I recently purchased a 30-year-old stone house with a stone foundation. The stone is pointed on the inside only; it is not covered with a cement coating. Whenever we get a heavy rainfall, clear water comes through the side walls on top of the bottom course of stone, between the stone and the mortar, mostly in only two of the walls, 90 degrees apart. Do you have any information you could send me that would help me prevent the flow of water and get a dryer basement?
If the basement is above the ground water table, careful repointing of joints and application of two 3/8-inch coats of portland cement stucco on the inside face of the walls may remedy the damp condition. Before doing that, it may be sufficient to slope the ground away from the wall to provide a run-off for the rain water, thus preventing its accumulation near the outside face. Repointing of joints may then be sufficient. If the leakage is serious it may be necessary to stucco the outside walls with portland cement mortar.