High moisture in walls

[David C. Macy]

The house had 90% readings of moisture through out the wall from the middle to the floor. The exterior was graded properly had a driveway that pitched away the gutters appeared to drain properly.

The porch was open underneath and I could tell where one area was for the intrusion. The other side was worse and there where no indications from the exterior. The drainage boot was repalced. It looked like it wasnt sealed properly.

The inside basement walls had the high levels of moisture. The foundation was the terra cotta tiles.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I can usually pin point the water issues at the exterior but this one is a tough call.

Pic one there is a small hole at the foundation porch wall.
Pic 2 is the inside wall on the other side of the hole.
Pic 3 is the other side of the porch. There is a drainage boot at the wall.
Pic 4 is 90% at all areas of the walls.


Dave

[Monte Lunde]

What is the RH, DP and Temperture for that basement?

[Joseph Hagarty, CMI]

David,

It may not be a drainage issue.

It could be a water table issue.

[dplummer]

David, Something I noticed in your first photo. The downspout drains in ground right by the foundation. Sometimes the amount of water draining is too much for the weepers to handle. Drain above ground with the discharge flowing away from the house. Also, the outside water tap is in the same location. Is it leaking ? By the way, does this home have a sump pump ? or is it in town ? Doug

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by dplummer

the outside water tap is in the same location. Is it leaking ? Doug

I agree. In photo 1 its looks like there might be erosion from a dripping hose bibb as it looks to be directly below it.

[cbuell]

what material is the moisture meter stuck into?

[David C. Macy]

Charles

Terra cotta typr clay block. This is a pourous material. But 90% average moisture seems quite excessive.

Dave

[cbuell]

My experience with that same meter is that it will read "high moisture" on any masonry type materials. No?

[balvarez]

David,

Doug Plummer's answer is most likely the correct one. I ran across the exact same problem in a rental house I recently sold.

We solved the problem by putting a garden hose into the gutter downspout, during a dry spell, and opening the faucet wide open. Sure enough, the water started weeping out of the cinder blocks and through the mortar joints.

After digging up the downspout's corrugated drain lines, we discovered the lines were originally installed backwards. That is, the male/female joints were reversed, causing the rainwater to flow into the surrounding soil at each joint.

This had been going on since the house was built 12 years ago and the water flow had cut a large gap through the soil toward the foundation.

Try the garden hose trick. You may find the answer like we did. If that is not it, nothing is lost but a few gallons of water and a few minutes of your time.

Good luck, BV Alvarez, Air Chek, Inc.
http://www.radon.com