Keeping The Water Out Of The Basement

Basement waterproofing is defined as preventing water from penetrating into your basement area. The noises – a trickle, a drip-drop, or heavy rush or splash. Ahh, the sun is gone, rainy days are here! Roofs, gutters, and downspouts function in harmony to keep us safe and dry during a downpour. Rainwater rolls down our roofs; much like it does down the mountains. It is then collected in gutters before they are channelled into downspouts like waterfalls. Keeping the water out of your basement will limit the amount of mold and mildew that can occur in your basement area. The mold and mildew due to improperly waterproofed basement walls can cause illness and sickness in you and your family. All of these show what roofing and waterproofing is all about.

1. More Protection

Waterproofing is more than just channelling the water away from our roofs. It extensively prevents water from entering the house through a substance application specifically designed for waterproofing.

2. The Concept

Basically, to ensure basement waterproofing, one has to take two steps. The first step is to mount a very reliable drainage system. This is because if your drainage system becomes clogged with leaves or simply can not handle the amount of water capacity, water will accumulate instead of being neatly cyphoned away.

Of course, even with the best gutter and roof, water still penetrates the ground naturally when it rains, because not all rain will fall on your house, some will fall around it, perhaps on your front or back yard, or your neighbors yard.

Either way, if too much water is retained in the ground, the possibility of water entering your basement exists, and the only solution is to have your basement waterproofed.

3. Never Again – Find The Source!

Before you do basement waterproofing, it is a must that you find the cause of leakage first:

– Is there a crack in the wall?
– Was the house built with weak structures?
– Are waters outside flooding and causing too much pressure?

In order to detect any of these problems, inspect your house thoroughly. Usually, water will penetrate on areas where there are cracks, usually on the floor or walls of the basement area. Do all of these things before you apply basement waterproofing.

The first type is called “Tanking” or bonding a substance or membrane to the outside of your basement that will prevent water ingress into your basement walls. This method is predominantly used during the initial construction phase of your home.

The second basement waterproofing method that is utilized is called a “Cavity Drainage System”. When your basement is constructed you will have a thin plastic honeycomb membrane installed on the walls and floors. The floors will be sloped toward the sump pump so that any water that ingresses into your basement structure can be promptly removed.

If you live in parts of the country that occasionally receive heavy downpours then you will most assuredly be in need of the third and final type of basement waterproofing product. This product is an “Exterior Foundation Drain”, also called a “French Drain” by many in the construction industry. The drain is a system that is built on the outside wall of your foundation and diverts water through a ground drainage system away from the basement walls.

The unfortunate part is that in order to actually apply a coat of waterproofing, you have to dig at least six feet right next to the wall. The waterproofing mixture must be applied directly to the outside of the basement wall – it can’t just be poured on the ground next to your basement! This is an extremely physical task and so in all honesty you should hire a handyman or better still, contact a service to do this for you. The service will come with the added benefit of providing you with a warranty for services offered that guarantees you won’t experience the problem again for a set amount of time.