Securing safe has caused water to seep

[2 Bear Arms]

I used concrete wedge anchors to bolt my safe to the floor and it really holds it well. I did have one bad hole and had to destroy the anchor and reposition the safe. I have a rubber runner between the safe and the floor and I recently noticed a little bit of seepage from under the mat. These are the type of anchors that the screw sticks up and goes thru the mounting holes in the safe.

I haven’t had any water leaking into the basement before. So I think I need to take the safe up off of the anchors and find something to seal around the anchors and the concrete. I had tried to somewhat plug the one bad hole and maybe that is the only one the water is seeping out of.

I don’t know what to use that will work in a damp or possibly wet hole. I was thinking of maybe some sort of epoxy. Does anyone have any experience with this type of situation and have any recommendations of how to fix it?

 

[drumenigma]

I had a small hole in my basement where a little bit of water would seep through and I had filled it with a bit of quick-crete while I was installing a sump pump and so far I haven't seen any water come through it since.

 

[AbbyOakley]

well I can't help much with how to cover or plug the hole but when i was reading something else crossed my mind...if the area in this room that you are talking about is a damp(humid) area then maybe there could be a different possobility to place the safe... when I teach gun classes there is a part about storing you guns and ammunition. If it is damp down there and you keep your ammunition there along with the guns then the ammunition can "go bad" the moisture can soon make the gun powder with in the ammuntion to become damp and it will end up failing when you eventually fire it. it can also start to turn the brass green giving it a petina which isnt very good. and also the guns shouldnt be in a very moisture filled area because it can start to rust the barrels and metal on the firearms. just thought you should know.. But I hope you get the hole taken care of! good luck

 

[LoginName]

Hydraulic cement...

http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines/HydraulicWaterStopCement.asp

 

[MisterHappy]

If you're getting actual seepage, at this time of year, and you have your guns down there, a sump pump might be a good idea - if you're new to the house, a wet spring may cause more than seepage.....

Drumenigma's post might indicate that the sump is keeping it dry, as opposed to sealent.

Just a thought.....

 

[2 Bear Arms]

well I can't help much with how to cover or plug the hole but when i was reading something else crossed my mind...if the area in this room that you are talking about is a damp(humid) area then maybe there could be a different possobility to place the safe... when I teach gun classes there is a part about storing you guns and ammunition. If it is damp down there and you keep your ammunition there along with the guns then the ammunition can "go bad" the moisture can soon make the gun powder with in the ammuntion to become damp and it will end up failing when you eventually fire it. it can also start to turn the brass green giving it a petina which isnt very good. and also the guns shouldnt be in a very moisture filled area because it can start to rust the barrels and metal on the firearms. just thought you should know.. But I hope you get the hole taken care of! good luck

Thank you for your comments and concern. The basement has a dehumidifier in it and there haven’t been any water problems. I guess I just went far enough down into the concrete that I caused a problem that didn’t exist before. It is interesting to know that it didn’t take much (relatively small shallow hole) to cause the water to show up. It has been rather rainy lately causing me to notice this. I also have a golden rod in the safe.

 

[2 Bear Arms]

Hydraulic cement...

http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines/HydraulicWaterStopCement.asp

That looks like what I am looking for. Thank you.

 

[2 Bear Arms]

If you're getting actual seepage, at this time of year, and you have your guns down there, a sump pump might be a good idea - if you're new to the house, a wet spring may cause more than seepage.....

Drumenigma's post might indicate that the sump is keeping it dry, as opposed to sealent.

Just a thought.....

I don’t know if maybe seepage is the right word. I am talking about seeing a damp spot coming from under the safe that looks like someone spilled a teaspoon of water on an other wise dry floor. I might need a sponge more then a pump. I am concerned because I have a little bit of water where before I had none. I will plug up the area around the studs/anchors and better plug the stray hole and see what happens.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Hydraulic cement...

http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines/HydraulicWaterStopCement.asp

When I had an addition put on my house, after a severe rainstorm, I noticed some water came in thru the concrete wall. I had the contractor put hydraulic cement in it to plug it up. Ten years later and no further problems.

That seems to be the right solution. And I'd use it around each of the studs coming thru the concrete, just for "insurance".

 

[center442]

One other possibility to consider is condensation. You say that you've placed a rubber mat under the safe. What you're seeing may just be natural humidity and dampness emanating from the concrete. When it hits the rubber mat it can't easily evaporate into the air and so it collects and eventually works it's way out from under the mat. The reason I suspect this is because you say it is a small amount, a teaspoonful. Once the water collects and emerges from under the mat it is able to evaporate into the air. Can you lift any part of the mat and look under it to see if the cement looks wet? If it is just damp, the cement will look darker than the surrounding area.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

One other possibility to consider is condensation. You say that you've placed a rubber mat under the safe. What you're seeing may just be natural humidity and dampness emanating from the concrete. When it hits the rubber mat it can't easily evaporate into the air and so it collects and eventually works it's way out from under the mat. The reason I suspect this is because you say it is a small amount, a teaspoonful. Once the water collects and emerges from under the mat it is able to evaporate into the air. Can you lift any part of the mat and look under it to see if the cement looks wet? If it is just damp, the cement will look darker than the surrounding area.

This^^^^

The rubber is more likely acting like a solar still, drawing ambient moisture from the concrete. Before going and doing anything too complicated, try putting a dehumidifier in the area and dry things out a bit. Seems you need one anyway if you're getting that much condensation or you actually have water that close to the bottom side of the floor slab.

As a test, put a similar piece of rubber on another part of the floor near the safe and see if it collects the same moisture and presents the same indications.

If so, the dehumidifier should work for you.

EDIT: From personal experience with pumping down hundreds of basement water leaks, If there were water sitting under pressure below your slab, it would have been noticed as soon as you penetrated the slab with a drill bit.....you'd have had a geyser immediately.

 

[drumenigma]

If you're getting actual seepage, at this time of year, and you have your guns down there, a sump pump might be a good idea - if you're new to the house, a wet spring may cause more than seepage.....

Drumenigma's post might indicate that the sump is keeping it dry, as opposed to sealent.

Just a thought.....

To my knowledge the pump hasn't turned on once since installing it aside from the test we ran so I am pretty sure the seal we made is working.

 

[rep308]

That is why I poured a 4" thick cement pad in my basement first and then drilled into the pad

 

[JimB]

for about $20 you can buy an alarm that you put on the basement
floor that will alert you to water leakage.

 

[MassMark]

You sure it's water there whippersnapper?

 

[2 Bear Arms]

You sure it's water there whippersnapper?

I don’t work for BP so I am pretty sure its not oil.

 

[2 Bear Arms]

That is why I poured a 4" thick cement pad in my basement first and then drilled into the pad

Do you have any idea how thick they would have poured a basement floor when building a house (Cape type) in the early 1940s? It’s been a rather wet spring this year so I think its just a little bit due to the ground being that wet. Where I put the safe it isn’t as flat as I would have liked so the safe has a very very slight tilt to the front. I just went down and measured and it is 3/8” lower it the front so while I am playing around with this I may try to level the floor there a little bit. I didn’t shim it level when I installed it because I didn’t want to give someone a place to be able to get a pry bar under it.

To answer some of the other posts.

I do have a dehumidifier in the basement its very old but it still works very well. I just have to empty the catch basin frequently. It doesn’t have an auto shut off so if I don’t empty it it will overflow. I am looking to get a pump for that and route the hose to outside.

I will check to see if the trace of water is really coming from the holes I drilled or if it is something to do with the rubber mat “drawing ambient moisture from the concrete”. I wonder if I would have a geyser now as I drilled the holes in the winter. So would this mean if there is a problem (geyser type) having the safe on top of this at the moment may be inhibiting the geyser and if I remove the safe I may have old faithful in my basement?

 

[center442]

I could be way off, but I don't think you drilled deep enough to have a geyser. If you had tapped into real water when you drilled the anchor holes I would bet that you'd be getting a lot more water than you're seeing. No matter how heavy the safe is, mother nature has an unlimited amount of hydraulic pressure to apply to the situation.

 

[KMS]

Jeez how far did you drill down?What size wedge anchors did you use?

If the safe could be lifted to get under it to work with the anchors I would epoxy seal around them..normally when I would work with wedge anchors I use a 2 part epoxy industrial type to fill in the holes then drive the anchors in before it hardens.

 

[JoeyD]

I would say you have water under your floor and it always finds a way out. Best to remove the safe and cut off the anchors and start over.
How deep did you drill the holes? Use tape on the drill bit and using the anchor make a mark so you don't go in to far. Most floors are 4in max and there are always thin areas due to grading.

 

[yanici]

Easy fix would be to seal the new holes with hydraulic cement and then, as mentioned above, mix some quickcrete and pour a base to mount the safe to. You could even have studs anchored into the new base if you'd like to so there would be no drilling.

 

[boilermaker]

Where I put the safe it isn’t as flat as I would have liked so the safe has a very very slight tilt to the front. I just went down and measured and it is 3/8” lower it the front so while I am playing around with this I may try to level the floor there a little bit. I didn’t shim it level when I installed it because I didn’t want to give someone a place to be able to get a pry bar under it.

Aside from your seepage problem, I believe that your safe should be level. If it is not level, you are putting undo stress on the hinge. I am not sure what brand of safe you have or how often it is opened but regardless I think it would benefit from being leveled. Just my $.02.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

Do you have any idea how thick they would have poured a basement floor when building a house (Cape type) in the early 1940s? It’s been a rather wet spring this year so I think its just a little bit due to the ground being that wet. Where I put the safe it isn’t as flat as I would have liked so the safe has a very very slight tilt to the front. I just went down and measured and it is 3/8” lower it the front so while I am playing around with this I may try to level the floor there a little bit. I didn’t shim it level when I installed it because I didn’t want to give someone a place to be able to get a pry bar under it.

To answer some of the other posts.

I do have a dehumidifier in the basement its very old but it still works very well. I just have to empty the catch basin frequently. It doesn’t have an auto shut off so if I don’t empty it it will overflow. I am looking to get a pump for that and route the hose to outside.

I will check to see if the trace of water is really coming from the holes I drilled or if it is something to do with the rubber mat “drawing ambient moisture from the concrete”. I wonder if I would have a geyser now as I drilled the holes in the winter. So would this mean if there is a problem (geyser type) having the safe on top of this at the moment may be inhibiting the geyser and if I remove the safe I may have old faithful in my basement?

Maybe not like Old Faithful, but you'd have water coming in under pressure if the water table was higher than the floor slab and being held down. Doesn't sound like you have much of a real problem but an improvement on the dehumidifier would probably be my fist step.