Many conditions can cause foundation leaks

Q. Our basement, dry for our first 40 years of homeownership, began taking in water about 18 months ago. After much frustration, and increasingly more water coming in, we have installed an electric system to pump out the water. Do you have any thoughts about where all this water can be coming from after all these years? Our city public works department says it has no idea and is as stumped as we are! Can you help us?

A. You didn't say when the leakage occurs. Is it when it rains heavily or when snow melts? Or is it a regular occurrence regardless of the weather or time of year, in which case it may be caused by a leak in the city's entrance water line or a break in the sewer line close to the foundation. Has your water consumption increased measurably in the last 18 months?

Most foundation leakage problems are caused by grading problems, be they from ground settling around the foundation or the settling of appendages, such as stoops, patios, walks, driveways, etc., over time under certain circumstances.

Very few are caused by underground springs or a rising water table.

If the leakage occurs during or very soon after a heavy rain or a rapid snowmelt, it is usually a surface water problem. But if the leakage occurs hours after these events, it may be due to a rising water table or swollen spring.

With a critical eye, check the grade conditions around your entire house. Do you see any places where the ground is overly flat or actually leaning toward the foundation? This can happen when heavy rain or large amount of melting snow saturate the soil close to the foundation over time.

Settling of the soil can also take place after a long period of drought followed by heavy rains. It can also happen if the foundation has buckled from frost pressure.

Flower beds can settle over time and as they are worked over at spring planting time. They can also hold great amounts of water, especially if heavily mulched.

Next, look at all appendages: Has the soil settled around a stoop, window wells, attached patio or walk? Has your dog dug a comfortable hollow place in which to lie and cool off in warm weather? Have any downspouts caused sunken areas near the foundation? Have you recently installed a brick or other form of border to the outside of flower beds? Is a walk parallel to the house blocking proper drainage? Has there been a recent increase in heavy traffic on your street, perhaps caused by some construction, that can cause the soil to compact from vibrations?

These are some of the possibilities I have encountered that may have caused leakage in the last 18 months.

The rule of thumb is for the grade around a foundation to slope away at a rate of about 2 inch per horizontal foot.

It is best to plant a healthy crop of grass and avoid shrubbery and flower beds within 4 or 5 feet of a foundation. Instead, plant them farther out and enjoy them from your windows.

If you have gutters, make sure the downspouts discharge onto plastic or concrete splash blocks, or extensions, to dissipate water away from the foundation. But if you don't have any, lay patio blocks flat with the grade at the roof drip line to prevent erosion.

If any appendages lead water toward the foundation, that should be repaired, which may be expensive to do.

Q. Hi, I have a one-story cabin in Vermont with a separate English basement rental apartment with outside entrance. The rental apartment is occupied full time and the first floor space is used very occasionally. The same geothermal hot air heating system heats both spaces with two thermostats hooked up together (typically most of the heat demand is from the basement thermostat and the upstairs one is just a backup set at 50 degrees.)

I typically close the floor ducts on the upstairs when unoccupied, which acts to force most of the furnace hot air out the basement duct openings (it's not zoned). The basement hot air ducts are in the ceiling with a cold return on the floor of the first floor as well as the basement. The first floor is pine boards, plywood and then rubber-padded carpet squares. I have insulated the basement walls, door, windows and floor joists as much as possible and the basement floor is a concrete slab (unfortunately no one thought to put XPS under it 60 years ago) with rubber-backed carpet squares as well. With this setup the basement temperature is set at 70 degrees and the first floor naturally stays at 60 to 65 degrees from the hot air rising.

Would you have any suggestions as to how to economically retain more heat in the basement apartment and slow its transfer to the upstairs living area?

A. Since you insulated the basement ceiling joists as much as possible, I don't see how that can be improved.

But you may want to install magnetic covers over the first floor registers and cold air return to eliminate all warm air that still filters through even with the fins closed. You can buy them in big box stores or Amazon. Some hardware stores may also carry them.

Q. I have read your column religiously. We have a metal drawer that sticks and is very hard to open and close. Any suggestions?

A. Have you tried using WD-40 to lubricate them?

Q. Some recent columns dealt with vent pipes plugging up with frost.

I came across this item recently in one of the trade journals I receive (Contractor Magazine: www.contractormag.com). I have no personal experience with this product, but it looks like a solution to a problem plaguing many during the brutal cold of this past winter. You can see this product at sewerskewer.com.

A. The Sewer Skewer looks interesting, but I too have had no experience with it. And I am somewhat skeptical about its effectiveness.

I would appreciate any comments from readers who have used it, but at $60 for the short, one-piece stem and $100 for the one with two 15-inch extension for use where there is a long run to reach what I assume is the conditioned space, it may cause one to pause before buying the product.

There are other ways discussed in this space that have proved to work.

• Henri de Marne, a former remodeling contractor turned columnist and consultant, is the author of "About the House with Henri de Marne" (Upper Access Publishing). He continues to take questions from readers for this column and his website, www.henridemarne.com. Email questions to aboutthehouse@gmavt.net.