bottom of your french drain would have to be at or preferably below that elevation.  This way the ground water doen't have a chance to force its way into your environment.  I have a drawing I will attach to this email..I hope this information helps, please feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com

Bruce E. Johnson

Expertise

I can answer any construction related question in regards to carpentry, concrete, drywall, masonry, structural elements of any type of building, residential or commercial. Interior or exterior.

Experience

Custom Commercial and residential buildings. Churches, theaters, schools and auditoriums. Most recently I am working with the Catholic Church on several design build committees. I have a website related to scheduling and project supervision. Although my expertise is more related to multimillion dollar commercial, educational and theatrical projects my generous credentials in residential and remodelling construction make me a viable source of information regarding all forms of building questions.

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