I enjoy listening to your show as often as I can and have made notes on many things. I do however, have a question about our wet basement. As you know, we've had much rain this year, with some severe storms. We have a sump pump and a sewer pump(no basement floor drain). As well, our house foundation is cinder-block; since we moved here, we have tried to 'waterproof' the foundation and house by sloping the land away from the house, adding eaves trough extensions, etc. I realize that the ground around the house should be excavated, etc. but I am wondering what, if anything can be done to dry up and waterproof the cinder-block foundation above-grade; would stay-dry masonry paint be a suitable application?
Answer:
I'm afraid you're into the big one here; excavate, patch, replace drainage tile with 4 or 5" Big O with the sock on it, introduce the impermeable sheet to the walls, 18" of gravel over the drainage tile and backfill making sure that you have a healthy 10-inches of slope within the first five feet of the structure - by spring it will drop to 4 or 5 inches.
