wet ceiling in well room outside of foundation

[joyb]

We have an extra little room that was built (we think) where the original entry to the basement was, and it houses the well. The problem is that in the spring thaw, water drips through the ceiling of this little room (and then into the basement). We've had people out, but no one really knows what to do with it. Normally it has 4-6 inches of soil and grass on it, but we just dug it out to see the condition (picture attached). (For the basement overall, we are having landscapers out to create a swale behind the house and a swale and drain for the gutter on the side to try to redirect any other water.)

I'm thinking of coating it with the rubberized asphalt coating, and then trying to grade the topsoil away from the house, lay a layer of landscaping plastic, and then mulch. Is the asphalt coating a problem since the room houses the well? I'm thinking since it doesn't actually come in contact with the water, it's not a problem (kind of like if our driveway was asphalt).

I'd love any other advice or opinions on my plan! Thanks!

[Daniel Meyer]

Sounds like a good plan to me!

[Don M]

May be okay.

[CS in Low Hud]

I would put an adhesive rubber membrane over the top, lapping down the sides below grade for at least a few feet, and running up the foundation wall towards the clapboards for at least 6 inches (more would be better... but since you will be covering it with dirt, visually, you would want it to be below grade, I presume) . Redirecting water away from the house, as you plan to do, is a good move, and you might want to consider relocating that outside faucet (assuming that's what it is). It's dumping water right into the joint between the concrete roof and the basement wall, which will always be a weak point.

Chris

[joyb]

Thanks for the replies!

Chris - No kidding about the placement of the faucet! We'll have to look into moving that, too.
When you described "lapping down the sides", are you saying digging down about 3 ft and using the same rubber membrane on the sides?

[CS in Low Hud]

Yep, that's what I'm suggesting. If you simply cap the roof (with either a rubberized membrane or rubberized asphalt) you will still be leaving a joint between the concrete roof and the top of the walls - it might not look like much of one, but water will push through it if given the chance. The sticky rubber membrane will basically make a waterproof cap over the top of your well room (like an upside-down swimming pool). Lapping it up the side of the house toward the clapboards as far as you can stand visually, at least partway up that well pipe that bisects the ceiling, and down the exterior side of the walls of the well room 2 or 3 feet will make at least the ceiling of that room water-proof. You can then cover with dirt or whatever. Of course, if ground water is an issue for you, you could still get water coming in through the floor of the well room.

Chris

[phil]

if you have cracks from the inside you could try hydraulic cement ( expanding concrete) if you gouge out the cracks so that it is clean, and put that stuff in , it expands as it cures. if the water table is such that the room is flooding it may be more of a drainage issue. the simple fix would be a sump pump nearby or lower than the pump house, but of course that requires maintenance so if you can fix the issue by other means, drainage, roof that would be better.

Perhaps you could clean the cement and use a tiger torch to melt tar around the top edges if you think that is where the water is getting in?

since it is quite far below the surface of the soil you could put in a drain if you have the grade, dig a trench the width of a shovel and put in some drainage pipe and gravel to take the water somewhere lower?
that cement lid looks to be intact from the picture, but there must be some sort of joint around the perimeter. it is quite a large pour so may have some cracks in it?

is there a chance you can use the flat lid to your advantage, maybe put some sort of shed on top? or gazebo like structure? can you use it as a foundation? Garden shed? If you can access the area from inside maybe that lid never needs to come off?

[joyb]

Thanks for all of the advice! We haven't had water coming up into that room, yet. In the spring, especially with the thaw and a heavy rain, you can see the water dripping from the ceiling. Then there's a sill for the door for this little room to most of the basement, the water collects in the back corner and then runs a little stream to the drain in the middle of the basement floor. I think the lid looked very clean still, but I can see the joint where the ceiling/lid meets the walls.

It's funny you mention the structure over the room. Since we've moved in we've talked about putting on a back porch, since there isn't much of a connection to the backyard from the house. Maybe we'll get to that after all!

I'm hoping this membrane will take care of most of the problem. Thanks for all of the advice - I'll post an update when I get there. Right now we have three ground wasp nests a few feet away, and they're getting less happy with the activity, so it might take me after the first frost

[phil]

if the wasps are the kind that are in a hole (nest) in the mud you can try to stick a one gallon bottle in the hole neck down. the wasps aren't smart, they will go inside the bottle and fly around and around thinking they can, just like they do in a window frame.. until they wear themselves out. meanwhile they are out of your face.

[joyb]

I thought I'd finally update on our process. I'd had a hard time finding a source for the membrane and was impatient, so I coated it with the rubberized asphalt. Then I found the membrane, and I dug down around the edge. I only got about 18-24", though. Then we cut a layer of plywood, and then a layer of the pink insulation board to act as a buffer between the asphalt and the membrane. I did take a couple pictures at the time, but I'm not able to find them now.

The yard was regraded and there's a swale just before this little room. It's been working great! We're turning that corner area into a garden, so I planted outside of the ceiling area. We just have the mulch left!