I have a leak coming through my basement wall beneath where the drain pipe leads through the wall and out to the main sewer.  I thought it might be ground water, but noticed recently the leak seems to come back most aggressively when we are using high amounts of water in the house at the same time (like both showers running simultaneously).  The water coming from the wall looks clean though, and doesn’t smell like sewage water as I would expect if the drain pipe were leaking, but then again, I know nothing about plumbing, really.  On the other side of this wall, in the yard is a covered concrete slab patio which extends about 12′ from the foundation wall and out into the yard.  About another ten feet from that is a tree which is approx. 50′ wide by 50′ tall.  All of this is directly above where I believe the main drain runs into the sewer system.  Also, the house was built in ‘51 and the pipes leading out look to be cast iron.  I don’t even know who to call for help at this point, but I know the water saturating my block basement wall must be STOPPED!  Any help you can offer will be appreciated.

- Bill

Bill, you may have two separate problems. It might be best to first determine if you have a leak in either your water service or a partial plug of your sewer line (with a sewer back up, you would typically experience the back up directly into your home). I would suggest getting a pressure test on your water service to determine if it has a leak. Make sure it’s performed by someone reputable and that they have the right equipment. This is the best place to start –determine if this is the problem (and repair it), it may take care of the seepage issue. If not, and water is coming in from the outside, you probably have a subsoil drainage problem where ground water is not being displaced by your basement’s waterproofing. In that case you should consult a waterproofing company.

-Brian