Concrete Foundation Repair

View of leak in concrete foundation.

Tom received this letter from Daron and MaryAnn of Idaho. Sound familiar to anyone?

Tom,

Daron and I have a new segment for “Tips by Tom”. We found water in our
basement a few days ago. We found out it was coming in around were the
sewer line exits the house. Luckily there is a cut out in the closet
where the leak was for the sewer cleanout, so it was easy to see. We dug
down outside to see if we could see why it was leaking. I took some
pictures and attached them so you could see what we found. There is
concrete on the top of the pipe to seal it where it goes into the house
but underneath the pipe there is no such concrete. We need to know how
to seal the bottom area so it will quit leaking. The contractor who
built the house said to contact the sewer people, the sewer people said
they don’t fix it to call a plumber, the plumber did not want to come fix
it but told us to buy a 5 gallon tub of “water plug patch” for $65.00
which they said to use a putty knife to fill the area around the pipe,
let it dry, and apply it again, and repeat 4 or 5 times. The supply
store said to use roofing tar, another said to use concrete crack filler,
someone at Daron’s work said to use Bentonite and tar. It is a really
tight area to work in and you can not actually see under the pipe, you
can only feel along the pipe. What is your suggestion?

MaryAnn