# buckling basement floor



## glenhenry (Feb 26, 2010)

My concrete basement floor is buckling up.The house is tiled and there is a tile that is  connected to the house tile and going down the side of a hill.I do not use the sump pump.The water level in the sump pit is presently a few inches above the tile.The floor has water lines running through it to heat the floor but i don't use it.The house is 10 years old.The floor has had some cracks for a long time but i didn't notice the buckling until this winter.Could the water level under the house be to high and is causing pressure to build up?Should I start using the sump after all thes years.
glenhenry


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## Wuzzat? (Feb 26, 2010)

Post photos and basement dimensions?


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## itsreallyconc (Feb 26, 2010)

the usual answer's expansive soils under the floor,,, if the floor's buckled / crack'd to failure, replacement's the best method,,, as long's you at it, get the soil out of there, too - replace w/3 or 4" of well-compacted granular base.

heat in the floor'll make for some interesting obstructions,,, we'd also recommend a sump & pump to keep the wtr table low !


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## Wuzzat? (Feb 26, 2010)

itsreallyconc said:


> expansive soils under the floor
> 
> we'd also recommend a sump & pump to keep the wtr table low !


http://web.mst.edu/~rogersda/expansive_soils/DAMAGE TO FOUNDATIONS FROM EXPANSIVE SOILS.pdf

[ame=http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=%22expansive+soil%22+illinois+damage+foundation+residential&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8]"expansive soil" illinois damage foundation residential - Google Search[/ame]


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## Robbie245 (Mar 7, 2010)

I don't think that your floor is coming UP but rather, your footer(s) are sinking down from poor soil or erosion underneath.

Look in your phonebook for PIERING CONTRACTORS. If there are none, go on-line to the BLUE BOOK.


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## glenhenry (Mar 7, 2010)

ROBBIE I THINK YOU GOT IT!  A friend a mine had a house next to a peat bog and had it sink and buckle the floor.He said maybe your house is sinking.No way I said mines on top of a hill.   BUT..........The sump has never run and I got a 2 story house sitting on footings sitting in water 24/7.I think if I keep the pump running it will stop sinking.Now how do I fix a buckled HEATED floor
glen henry


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## Frostbite (Mar 8, 2010)

Sounds like it might be the frost thaw cycle causing your basing concrete floor to heave, in which case it is coming up. Properly design spread footing shouldn't be sinking faster then the rest of the basement floor. I would try getting a sump pump first.


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## mudmixer (Mar 8, 2010)

Frostbite-

It is definitely not freezing that is raising the floor since ther is still water in the sump and the normal soil temperatures are way above freezing no matter what the daily temperatures say. The soil under a home is a moderating heat sink that prevents wild variations.

glenhenry -

If the water is above the drain tile, the sump is ineffective and must be pumped down to allow the local water table to lower. It is also possible that the drain tile installation was done properly. Also builders frequently put in drain tile since it is so cheap to do during construction, but they do not go the extra step to amke it work as intended.

It is probably the hydraulic pressure that that is causing the cracks, unless there is a local expansive soil since most Illinois soils are not really expansive.

Are the downspouts tied into the drain tile system by mistake or stupidity?

dick


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## Bud Cline (Mar 8, 2010)

HOLD ON A MINUTE!

What do you mean your "house is tiled"?  Is there tile on this buckling floor?



> "there is a tile that is connected to the house tile and going down the side of a hill"



Somebody tell me what that means exactly.  I'm not getting it.

A few pictures would be dandy.


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## mudmixer (Mar 8, 2010)

I think he is referring to the drain tile for moisture control that is connected to some interior drain tile that feed the sump pit. The "tile" referred to could be perforated drain tile (ceramic, pvc or the worst, corrugated) and not the classic ceramic tile tile used for surfaces.

The "tile" going down the hill could be solid and unperforated tile (usually pvc) that are used to carry away water.

Dick


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## glenhenry (Mar 9, 2010)

There is a drain tile connected to the tile surrounding the house running down the hill.The pit has never come close to filling up.I think if there was water pressure under the floor it would be coming up through the cracks.If the house was settling the basement wall would crack.The foundation was put in by a reputable contractor in good soil on top of a hill.I don't know what the answer is.
glenhenry


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## itsreallyconc (Mar 17, 2010)

look on my w-site for diagrams,,, ' tiled ' is a throwback term to the old orangeburg clay tile,,, nowadays we use 4" hdpe corrugated pipe which comes in 100' rolls for about $50 per.

JUST placing a toe drain won't do diddly as, eventually, it'll fill w/silt,,, the proper method include's 57stone, filter fabric, & gravity discharge IF possible.


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