We experience basement flooding with heavy rains that is a combination of ground water coming in through the walls and floor cracks but even more by horrific sewer backup. We have decided to bite the financial bullet and install a backflow valve in the main sewer line where it enters the house. The basement perimeter should be dug out and a drain installed to the sump pump but this is a huge undertaking. Would it work, at least temporarily, to glue some boards to the floor to direct the water flow to the sump pump….and what kind of adhesive would work in these wet conditions….wood to concrete. The whole project is going to be DIY. HELP!!!
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one of the liquid nails products would work...... have you got an estimate for the drain and sump pump system yet? it's not that expensive to do and most companies offer a lifetime guarantee. i'd look into that first.
drain/sump pump estimate
Only by heresay it'll cost in the thousands and being retired and on fixed income I plan to undertake this myself. Thanks for the adhesive suggestion...will try it out.
Gorilla glue sticks to most masonry pretty well.
For floor drains there are check valves you can install in the drain itself.
Some do not like the check valve because it makes more problems, probably not having enough pitch and becoming choke point. Research/ask more about this before you authorize the work.
I used to have same kind of basement with a sump pump. I built a mortar dam about 1 1/2 highxsame wide around the foundation wall, first wirebrushing then applying masonary primer. This went to the sump pump. If you can't pay for a sump pump install, you can dam wider area at the lowest point and use the small utility pump that can suck out the water down to 1/4" of the water level. You can't do much about the floor leaks except store things off the floor. Run a small window fan to help dry out.
For present home I used Eternabond flashing tape and construction metal channels to make my own perimeter wall drain channel. Slab was in good condition, not flaking or rotted, and this tape comes with a primer that stabilizes the surface, up to a point. I discussed this in this site under "poor man's french drain". I have yet to put a sump in this basement partly because fixing the outside grade, caulking the concrete walk joint against the foundation, getting rid of fence post against the foundation, flashing and filling the joint under the front entrance steps - all made the leak disappear. My house is on a grade where the ground slopes from north to south. Rarely, I get a torrent coming from surrounding neighbors' yards. I put 6x6 landscape ties against these directions to slow down the water. The used ties and about 50% rotted were from front retaining wall/steps that I had to rebuild.
You are going to get a good workout digging out the exterior of the foundation - what a great workout so don't worry about the gym for a while. Get a shovel and dig some every day -even if you don't feel like it. Actually, you will dig out the foundation quite quickly and if it were me I'd use verticle strips of Grace Ice and Water sheild for waterproofing. Dig out 4', apply the Grace, backfill that 4' with the next 4' and repeat. It's not quite that easy, but pretty much close to it. Save wasting time with stop gap measures and just put that effort into the real fix.
I think you greatly understate the effort required to dig out a basement foundation. You're typically going to have to dig 6-7 feet to the bottom of the wall, and another foot to the footing if you want to install tile. Lifting the soil out of a hole that deep is hard, tedious work. And at that depth it gets dangerous, and you should never work when no one else is around to come to your aid in case of a cave-in.
And your scheme to dig 4 feet while backfilling the prevous 4 isn't going to work too well if you're trying to keep the gravel on the bottom, the topsoil oin top.
I used to hire a college football player to dig out portions of the foundations I was working on for $10 an hour - he loved the workout! I didn't say I would be up for digging out the foundation for fun, or that the poster will enjoy it, just that if they are doing it a little at a time with a limited budget that's how it's done. I didn't mention trench safety, propper shovel technique, how to keep topsoil on top, how to not cut yourself with a utility knife, or a whole lot of things that are important to know. Don't run with scissors.