Construction & Contractors Blog
Some options for basement waterproofing can be expensive. If you have to expose the exterior wall of your basement to put on a membrane, or if you build an interior or exterior drain, you'll put up with a lot of disruption and face a lot of expense. Some waterproofing methods aren't as expensive and they might work just as well.
You'll need input from a waterproofing contractor to make sure you make the right choice when you want to waterproof your basement and keep it dry. Here are five things to try.
1. Improve Surface Drainage Near Your House
If something is causing water in your yard to drain toward your house rather than away from it, consider fixing the situation. This might involve reworking foundation plants that have created a dam near your house. You might have to grade your property or put it in a swale. Make the changes you can so water drains somewhere it won't get in your basement and harm your house.
2. Improve Gutter Drainage
Make sure your gutters have the proper slope so rain flows toward the downspout and doesn't sit in the troughs or water might overflow and land near your foundation. Also, make sure the downspout points away from your home. You may want to put an extension on the end of the downspout to make sure water lands far away and on a slope that drains away from your foundation.
3. Seal All Leaks
A basement waterproofing contractor can seal all the gaps, cracks, and leaks in your foundation so water can't leak through. This includes sealing gaps in window wells and filling cracks with filler that expands to fill the entire crack to plug the leak.
4. Waterproof the Walls
When water sinks into the soil near your foundation, it puts pressure against the concrete walls. The pressure allows water to seep through and get your basement wet. One way to combat this is with a paint or coating made for basement waterproofing. The contractor has to clean the concrete thoroughly first and then brush on the coating. The coating creates a watertight seal on the walls so water is blocked from your basement.
5. Fix Condensation Problems
Condensation is often a problem in basements that causes water to form and drip from pipes. This happens when the basement is cooler than the rest of your house and the air that enters it. Make sure your dryer doesn't vent into your basement and cover exposed pipes with insulation to help get rid of condensation. You may also want to place a dehumidifier in the basement to pull moisture from the air.
Share4 March 2022
My name is Debbie Greenberg. I’m a single woman who owns her home, and like most homeowners I dread home repairs. I’m not very handy with do-it-yourself projects around the house. I can do a few minor repairs when necessary, but for the most part I have to call in a professional. Last year I had a leak in my roof. When it rained, water would leak into my kitchen. What appeared to be a simple fix turned out to be anything but simple. It took over four months to finally identify the problem, and double the money I was initially quoted to fix it. The problem ended up being that the flat part of my roof didn't have shingles, but a sheeting material. I learned a bit about home roofs along the way, and that is what I want to share with you.
