Stepney – Water Seepage

This house is a 1940’s built house that had issues with water seepage. The existing foundation was an old style “dirt form” foundation. This means that the below grade exterior of the foundation was formed by the dirt. This method of forming leaves the exterior of the wall with severe undulations and is very difficult to waterproof. From a structural perspective, this type of foundation wall usually has a “flanged out” footing instead of a regular footing that would be poured separately.

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Project Goals

Waterproof the foundation wall
Relieve lateral pressure on the foundation
Install weeping tile for footing drainage
Install a sump system to drain weeping tile

Our Approach

Due to the type of wall that existed we had to excavate in a slightly different manner than most foundation excavations and keep the bearing angle of the bottom of the wall in mind when elevating the bottom of the excavation such that the weeping tile installed would be properly located below the top of the interior floor without undermining the bearing angle of the footing.

Once the excavation was completed, we filled cracks, holes and deteriorated areas with an application of bonding agent then hydraulic cement.
A liquid rubber membrane was installed from the bottom of the exterior wall to grade level.
Weeping tile was installed around the entire perimeter of the house including under the additions and connected to an interior sump system.
The exterior excavation was backfilled with stone. This stone backfill created a “free drainage” system such that no water would be held adjacent to the foundation. The stone also reduced lateral loads on the 70 year old foundation.

What our customers say:

Michael Abbott

We have had our fair share of unremarkable and even troublesome experiences with other contractors, so you guys were certainly a breath of fresh air. …

Woodvale Colony Park and Estate Management

(We) were very pleased with the services that your company provided to Woodvale Colony Park, and especially appreciated your efforts in helping us und…