Sealing up the Basement Shop

I have an ancient (206 yrs) house with a laid up stone foundation that is nearly impossible to seal against water infiltration (read “pouring in”). The main source of water coming into basements is rain pouring off roofs. Even with a gutter system, the ground outside the basement can become soaked enough to raise the pressure outside the foundation.

Nevertheless, I solved the problem by diverting the rainwater outside the foundation.
I dug a shallow trench about 24” deep which has a vee shape. The trench was then lined with a heavy polyethylene film. After that a plastic drainage tile (the kind with holes along the sides) was laid in the trench and leading to 2 dry wells, one for each side of the house.
Gravel was poured in to cover the pipe which allows the rainwater to flow down to the pipe.

I can tell you that all but the most heavy downpour is drained away from the foundation and the basement stays dry. In the worst rainstorms a little seeps in but I have no big puddles anymore.

This method may be used along with other techniques to give yo a totally dry basement.

I hope this helps.

Don

My dad, brothers, and I did this to a home we bought in Ketchikan, Alaska (rain capitol of the world). We dug past the basement foundation, cleaned the outer concrete wall and put on roof seal tar and heavy mil plastic. Then laid drainage pipe plumbed away from the home, filled with a layer of gravel, probably 12” or so, then back filled with leftover dirt.We never had so much as a drop come in after that. We sold the house in the early 80’s, i rented the basement (years later) that had been converted into an apartment. Dry as a well in Death Valley on the 4th of July! You will want to deal with that ASAP due to the possibility of mold growth….dangerous stuff!