Greenhouses, Sheds and Sun Rooms - my shed keeps flooding and I can't imagine why
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MichaelChang
10-13-05, 08:25 PM
I have cinder block below grade (3.5' at the highest grade point, about 1.5' at the lowest grade point) which I painted the outside with the waterproofing/roofing black paint stuff before I backfilled it.
there are no wet spots on the roof or walls but the inside is flooded. The door opening may be letting in a little water but not enough to make the 2" that's in there right now.
one thing I noticed are some wet spots in the middle (not starting from the top and draining down) of some of the cinder blocks. Initially I thought this may be the cause so I used portland cement and hand-sealed those areas. still there are some wet spots.
is it possible that moisture from the ground is seeping in? shouldn't the waterproofing have taken care of that?
what are my options at this point, is there a kind of pump that I can put in the corner and when I turn it on, will suck up and spit out all the water there?
any ideas?
thks,
-MC
there are no wet spots on the roof or walls but the inside is flooded. The door opening may be letting in a little water but not enough to make the 2" that's in there right now.
one thing I noticed are some wet spots in the middle (not starting from the top and draining down) of some of the cinder blocks. Initially I thought this may be the cause so I used portland cement and hand-sealed those areas. still there are some wet spots.
is it possible that moisture from the ground is seeping in? shouldn't the waterproofing have taken care of that?
what are my options at this point, is there a kind of pump that I can put in the corner and when I turn it on, will suck up and spit out all the water there?
any ideas?
thks,
-MC
XSleeper
10-13-05, 09:25 PM
I'm no waterproofing expert, but I have coated a few foundations with tar, and even that does not always waterproof a wall. Provided no water is coming from your roof (gutters should be taking that water away) and water isn't running toward the shed from other areas, the only other thing to consider is a siding leak around a window or something that could be letting water come in on top of the block. If the water is actually soaking in through the block, you could excavate the wall, give it a coating of tar, then install polyethylene into the tar while it's still wet. A messy job, but it would help waterproof the wall. They obviously make other products that are for foundation waterproofing too- both coatings and membranes. It might also help to excavate and install gravel and a perimeter drain around the footing so that any water that does seep in has an easier way to get out.
As a last resort, you could always install a sump pump in the lowest corner of the floor- make a hole, cement in a 5 gallon bucket or a sump pump basin, and get a sump pump that has a float so that when the level reaches a certain point it will turn on and pump the water out.
As a last resort, you could always install a sump pump in the lowest corner of the floor- make a hole, cement in a 5 gallon bucket or a sump pump basin, and get a sump pump that has a float so that when the level reaches a certain point it will turn on and pump the water out.
MichaelChang
12-19-05, 02:28 PM
and in case it saves anyone some time & effort, neither drylock nor packing hydraulic cement in a dovetail opening did much to slow my leaking problem