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I have water on the top 4 feet of my basement foundation wall.wet wall

This goes around almost the entire perimeter of the basement. The bottom 4 feet of blocks are dry. Any ideas the cause? Can someone suggest a remediation method. FYI the entire wall is below grade. Ground is clay. Grading appears good and downspouts are directed away from the house.

Thanks in advance for any input you can offer....

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    You say it's good, but I see that and all I can think is insufficient grade away from the house. As to turning dry lower down, perhaps there's a layer of soil that actually drains well at that level, or foundation drains (oddly rare, but just possible.)
    – Ecnerwal
    Jan 16 '17 at 1:58
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    I agree with @Ecnerwal that it is probably surface water causing the problem. On the below grade walls I have done I usually back fill with rock, More expensive but then the footing drains keep the area dry. I would want to dig down to below the point where the water is entering add a new drain then back fill with rock. A seal coat on this upper area may also help but I have always found block walls to be prone to leaking if there is water unless well drained.
    – Ed Beal
    Jan 16 '17 at 14:33
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    Awesome input guys. That area is right below our concrete patio. Once the wall dries out I will wet the area above with the hose and see what happens.
    – Matthew McLeod
    Jan 16 '17 at 17:22
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    Did you ever get this resolved? If so, please give a check-mark to the answer that helped you the most, or write up your own answer explaining what you did to get it fixed and give yourself a check mark. That will help others with this kind of problem know that this has a resolution and is a good place to look for their answer
    – FreeMan
    Jul 29 '20 at 12:35
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solution : a french drain around the perimeter, depth of about a foot or so below where your water line is . this entails digging a trench, drying out any moisture, then applying bituthene to the wall before filling the trench with rock . the bottom of the trench should angle down from wall to yard, so water will drain through the rocks then away from the building

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