Soil Grout Injection

adminHmm….instead of turning away a golden opportunity..let me try to advise some ways perhaps to alleviate the basement water seepage problem.

Firstly, you must identify the sorce of water; it can be either at the basement wall & floor or the junction between them where the weakest point is. Ie. Mould will grow nearer to the water source – so don’t clean it first! Water seepage can also be identify by water marks, crystalization, dampness on wall, discolouration, etc. Bring a waterproofing contractor especially those who specialize in basement to examine the source and the extend of repair work & cost to determine whether it’s worthwhile and to get a second opinion.

Secondly, if the cost is acceptable & repair work is done ie by either expoxy grouting or injection into the wall/floor to seal-up cracks, pores, etc. You can embark on a long term rectification by waterproofing the entire wall/floor again. Ie applying another layer of waterproofing or do a cavity wall infront of the existing basement wall. The latter is prefered if there are too many seepage points in the walls and you can’t fix it all, you might as well drain them away. Hence, built a channel below (between the walls) and let the water drain out. With this method, your inner wall will be dry and free of mould.

Thirdly, water is food for mould. Hence, try to add more natural light & ventilation to basement to let it ‘breath’. Ie by opening up windows along the top wall if possible. If not, try to ventilate it by using exhaust fans ducted or along the windows.

Lastly, you can install dehumidifier or put some chemicals that absorb water ie salt, silicates, etc at the basement as added precautions.
Hope that this can assist you on whether you should buy the property….there are always solutions to a problem. Good luck & Cherrio…

adminInjection is placement of epoxy materials under extremely high pressure and is used to seal small width cracks in water retention structures.

Some grouting is not done under pressure typically. When grouting under column base plates, the grout may be placed by hand.

When grouting voids under slabs on grade, the grout is placed under some lower pressure to find and fill the voids and to prevent settlement.

The grout is usually cementitious in nature, i.e. Contains cements as part of its matrix. It may also contain sand and water. Some grouts are premixed, all you add it water and a means to paddle mix the mixture into a slurry mixture.

Epoxy injection is not cementitous, it is composed to usually a two part mixture of epoxy resin and other chemicals which are mixed on site and used quickly because the pot life (usable period during which the product may be used) is typically less than 30 minutes. Pot lif is ambient temperature dependent.

A good reference is sika products. Do a search at

www.sikausa.com.