Is Your Basement Cove Joint Leaking? Here’s Why!

Have you noticed water pooling in your basement where the walls meet the floor? That space is called your cove joint, and there’s a few reasons it might be leaking. Let’s take a look at what a basement cove joint is, why it’s leaking, and what you can do about it.

What is a Basement Cove Joint?

Putting down a sturdy basement and foundation that can withstand moisture, freezing and thawing, intense summer heat, and other powerful forces for years is a complex process. If this process isn’t done properly, it can cause empty spaces to form between the different layers of concrete, which can create entry points for water and pests. One of these points of separation is called a cove joint.

A cove joint is an empty space where the basement walls meet the floor. This can sometimes happen when the concrete walls and floor don’t fully integrate. When building a home, builders lay the footing first, then build the basement walls over the footings. Then, they pour the basement floor, but the walls are already cured when this happens. Though this is a standard building process, it sometimes causes cove joints.

What Causes Basement Cove Joints to Leak?

Since there’s empty space between the walls and the floor of the basement, this creates a space for water to intrude and leak into the basement. There are a few situations that can cause this to happen.

• High water table: If the water table around your home is unusually high, it can cause water to regularly push in around the home. This hydrostatic pressure will force water through any available spaces, including the cove joint.
• High precipitation: If you get a lot of rain or snowmelt, more water will saturate the soil, which will also increase the hydrostatic pressure around your home, and push moisture towards the basement.
• Grade slopes towards foundation: Even if your precipitation levels or water table aren’t unusual, more water will collect around your foundation if the ground around the home slopes towards the home, instead of sloping away from it. This slope, called the grade, is an important factor that can help move moisture away from the home, or towards it.

What to Do About a Leaky Cove Joint

If you’ve noticed water pooling around the edges of your basement where the walls meet the floor, you probably have a leaky cove joint. Now that you’ve diagnosed the problem, what can you do about it?

Sealing: Only Temporary

The first instinct of many homeowners is to simply seal the joint. However, this is only a temporary solution and, sometimes, won’t even solve the problem temporarily. Sealing your basement from the inside using regular adhesives and sealants won’t stop the moisture from pressing into the space. Sooner or later, the moisture will force its way back through the cove joint, pushing through the adhesive or sealant. If the hydrostatic pressure around the home is high, this will happen relatively quickly.

Fill the Space: Stop the Moisture

Instead of trying to seal the joint from the inside, there are some other, more effective methods that can solve this problem. To truly stop the cove joint from leaking, you need to either move the water away from the home (we’ll discuss this in more detail in the next section) or completely fill the cove joint, so water can’t get into the space. One way to do this is with polyurethane injection. This method completely fills the space, so moisture never intrudes in the first place.

This solution is commonly used to fill basement cracks in walls or floors that are allowing moisture in, however it can be challenging for cove joints because of their angle and orientation.

Drains: Move the Water Away

One of the most effective ways to stop a leaky cove joint is to actually move the water away from the area. French drains will take the water leaking through the cove joint and move the water into the sump pump, so it can then drain away from the home. This solution gets to the root of the problem and solves it, offering a long-term solution.

To move water away from the home, it can also be helpful to extend gutters, so water isn’t pooling around the foundation. Or, if the grade is the problem, consider regrading the area so the water moves naturally away from the home.

If you have a leaky cove joint, it can be fixed! Now that you’ve identified the problem, you can find the right solution. To get an expert assessment for your leaky cove joint in Michigan, make an appointment online or give us a call at 1-800-782-9379.