Living on a hillside, with a lot of hydraulic pressure from the uphill slope against the concrete foundation, I am feeling very grateful to the engineers and concrete workers who built the walls and the slab of our 1968 classic Deck House. A flooded basement is truly bad news in a house like ours, where half of the living space is in what most folks would regard as the basement. We have a lot of new materials and knowledge, but it seems as though hard work and intelligence forty years ago counted for something.
So far, despite the heaviest rains in approximately 100 years, I can’t find a drop of water up against the foundation. The 1968 septic system has not overflowed either.
So… to those unknown concrete technicians: thank you.
Just spent nigh on $7,000 to make sure my own basement won’t cave in from hydraulic pressure. And I’m on level ground. Sometimes this stuff worked, sometimes it didn’t (quite).
Do It Right. Once.
Greetings from Conantum, the 1952 MIT development, where we think of ourselves as very pre-Deck! So far, most houses are doing rather well- with the high water table, some seepage is occurring in basement levels, but nothing that a shop-vac cannot handle. But lots of us will be reviewing how to update elderly cement! Yes, we quickly get cut off from major routes, but it’s easy to get out the back way- and the beavers swimming in our road are rather whimsical! Cheers indeed to those clever folk!!! Mimsey & Charles
A lot of it is good drainage and planning. Getting the water *away* from the concrete wall is the real key.
Keep those drains clear and the slope negative from the house.
I really recommend you read Shop Class as Soulcraft. You might find it provides you with a good explanation on why in the days of yore things were better built. Not only that.
http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Class-Soulcraft-Inquiry-Value/dp/1594202230/ref=sr_1_1/176-9769197-1469934?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270305420&sr=8-1