UGH ! Water damage in basement theater.

Hello drier-than-me folks;

First, I know this is a home theater forum and not a Bob-the-Builder forum, but this nasty leak is in my basement HT and it's going to halt my HT renos until I can control the water problem. Plus, you guys are smart and maybe you've dealt with this before.

So, I had water come in through a crack in my wall. It's a poured cement wall, not a block wall. I am pretty sure, based on visual evidence where it's draining downward on the outside, and approximately where it's coming in on the inside. I have already framed/insulated/vapour-barriered and drywalled this wall, so I'm sort of stuck on the inside. I really want to avoid removing all of my work to date.

Mildew could be a problem inside the wall. First, I have used Roxul insulation, which does not rot like the pink stuff, and second, I have thought about cutting a small hole in the wall and vapour barrier, and blowing warm air in from my vacuum cleaner to hopefully dry any remaining moisture between the wood studs and cement wall. Worth it?

Next, I want to fix the crack. I plan to dig down to the footing on the outside of the foundation, in the spring, find the crack, drill and inject epoxy AND do the black goop and waterproof membrane. Double wammy. So here's what I need a bit of help on. Have any of you done outside patching of cracked concrete walls? Any further suggestions on how to do it properly? I'd like to avoid ever having this happen again and killing another basement carpet.

Lastly, I'll be adding eves troughs which are absent now, re-grading the land around my house to slope away from the wall at all places, but my main question is just the how-to about fixing cracks from the outside.

Also, would you be worried about mildew inside the basement wall that leaked? What lengths would you go to, to fix that problem?

Thanks in advance for any help. Tom Kay, Ottawa.

Here's an update on the wet basement:

First, thanks for the replies. I appreciate any help.

I just couldn't sit there, knowing there might be mold forming inside my basement wall and leave it alone. So, I got my utility knife and, being careful not to slice into the vapour barrier, I cut the bottom foot of most of my wall off. The extreme ends of the wall are still intact, down to the floor. Those areas were dry.

I found lots of water stuck between the plastic barrier and the drywall. I did not expect this at all. I expected to have to poke a hole in the plastic, and then reach my hand in and find wet cement walls. The walls were dry, although they HAVE to have been wet while the water was draining into the room (unless it's all coming from the floor??).

I guess the drywall got wet at the bottom, probably from the soaked carpet, it wicked up as much as it could hold, and held onto the moisture until I ripped it out. There was no mold, as this only happened two days ago.

I am VERY happy that I have cut out the wet parts of the drywall, and allowed air to dry the plastic. I have a foot of lower wall repair to do, but hey, not the worst case scenario. I have learned a couple things:

1. Keep the bottom of the drywall WELL away from the floor, even high enough so the carpet can't touch it. Cover up the obvious gap with baseboard trim. I'll even seriously consider using plastic trim that also can't wick up water, but I'll make that decision later.

2. Go with your gut instincts, even if it means more work. If the walls feel wet, start cutting, a little at a time at the bottom, until you extend to the dry part of the walls. I have NO regrets doing this, and feel quite relieved that mold won't start growing there now.

My biggest concern is doing whatever has to be done so this never happens again. I had a ratty old carpet, with no underpad. It's almost good to get rid of it. I won't feel the same after spending $1000 to have new carpeting and underpadding installed.

If I discover anything new, and feel it's of benefit to others, I'll pass it on. Again, I know this is an HT forum, but I think some my find this useful while building their dream room. I have seen some spectacular HT's and I'd hate to see a stupid thing like water damage wreck someone's hard work. I consider myself lucky that it actually happened now, and not opening night.

Cheers, Tom.

Hi Kris

I have removed about 13 or 14 inches from the bottom of the full wall. So one sheet of drywall will give me 3 strips, only two with the bevel. Overall, it should work OK.

My big concern is confirming exactly where the water came in. The rest is just grunt work, like the patching.

I'll probably also spray some light bleach into the wall cavities, just to be pro-active on mold.

Cheers, Tom.