Replies

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Feb 07, 2016 07:35am | #1

   Kevin,
   We need more information. Are you talking about a wall or floor? Is it a dirt floor or a concrete floor?

   Is it a wall make of concrete blocks (CMUs)? Or poured concrete? Or stone and mortar?

   The term "cold joint" is usually used to describe a joint between two concrete pours that were made at least one day apart (so that the first installation of concrete began to cure before the second installation of concrete was made). But I suspect that you may be using "cold joint" in a different way.

2. 
   user-5189673 | Feb 09, 2016 12:46am | #2

   Martin:

   I am referring to the joint between the footing and stem wall both made of poured concrete. The floor is dirt, but covered with vapor barrier that attaches to the footings. The water is sitting right at the intersection of the stem wall and footing. It is not a lot, but my concern is saturation and eventual deterioration of the pony wall bases sitting on the footing next to the cold joints.

   I prefer not to excavate the exterior to seal the joint. I have heard of inject able polyurethane foam in to the cold joint and also a masonary product that is painted in place at the joint. The hydrostatic pressure of water may push through this over time, so I am wondering if the foam solution is the best or are there others? Thank you.

3. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Feb 09, 2016 07:36am | #3

   H.B.,
   There is no easy way to solve this problem from the interior. You can experiment by installing a waterproof coating (Thoroseal, UGL Drylok, or Xypex), but (as you guessed) hydrostatic pressure is likely to defeat these coatings.

   Before excavating on the exterior, you should make sure that your roof water is being carried away from the foundation -- ideally, with gutters and conductor pipes -- and that your soil is properly graded to slope away from the house in all directions. For more information on these steps, see Fixing a Wet Basement.

   The best solution, as you probably realize, is to excavate the exterior of your foundation down to the footing so that you can install perforated drainage pipe (leading to daylight) and crushed stone near the footing.

4. 
   user-5189673 | Feb 11, 2016 12:06am | #4

   Martin,

   The joint is dry now and the moisture I was seeing may have been from residual trapped during the building process. We have french drains in place at the footings. The soil is sloped away. The gutters are yet to add. I will check to see if we already have stone in place. If needed, we will add the stone. Thank you for your help.

5. Expert Member
   MALCOLM TAYLOR | Feb 11, 2016 12:11am | #5

   HB,
   Many foundations leak somewhat at the joint between the footing and wall. The standard detail for dealing with this is to use enough fill in the crawlspace to cover the intersection and attach the vapour barrier to the wall, not the footing.

6. 
   charlie_sullivan | Feb 11, 2016 09:25am | #6

   I had a semi-basement that had water getting in along that crack. As a stop-gap measure, before we fixed it for real from the outside, I used polyurethane caulk in that crack. It actually worked very well. So you might consider doing that in addition to the approach that Malcolm describes.