Basement Waterproofing Options

In reply to Nugi :

I don’t buy that. 

At this stage, there is plenty that a DIYer can do. I am a pro, and this has not yet gotten out of hand for a DIYer. 

If he can’t find the water source, that will change. 

EvanB is asking the right questions, and can handle this.

The biggest mistake DIYers do with water sealing is to seal the inside. That just traps water, and accelerates the deterioration of the wall. 

In reply to EvanB :

Is the basement picture by the brake (where you are most concerned about the leak) located directly under that rear porch?  I may have some good news if it is. 

I’m having trouble piecing together your pictures. One exterior shot shows a door, but that door is not in the other exterior shots. One exterior shot shows an AC unit, but that is not in the interior shots. 

Can you sketch a little layout?

Is the patio between 2 buildings?

Here is a quick sketch. The first 4 picture in the original post are looking at the same area from the inside and outside. The picture with the door is showing the drain next to the garage. 

In reply to EvanB :

OK.  That helps.

It looks like your primary leak is not the foundation wall per se.  It's the porch.

That concrete porch floor is surrounded by block on all 4 sides.  It was filled with fill dirt before pouring the concrete, then capped with concrete.  This fill was poorly compacted (they always are).  Over time, the dirt settles under the slab creating a void.  I've seen 18" worth of settling under a porch floor like that.  Not a real problem, as long as the slab is secured to the foundation wall.  If the slab has not settled, then it is suspended and no problem.

I can't tell if you have a roof over that porch.  If you don't, then I think the primary problem is the porch floor, not the patio.

Put a level on the porch floor.  If it pitches toward the house, it is the problem.  It is catching a large volume of water, and dumping it down a crack at the connection to the house.  (You never see it puddle, because there is a big crack). It is filling the void under the slab with as much water as it can, which then drains into the basement.

The downspout is definitely not helping, because it is dumping more water in the same vicinity.  But that water is OUTSIDE the porch enclosure, and would have to travel 4' horizontally before leaking in your basement where you have the problem. 

The cistern is still potentially a problem.  The overflow pipe runs THROUGH the porch.  If that pipe is leaking, it is definitely contributing to the problem.

Check the porch floor for level.  Identify where the inlet/outlet for the cistern are.  If the floor is pitched, it can be fixed with mud jacking (this is a job for a pro), or you can bust it up and start over (you can do this, but it is a lot of work).  Then abandon that cistern.

I doubt you will have to break up that patio.

The porch does have a roof. I checked it and it is level running along the house and slopes down away from the house. The stairs have definitely settled a bit (not the ones that are more recent). 

Here are some more pictures. 

I need to do something about that moss on the roof too. 

The cistern is now full again. The total depth is 42", water depth is 25", diameter is 24". By using google math that is approximately 50 gallons?

It is hard to see what is going on with all the water but I tried to put some notes on the picture. Both pipes running into the house are connected to a canister that is cemented into the bottom. I cannot see any inlets on the canister but the pipe (overflow?) comes straight out of the top. 

The hole in the side where the pipes run into the house is the only inlet that I can tell when I had it empty. Inside the hole past the concrete is gravel. 

And the pump on the inside. 

What it looks like after a hard rain. 

Thanks for all the help and ideas so far. 

And some updates to the sketch. I checked the patio drains. They are not going to the cistern from what I can see. I think maybe they run into the back yard. They are full of dirt and roots and I definitely need to clean them out. 

In reply to EvanB :

Nuts. I thought I had it. 

I still think I’m close. Your worst point in that leak is the inside corner of the porch...

That’s good news on the floor drains. They are just there to protect the doors. 

What’s the big white patch to the left of the door?  Why were the steps recently rebuilt?  Could there have been worse damage that was band-aided over?

Still don’t think that cistern is serving you any more. The double pipes heading into the house are a likely leak point. Water can chase the pipes on the outside. 

I still think your game plan is the same- just with a little more knowledge at your disposal. Reroute the downspout, abandon the cistern, seal the cracks in the patio, caulk and seal against the house well, and see what happens. 

The big white patch is painted plywood. I'm not sure why that part is plywood and it was not sided over.

I'm not sure why the steps were replaced. The front porch steps and those were redone before I moved in.  

What would be the best way to get rid of the cistern? Fill it with gravel? Sand? Should I do anything to remove or plug the pipes before filling or just fill it as-is?

I’m working on some water problems too since it’s been so wet this year.  What should I use to seal my foundation (concrete block)?  Also, my water is coming in through the shale the front of my house is resting on and some through the dirt section of the floor. Do I still want to seal just the outside of the block? Two sides of my foundation are above grade so the water isn’t coming in on those sides.