Want to save thousands in leaky basement and waterproofing repairs?
Well, I can tell you how.
I want to share a recent inspection – and give my suggestion for what to do first when you see water coming into your basement.
Ready?
Here it is:
Take a walk around the house on the exterior areas where the dampness is occurring on the inside.
Look at your gutters, downspouts, the yard around your house, and concrete driveway or walkway pads that are against your house. Are the gutters or downspouts damaged or leaking? Are they overflowing?
Is the yard around the home pitched downwards towards the house like a slip and slide? This reversed soil slope can drive water towards your house and cause dampness problems in the basement.
Does the yard, or driveway, or patio have any low spots next to the foundation walls and mildew or moss in the area, suggesting that this area accumulates water and stays damp near the house?
There are many obvious clues that will tell if water is not draining properly, or pooling around your house. Wetbasementinspections.com is full of articles explaining how to find and fix these issues. Sometimes the fix for a leaky basement does not have to be as expensive as you think.
Some of these defects are easy to spot.
For example, leaky gutters have dirty drip marks running down the front face of them from water overflowing during heavy rains, and this is easy to spot. Mildew stains can be seen on the gutter and even on the exterior siding below when gutters are overflowing.
On the ground level, low spots in the yard or concrete around the outside of your house can fill up with water and allow the water to seep into your house and contribute to a leaky basement.
Make sure to look below the front porch or the back deck, or any other structure that is attached to, or near the house. These areas are less accessible, and issues can be left to wreak havoc for several years that otherwise would have been relatively easy to repair if only someone knew where to look, and what to look for.
Getting back to the wet basement inspection that I wanted to share.
Upon the beginning of a wet basement inspection, within approximately 3 minutes, I shined a flashlight underneath the front porch and saw a big issue. The underground storm drain running from the gutters and above-ground downspouts was broken underneath the front porch and had been pouring rainwater from the roof directly against the front left corner of the basement wall. Check out the quick video below to see.
Below the front porch, the heavy amount of water accumulation in this area over the past several years had eroded a large hole, where the underground line was visible, and more ground water was pooling beneath the porch during heavy rains, further adding to leaky basement problems. You can see in the video and the photos that the line is severed and had sunken down due to the weight of the storm water running through the pipe. This drainpipe appears to have been inadequately supported with the concrete blocks in the past.
As you can see in the photo, the long-term water accumulation against this area of the basement wall has led not only to water leakage, but foundation wall damage, cracking, and movement as well. Fortunately, the wall movement was minor for a 100-year-old home and not in need of repair. However, this damaged drain pipe issue below the front porch needs repaired as soon as possible to prevent future leakage and basement wall movement.
Here is the corner of the leaky basement with the disclosed water leakage on the wall and the floor.
The block wall can also be seen to have bulged inwards somewhat, due to the water and wet soil noted earlier in this article constantly pushing against the foundation wall of the house.
So, in conclusion, if you are having water issues, do not be afraid to take a close look at the property for yourself. Investigate on your own. Leave a comment with questions about your own leaky basement and we will be happy to help.
Wetbasementinspections.com has a library of articles and videos on the most cost affordable repairs and improvements that just about anyone can take to save thousands on waterproofing, and to dry out their leaky foundation. If you still need help, hire us at wetbasementinspections.com to come out and do an inspection and camera scope of your drain lines, let us help you out!
This is the perfect blog for everyone who hopes to understand this topic. You understand so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I actually would want toÖHaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic which has been written about for years. Excellent stuff, just excellent!
Thanks so much! Glad that you find the content interesting and helpful!
I was very pleased to uncover this web site. I want to to thank you for your time due to this fantastic read!! I definitely appreciated every bit of it and I have you bookmarked to look at new things on your website.
Good article.
Thanks so much!
Hey thank you so much!