Basement water leaking through walls

There are many ways water can enter a basement or crawlspace. When water seeps through a crack or hole, it can be a leaking basement wall or floor. Whether there is water seeping in through a crack or hole in the floor or wall, it is important to check a few other likely areas of entry. Doing so helps you get a full understanding of where the water is entering your basement or crawlspace.

Wondering how to stop water leaking through basement walls or floors or your crawl space? Below are areas to check:

• The space where the wall meets the floor, called the cove, around the perimeter of your basement or crawlspace
• Scan the floor because water can seep in through joints or cracks in the floor
• Scan the walls, exterior elements of your foundation and possible cinder blocks can affect water leaking through a wall

Are you noticing water leaking through a hole in the basement wall?

Are you noticing water leaking through cracks in the wall in your basement?

It’s okay if some of these areas are inaccessible. Simply put, you know water is seeping through a crack or hole which means you know there is a problem.

Water seeps through cracks or holes because these avenues are the paths of the least resistance for the water. Water pressure can build up on the outside of the foundation either next to it or under it. When that happens, the water eventually finds a different place to go in order to alleviate the pressure – which happens to be through the crack or hole in your basement or crawlspace. Ideally, the water goes down into the ground. However, if there is a perched water table, there are clay and rocks preventing the water from descending into the earth, so the water finds other paths – like into your home through a cracked basement wall.

The causes of the water pressure on the exterior of the foundation can be many. Oftentimes the particular causes of the water seeping through a crack or hole in your basement or crawlspace can be unidentifiable. The best way to stop the problem is to find a solution that stops the most common ways ground water can enter a basement or crawlspace.