Friday, April 30, 2010

? leak perhaps causing water to pool around basement door ?

From a Randolph Place NW household:
We have a slowly growing damp patch under the door sill, and the wall to one side, of our basement rear door (entry/exit for the apartment down there). The area is directly beneath our kitchen sink and dishwasher area on the first floor (so, one floor up). My hunch is we have a leak from the pipe(s) feeding/draining the sink and/or dishwasher, which is causing water to pool on the ground level (and within the wall) around that basement door. Is a plumber the right guy to call for this? An appliance person? Can they/should they get into a wall (through drywall or anything else) to take a look? If any Bloomingdalians have had something similar, I`d love to hear how they handled it.

3 comments:

Greg (NJ Ave) said...

We had a basement leak when I moved in which was due to rain seeping in at the bottom edge of the basement floor and the wall. We had to install a sump pump and wall water proofing, it was a major job and I'm still re-finishing the walls, floor, etc.

Since it hasn't rained too much your probably right with the drain line guess. You will need to cut into the wall (as close to where you think the water begins as possible) to see where the water is coming from. That part of the wall will need new sheetrock anyway as it will get moldy soon if not taken care of. Once you open up a small area you will have a better idea if it's a simple fix or a big job. Make sure to vacuum dust as you cut into the sheetrock, it makes a mess if you let it get out of hand...

Good luck! I hope it's a simple project...

Anonymous said...

the wet wall is an exterior wall? We have had enough rain, in big but infrequent storms, that I would not rule out this is an outside leak coming in. But, the only way to find out is to open the wall -- starting at the wettest spot -- to discover the source. You also should look for water under the sink, just to see if this is something as simple as a loose fitting. A plumber is the right person to find leaks, but you need to be prepared for them to really damage things hunting for the leak. Every hole they cut will require repair, so it is better if you can do a little detective work on your own.

Robin (T Street) said...

You need a plumber and the wall will be cut. I just had the same problem last month. The pipe from our kitchen sink had broken behind the wall of the utiliy room below it.

R.A. Gray Plumbing - 301-277-5900