DIY Network

After being hit by 2 floods in 10 months, the first filling the basement to the ceiling with mud and water the second leaving a foot of water with the sump pump working continuously, our stone foundation now has water coming thru between the stones and between the floor and walls during most every rainfall. We have contacted several of the local contractors and waterproofing companies and no one has been able to tell us anything except we can't fix it from the inside which would trap the water in the stone and mortar causing the foundation to fail and we can't dig more than 10 feet away from the foundation on the outside or the foundation will fail. Is there anyway that we can fix this or do we have to live with water and mold forever? Any help would be appreciated.

They there and I can not see what there up againt but my first thoughts are there needs to be gutters with down spouts that lead at least 10 ft. from the house.
There right in that trying to just water proof the inside is never going to work.
They make a small ecscavter that is able to move the bucket all the way to the side to be able to remove the dirt right up to the foundation without hitting it and it's light enought to cause little downward pressure. The tracks are even able to be pulled in so it can get through a 4' gate.
Once 12' of soil is removed the outside wall can be waterproofed with foundation sealer and be ready to be back filled with small stone and drain tile to hold the foundation in place before moving to the next area to be worked on.
The whole area around the house needs to be graded so water runs away from the house. Never have mulch right up again the foundation!

Underline the part about not being able to fix the problem from the inside. If the exterior of your foundation is relatively smooth it can be successfully sealed from the outside by digging, cleaning and then applying material that will form a water tight membrane. If asphalt is the sealer used the exterior of the foundation will have to be well washed clean.

Otherwise there are a variety of products that involve placing a layer of clay or bentonite clay against the outside of the foundation.

I'd say that the water content of the soil around your foundation is pretty well filled. You;re going to have to install drains along the bottom of the foundation as well.

You can also use single ply roof membrane or pond liner membrane against the outside of your foundation. The top of the membrane will have to be closed and flashed to the foundation.

Thank you for your reply. At least now we have some idea of what we can do.Thanks.