- Q.I am working on an
old house with a stone basement foundation. The foundation is
sound, but leaks. What is the best way to repair this?
A.It is possible to control
many basement leaks with grading and drainage. The ground
should slope away from the house, and gutters and downspouts
should carry water away from the house. However, in many cases
basement leaks come not just from surface water, but from
ground water. In this case, the best solution is to excavate
along the foundation and install a waterproofing membrane on
the stone wall, and a footing drain to a sump drain or to
daylight. Bed the drain in gravel, and backfill with a sandy,
well-draining soil. Use a filter fabric over the gravel
backfill around the footing drain to prevent fines from
clogging the gravel and drain.