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river under home

Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 12:57 pm
by GraceNC
Yes, a river...well, creek at least. Well, maybe not a creek- but flowing water for sure.

I have a concrete slab next to the cinderblock foundation. The slab is a rectangle and the length is adjacent to the home.

Over the years the slab has become unlevel, slanting towards the cinderblock foundation.

And you guessed it! Every time it rains, all the water that hits the slab runs towards the foundation. The ground under the belly is soaking wet. Last year I dug ditches/trenches so that the water doesn't just sit. This has worked to prevent the water from being stagnant; however, it's still wet.

What is the proper procedure to 'seal' the crack? Someone said to use concrete...but from other people's mistakes....you can't just do that. There has to be some type of adhesive or acid used to make the new concrete adhere to the old.

But I'm lost. Anyone ever done this? What exactly did you do?
And all other advice would be appreciated. This is DYI.

Re: river under home

Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 1:51 pm
by Dean3
If redoing the slab is out of the equation,will installing a curb or drain channel near the block help? A curb would rise and could be married to the slab somehow,maybe a keyway and sealer. A channel would require cutting into the concrete and have a grate on top,probably an expensive fix.

As to sealing the slab to the block there are several products,they would all require cleaning the joints/cracks and have their own needs for prep,then maintenance would be a regular thing.

If you seal it along the slab-block run will it flow to another entry? Would tiling tube help in that event?

Sorry for giving more questions than answers. I'm no expert,just some thoughts.

Dean

PS-This reminds me I haven't looked underneath my place in a long time,prolly should pull some screws and take a peek.