Alternatives to Fix Wet Basements
Thursday, February 24th, 2011
When shopping for ways to fix a wet basement, homeowners are likely to be presented with many alternatives. Some seem easy and unexpensive, some are disruptive and costly. Which is more effective?
First it is important to understand that the reason why the basements leak is that they are basically concrete boxes buried in wet dirt. Concrete in itself is porous, and there is no way to completely seal the box. Every time the soil around the foundation gets over saturated with water, hydrostatic pressure increases and pushes water against the basement walls. Water will find its way in through joints, cracks and will infiltrate the porous concrete through capillary action.
Therefore the only way to keep your basement dry is to keep that soul around the foundation as dry as possible with adequate drainage.
Gutters should be installed and kept clean, with downspouts discharging as far away from the foundation as possible.
The terrain should be graded to slope away from the foundation.
Plants that need constant watering, sprinklers and garden hoses should be kept away from the house as well.
A functioning foundation drainage system should be in place.
When houses are built, a french drain, which is usually a perforated clay pipe is installed by the foundation footing. The problem is that french drains tend to clog or collapse overtime, and that is how previously dry basements develop water problems.
So what is the alternative? Internal Drain Tiles!
Internal perimeter drainage systems, like out patented WaterGuard, have been used successfully for over 20 years. They are installed by jack hammering a few inches off the basement slab, close to the wall, installing a specially engineered drain tile over a bed of gravel, connecting it to a sump pump system, and then patching the concrete back up.
They do the same thing a french drain does and more: they collect ground water relieving the hydrostatic pressure, and collect any eventual water seeping through the walls as well, like a simple baseboard system would do.
But the best advantage of these systems is that they are serviceable. Should they clog, they can be serviced from inside the basement, which is why good companies will back them up with a Lifetime Transferable Warranty.
At Interior Basement Systems, we know just what works and, after solving many basement problems over the years, we are proud to say that we sell the best solutions available in this industry.
We install 24 patented products and award winning systems, developed by a company with over 20 years of experience and success in basement waterproofing.
If you want your basement dry all the time, contact us for a free quote!
