Water keeps getting in the house during heavy rain
Heavy rain overwhelms existing doors, garage thresholds, and drains, allowing water to pool inside the living spaces and garage. This sudden flooding forces residents to constantly manage overflowing entry points and deal with moisture damage from structural vulnerabilities.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1installing channel drains
- 2contacting contractors to widen or deepen drains
- 3Vacuuming out the drain line to remove clogs
- 4Checking or correcting the drainage slope
- 5Pouring vinegar or cleaning agents down the drain line
- 6Installing automated water shutoff valves
- 7Adding bypass and drain valves to plumbing systems
- 8Turning off the main water valve to check if the water meter moves
- 9Checking around the outside of the house for moisture
- 10Inspecting the localized pattern of water tracking along foundation footings
- 11Hiring a professional leak detection company with acoustic or tracer gas equipment
- 12Put a test plug in the drain and fill up the shower basin to see if the water level drops.
- 13using a hose to spray different sides of the house to test for leaks
- 14considering replacing all vinyl siding versus repairing only the side with active leaks
- 15using a spouse's waterpik to clear out tracks
- 16running a pipe cleaner and water through the weep holes
- 17hiring a handyman to run an air compressor at high PSI
- 18pouring bleach-y water in the track
- 19scrubbing tracks with a rag, wide-end screwdriver, or old toothbrush
- 20reassuring yourself that the house has stood for a long time
- 21adding clay heavy soil to grade the lawn away from the house
- 22using gutter extensions to direct water away
- 23Paying out of pocket for repairs instead of filing an insurance claim
- 24Avoiding the use of the leaking fixture until a future bathroom renovation
- 25Posting photos and questions across multiple online forums to gather opinions
- 26Continuing normal use while trying to judge safety risks based on subjective advice
- 27Scheduling a professional inspection
- 28Wondering whether to restrict water usage in the basement
- 29Paying a foundation repair company thousands of dollars for professional excavation and exterior filling
- 30Buying a DIY concrete foundation crack repair kit to perform low-viscosity epoxy or foam injections yourself
- 31Pulled away furniture
- 32Replacing windows
- 33Replacing composite wood floors with LVP
- 34Filling crevices on the interior with expansion foam
- 35Installing gutters
- 36relying purely on caulking to prevent water intrusion
- 37using spray foam around the frame
- 38Testing potential entry points using a garden hose
- 39Replacing components like the whirlybird with a turbo
- 40Applying sealant or caulk to suspected entry points
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“We had a literal waterfall in our living room.”source ↗
“The next day I checked all the weep holes in the windows and they were completely clogged which allowed water to build up quickly and make its way into the house.”source ↗
“Located in my basement.. I'm having someone come out to check it out soon anyways since I need some other stuff taken care of, but I just want to know what to expect.”source ↗
“It seems to be a relatively new issue... Unfortunately unable to access anything else since it's behind a wall.”source ↗
“3 days after we moved in, the ceiling started leaking.”source ↗
“Then last week the ceiling started leaking.”source ↗
“What’s your take? Isn’t this the type of repair the insurance will/ should cover? We’ve never made a claim for anything, isn’t this what we’re paying for? Or is my husband right that it will just make things worse (financially)?”source ↗
“A little bit of water seepage through it today, but not enough to get standing water just a damp spot.”source ↗
“It’s like the lowest level of bricks are recessed when viewing from the inside.”source ↗
“We took apart all the flooring in the house for renos and noticed indications of water leaks on the subfloor. All of them were near windows.”source ↗
“After a storm one day I noticed wetness and took apart the drywall and found a ton of rot. There were three leaks on that wall.”source ↗
“We’re about to put new flooring in but are not sure how to go about the exterior repairs.”source ↗
“Water from the condensing coils is splashing around getting on the floor and wall walls.”source ↗
“just had a coworker incur >100k in damage after a toilet supply popped and ran full bore for three days while no one was home.”source ↗
“Ever since the 2nd or 3rd (out of five) year we have lived here, we have dealt with water issues when it has rained hard enough at our back door on the ground floor, front door on the ground floor, and also with our garage with water getting in under the garage doors as our driveway slopes down from the street to our garage doors.”source ↗
“All hell broke loose. The front door drain worked, but everything else didn’t. It all got overwhelmed and 3 new problems popped up.”source ↗
“I just had a Handyman come to my house to run an Air Compressor at like 200PSI and unclog the interior weep holes of my track and while we blocked off everything except one exit, we could not get it cleared.”source ↗
“Water coming up between our first floor slab and outer brick wall... No idea where to turn at this point”source ↗
“Various pics of this random 6"-1' section of our slab that seems to be expelling water”source ↗
“the problem persisted (maybe even got worse?) after filling in this crevace on the interior with a bit of expansion foam.”source ↗
“now that there's no flooring on the slab, I've noticed the water seems to come up a full day or so after rain”source ↗
“Ok. I grew up in an apartment. Never had to deal with this before and nobody to show me how to deal with a house. This is all pretty new to me.”source ↗
“After a huge rainstorm, we noticed some water seeping in through a crack in the basement.”source ↗
“We had a foundation repair company quote 4k to fill the crack from the outside.”source ↗
“Also could we potentially DIY this? If so, how?”source ↗
“Recently hired a contractor to put these windows in and lately have been getting water from above between the wood sheathing and the metal and have just been wondering if the window is installed right?”source ↗
“I have mystery water leaking out in my basement.”source ↗
“I am trying to determine if this is natural land seepage or if this is this an actual plumbing leak?”source ↗
“Yesterday, I turned off the main water valve for the house, checked the meter which wasn’t moving, but came back down to the basement and still saw water seeping out of the ground/foundation.”source ↗
“The problem I have is that there are pipes that are behind that foundation wall (that has water damage) but they are mostly inaccessible.”source ↗
“I noticed on my water bill this last month is much higher than previous months. The problem is the meter isn’t moving when I turn off the plumbing to the house.”source ↗
“Really?? I'm getting so much conflicting info on different subs I've posted about this floor on. Some people are saying the whole thing is in danger of imminent collapse, some are saying it's not going to all give out but the leak is an emergency, some people are saying it's fine for now...”source ↗
“So the leak that's going through to our basement isn't an emergency?”source ↗
“I am so worried it’s going to happen again at a time we aren’t here to quickly react to it”source ↗
“I notice water travelling down to the basement along the chimney.”source ↗
“When the leak kept going, he went back put DAP APEX in some spots where he suspected water might enter from. I still noticing leak but looks cloudy white which could be the caulking.”source ↗
“Woke up to water around furnace. The heat has been off since last year, just turned it on last night.”source ↗
“Figured plugged condensation line but no water is coming out of it, found a leak on the other side.”source ↗
“I am having a problem with moisture under my floors radiating from the shower. There is a waterproofing problem with the shower somewhere and this drain looks very suspect. Could it be the source of the problem?”source ↗
“Our bathtub is leaking and our bathroom floor has been cracking more and more.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4Water damage in a brand new construction house
- 9HVAC lineset leaking through the roof
- 50How to fix a leaking water pipe in a tight space
- 9AC unit leaking water from top rubber seal
- 2Basement window level with the ground water leak prevention
- 2Why is there condensation and damp spots on walls only on laundry days?