Article: Hydraulic cement, not caulk, can seal basement wall

Q. I have some cracks in my concrete foundation, and water seeps through them into the basement. The leaks start at about ground level, where the foundation comes out of the ground. I also get leaks in the spike holes. Can I caulk the cracks and holes? If not, what? There is not a lot of water, but enough to be a nuisance. Do the cracks mean the foundation is deteriorating? J.B., East Bridgewater

A. The cracks do not mean that you will lose the foundation, now or ever. They do mean that the foundation dropped a little, creating stresses to cause the cracks.

Caulking will do no good for filling cracks or holes. Those spike holes are where wires were inserted in the forms to keep them from ...

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