Thanks for all your thinking and troubleshooting. I am going to get someone here next week to find the source of moisture exactly so I can fix the problem. I will keep you posted as to what I find out.

Steven

The pictures are very helpfull, great job. I looked through the installation photos you had listed and in a few it seems as if water is being vacuumed off the slab?....and lots of it...what was the reason for that?.

That was during the installation process. After we grinded some high spots and feathered some of the patches we created a lot of dust. Not to mention all the over spray we had to sand off. I waited 2 to 3 weeks though before putting down wood floors after mopping and wet vacuuming.

Steve,

When I said "runoff",I meant runoff. When I said ,"grab a level", I meant grab a level and make sure your porch is not sloping down toward that wall. You can test it with a garden hose in less than a minute.
I seem to remember you saying that your problem had arisen after a rainy spell. Your picture speaks a thousand words. Water is running off down the side of your porch and against the slab where your problem is occurring. I would bet a dollar that it is a simple ,runoff issue.

But then,I have been wrong before. I bit the eraser off of my Husky pencil the first day of kindergarten. Wrong.

I remember every mistake I have ever made. hoho

The slab has a roof too and doesn't get wet. I have an L shape porch supported by 3 pillars. However, it maybe that the ground underneath got saturated.

Here is a picture of the front house:

Its being covered is irrelevant. If the porch slab slopes back toward the house,a blowing rain will put the water right at that crack between the house and the porch. Your picture speaks volumes. It could be a leak,but I doubt it. Porch runoff from a blowing rain would do it. Not to mention overzealous plant-watering.

I don't pretend to know. I can only attest to what I have seen.


I think your slab is being fed water by the other slab.

Chuck,
I will check the pitch of the porch. That is a good idea. I understand what you are saying about the porch slab feeding the water.

I checked the slope with a level in several locations. The porch is level or is slightly off center sloping down away from the house.

Thanks a bunch

I also notice the mulch in the flower beds, and if it is 3 inches up the side of the house, the slab is below grade. Also, it does not look like the yard has a fall away from the house of at least 6 inches in the first 10 feet. Also the gutter down spouts should take the water completely away from the house.

Hello tandyr,

Thanks for your input, the mulch is about 2 inches high but could be higher in some spots which could pose a problem as you mention. The gutter down spouts all have extensions but it is hard to see in the photo. It is underneath the shrub. Here is a better picture of it:
In this picture I replaced the gutter extension to a newer one that was a tad longer.

However, I don't understand what you mean by fall away from the house of at least 6 inches in the first 10 feet. Could you perhaps explain that more.

Thanks

First of all Steve those are great pictures.
What I mean by fall is sloap away from the house.

Take a string and place it at ground level next to the foundation. Next drive a stake at 10 feet from the house. Mark the point on the stake where the string is level with the string next to the foundation mark that point. Now measure down 6 inches and mark that point. Bring the string down to the lower point and it should not or just bairly touch the ground. If it touches anywhere before you drop 6 inches the sloap is not proper.

Hope you can understand that mess.

That is a good idea! I will check that for sure.

Thanks for the explaination. Just on standard observations without doing this test I didn't notice any standing water after a heavy rain. However, that doesn't mean that I don't have problems with the grade.

I will certainly check.

Thanks a bunch!