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Fixing that Wet Basement

Posted March 5th, 2010 by admin

A quality sump pump in your basement is an important investment in flood prone areas. But your sump pump should be the last line of defense instead of the first. To keep your proposed basement weight and exercise room from floating away, measures need to be taken to prevent the sump pump from being needed.

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To begin with your home site should be graded to move the water away from your house. If an existing house has slope problems correcting the grade may require a major project, but the resulting improvement of basement dryness will be worth the effort. Also, if gutters and downspouts are not kept in good repair or are improperly installed they can allow water from the roof to seep into the soil along the foundation and leak into the basement.

When it rains you get a lot of water falling down around your foundation directly from the roof. This problem is made worse by clogged gutters or downspouts. To compensate for this you need adequate tile drainage around your foundation.

A dry well serves as an outlet valve that directs water away from your foundation. This technique is a lot less work and much less expensive than regrading your entire lot.

Another approach is to create a French drain. A traditional French drain is a simple gravel and sand filled trench that leads water away from low-lying areas.

The grading of the trench is of primary importance because that is what takes the water away from the house. Add gravel up to within 5 or 6 inches of the surface. Top the gravel with a 3 or 4 inch layer of coarse sand and cover with a layer of sod or soil and grass seed. Some experts also recommend using a perforated drain pipe in the trench to carry overflow more easily.

If water is getting into the interior some distance from the sump pump you can create an interior drain to lead the water from the lead to the pump. The most effective method is to break up the floor around the base of your walls, then dig a trench and grade it towards the sump pump. Install drain tiles leading to the pump. Once the drainage system is working cover it with gravel and replace the floor above it.

Just as settling or erosion can cause foundation cracks, they can lead to cracks in basement walls. When this happens you should contact a basement waterproofing company to repair the cracks with a waterproof caulking material. Then seal the wall with additional waterproofing coatings.

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