The Water-Tight Process for Basement Waterproofing (4 Popular Methods)
When water seeps into your basement, it’s not just an eyesore and an inconvenience; it’s also a sign that you could have some serious structural issues if you don’t take care of the problem fast. To avoid any such issues, you need to waterproof your basement as soon as possible and with concrete sealing products that are designed to last. This helpful guide will walk you through all of the steps involved in waterproofing your basement using four of the most popular methods in the industry today.
How Can Water Get In?
Your basement is a crucial part of your home’s foundation. Unfortunately, water tends to find its way in through cracks and holes in your foundation and walls. When water gets into your basement, it can create a very dangerous situation for you, your family, and your home. You need a comprehensive waterproofing process to ensure that water does not cause structural damage to your foundation and prevent future problems like mold and mildew growth.
Importance of Waterproofing
Being able to go outside and not worry about a rainstorm can be one of life’s great gifts. We all enjoy a nice stroll on a warm day with no worries about getting soaked, but rainy days are bound to happen and some homes may find themselves susceptible to water infiltration. That is why waterproofing your basement is so important. There are different types of methods that you can choose from when waterproofing your basement, all offering their own advantages and disadvantages. Knowing what each option entails will help you to determine which best suits your needs.
Allowing water to come into your basement can lead to a number of problems, including mold and mildew, which are harmful to you and your family’s health. Additionally, any materials that have been stored in a damp environment may be prone to rust or rot. If you want to prevent these issues from occurring in your home, it is important that you waterproof your basement.
Exterior Protection
When it comes to basement waterproofing, first you need to address moisture from outside. If you have a brick home with a stone foundation, or any other type of home that is prone to exterior water damage, it’s important to apply some sort of weatherproof layer on your basement’s outer walls. This can be achieved by applying a tarp barrier and/or installing precast concrete panels.
The next step is to focus on addressing moisture coming from inside. If you’re dealing with a wet basement, it may be due to groundwater infiltration or even condensation caused by humidity. In order to address these issues, you can either install a waterproof drainage layer or improve your home’s ventilation.
Vapor Barriers
If you want to keep water from seeping into your basement, vapor barriers are a crucial step. A vapor barrier is essentially a sheet of plastic designed to block moisture from passing through it. While this seems simple enough, installation is not quite as simple as slapping down a sheet of plastic. In order to do so effectively, you have to ensure it’s sealed tightly along all edges and that there aren’t any gaps between your home and where you placed it.
There’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. If you want your vapor barrier to work effectively, installation is key. You should carefully measure your home to figure out where you should place your plastic sheeting and make sure all of your edges are sealed properly. Any gaps between your home and where you placed it will allow moisture to seep through, defeating its purpose entirely.
Sealants
Some sealants don’t actually prevent water from entering your basement but rather slow down water penetration. Sealants can be good at preventing mold growth, but they do not guarantee your home will stay dry in a flood. This is because these products may give you more time to prepare before your basement starts flooding, allowing you to move belongings out of harm’s way and contact emergency services.
There are a few popular types of sealants, each designed to be applied in different ways. The most basic type of basement waterproofing sealant is a liquid sealant applied with a roller. Liquid sealants come in two types: latex and solvent based. Solvent based products tend to be harder to work with but they last longer than latex products.
Drainage Options
A basement waterproofing system usually relies on some kind of drainage to pump water outside, into an underground sump pit. This can be as simple as a sump pump or as complex as an automated filtration system. Many systems use more than one method at once; a very effective method is to have a subsoil well coupled with a high-powered dehumidifier. This maintains ideal soil conditions without compromising your basement’s structural integrity in any way.
A sump pump is a traditional method of pumping excess water away from your basement. It relies on gravity, so it will not work if you live in an area where water naturally flows. There are also several different types of pumps, including those with float switches that can detect when your sump basin needs to be emptied and automatically empty it, or ones with alarms that go off when your basin is full.
Failure to Waterproof Your Basement
Basements require waterproofing because when moisture seeps into basement walls, it creates mold, mildew and rust. The effect of water damage is more than just aesthetically unpleasant; it can also reduce your property value by tens of thousands of dollars if left unaddressed.
Moisture seeping into your basement walls can create mold, mildew and rust, and that’s only scratching the surface of what water damage can do to your home. Ultimately, it affects more than just your bottom line; it also reduces property value. The average amount of depreciation in a home with water damage is a lot.
The average homeowner spends around $4,749 to waterproof a basement or foundation. That’s a good chunk of change, but keep in mind that it can far exceed that in damages if your basement isn’t prepared for water damage.
