deeh:

I posted this on "Crumbling Walls" too, but thought you might benefit from my comments about my husband's outside work on the water penetration.

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Our house is 1905 and has a stone foundation. Our inspector (we bought two years ago) said that it was one of the best foundations ever used in home construction since it had some flexibility vs. the concrete block or poured cment construction seen now. That aside, when it rained heavily the lovely white paint job on the walls concealing wet spots, began to peel away and we do have dampness on the walls and floors.

My husband poured sacrete outside down some big cracks on the uphill side of the house - oh yes, we are on a hillside too - where the moisture appears and it has reduced it somewhat.

Bottom line: I'm just sharing with you in the hope that someone will clarify how much moisture is too much, in the course of answering your question.

I know about possible mold mildew issues but I'm more concerned with long term damage to the strength of the foundation. Oh yes, previous owners had put in foundation supports many years ago and the inspector said those were to eep it from twisting, not rolling down the hill as I feared :

Anyway.....thanks for letting me add on without really helping you.

Nina

Most times a leaking basement is caused from a grading problem or perhaps an overflowing, clogged or leaking gutter.

When it rains check to see if the gutter is overflowing in the area of the basement leak. Or perhaps the gutter has rusted through and allowing rain water to fall directly over the basement leak. If this is the case, then either clean or replace your gutters or re-align them so that the water is flowing to a down spout which is directed away from the house.

If you house sits lower then surrounding land then the water leak is a grading problem. We had a problem with our barn sitting considerably higher then our house. Over the years the water runoff from the barn had eroded the dirt around our foundation at least 10-12" and this caused our basement to leak. I just filled in around our foundation and the leak immediately stopped. To avoid any future issues I installed a retaining wall and a drainage system around my barn and now the water runoff from the barn is directed to drain east and west and not north towards the house.