Basement Waterproofing
-Basement waterproofing is important to the health of your family and preserving the structural integrity of your home.
-Basement flooding can happen in a variety of ways, including over the top of the foundation, through cracks in walls or floors, or through basement windows.
-Moisture in the basement can lead to the growth of mold or mildew, which can be avoided by installing a waterproofing system.
-Common problems with basements include leaking wall cracks, cove seepage, sump pump issues, leaking mortar joints, window well flooding, floor cracks, water over the top of the foundation, and efflorescence.
A dry, well-ventilated basement is essential to the health of your family and the structural integrity of your home. Basement flooding occurs when water enters the space through cracks in walls or floors, windows, doors, or plumbing fixtures.
Too much moisture creates an array of problems, from rotting wood to mold and mildew. This not only jeopardizes the home’s stability but also attracts pests. Furthermore, depending on where it’s located in the house, it can introduce health hazards for the homeowners. You can avoid these consequences by ensuring an effective waterproofing system is in place to keep the area moisture-free.
The Most Frequent Issues Homeowners Face in Their Basement
Water coming into your home is unpleasant and problematic, but there’s no need to worry. We have successfully solved water infiltration issues before and we’re more than happy to help you too. Take a look at the possible causes of water leaks in your home below, or contact us directly to schedule an appointment with one of our knowledgeable foundation consultants.
Water Seeping Through Cracks In Your Walls.
The most frequent problem we find in poured concrete foundations is wall cracks. Poured concrete foundations are stronger than masonry block or brick walls, making them easier and more cost-effective to fix when cracked. All concrete mixtures contain water that evaporates during the curing process, causing cracks to develop usually within three months after construction. The other cause of cracking is poor building techniques.
Although your foundation cracks may seem like a big problem, the GOOD NEWS is that they will never get worse than they are now, unless there’s an underlying structural issue. According to other theories, hard winters, heavy rainstorms, and “continued settling” can cause cracks, but those are unlikely to happen if you don’t have movement in your foundation. Therefore repairing cracks now s should be a priority because they aren’t going to develop anymore.
The not-so-great news is that the cracks in your foundation are getting worse and if they’re not leaking now, they will be in the future.
Why?
Water damage will continue to ruin the crack until it gets inside your home.
When a wall cracks, two chunks of concrete fit snugly together. This is crucial because everyday changes in temperature can make those pieces move further apart or closer together, opening the crack wider and making most patches ineffective.
One way to effectively solve this problem is by using a wall crack repair method that will not only seal the crack but also prevent it from growing.
The Cove Seepage
If water seems to be appearing from nowhere in your basement, especially after a heavy rainstorm, it is likely seeping in through the cove joint. Hydrostatic pressure occurs when too much saturation from rainfall happens and causes an increase of water table levels under your foundation. This additional pressure could force small amounts of water through any tiny cracks that might exist around the cove joint area. The sign of this infiltration typically vanishes once the storm has passed, making it tricky to identify where the problem lies.
By installing a drainage system that collects water and sends it to the sump pump, you can prevent any future flooding in your home.
Sump Pump Maintenance and Repair
A sump pump is key to a house’s waterproofing system – it stops water from building up around the perimeter of the home. If it isn’t functioning properly, drain tile and window well drains can overflow and potentially cause significant flooding in your basement. To prevent this possible devastation, invest in a dependable backup battery for your sump pump. For complete peace of mind, check out our Basement System that sends an alert BEFORE your primary sump system fails.
To keep your basement dry even during the heaviest storms, we offer sump pumps in a variety of sizes and capacities.
Leaking Mortar Joints
In Chicago suburbs, many homes have foundations made of materials other than concrete – such as brick, stone, and wood. cinder blocks. When it comes to keeping your basement dry though, masonry foundations are more challenging because the walls are not solid. The individual blocks of a mortar foundation are held together using mortar, which over time will deteriorate and become less waterproof. This then allows water to seep into your basement through the joints between the blocks. Furthermore, block walls have another major disadvantage: water can enter one area of the foundation on the exterior, travel through the hollows of the blocks, and several feet later emerge in your basement interior.
Although block foundations are at a higher risk for developing structural issues, our drainage systems can help prevent water from entering your home.
Is Your Window Well Filling With Water?
Although windows are excellent for letting in natural light and they meet fire escape codes if your basement is used as living space, they can become a problem when water collects in them and overflows into your basement.
A window well can become full of water for many reasons:
-A hole in the cover lets rain get in
-Dirt floors or walls let groundwater seep in
-The drain is clogged or nonexistent
When water leaks into your basement from a window well, it can damage your possessions.
We provide two solutions to stop window wells from leaking. The first option is to install new window wells with a cover that will evenly distribute the water. If you prefer, we also offer a drainage system installation in your window well. This drainage system provides an exit for any excess water, so it doesn’t have time to build up and overflow.
Do You Have Floor Cracks?
When the ground is oversaturated, hydrostatic pressure builds and increases under your basement floors. This water pressure can force its way up through cracks in the floor or worsen current problems in joints. A common mistake people make is thinking they can solve the problem by sealing up those cracks and joints. However, what ends up happening is you’re trapping the water inside, causing an even larger build-up of pressure which can buckle your floor altogether. Not to mention, you’ll be doing some major cleanup after a flood from all that trapped water damaging everything it comes into contact with.
The best way to prevent this flooding is by installing a drainage system. Our drainage systems are designed with the specific purpose of re-directing any water from under your floors and into the sump pump so that it can be pumped away from your home safely.
Our systems come with a lifetime warranty and can be installed in just one day, so contact us today to start protecting your basement from water damage.
The professionals at Seepage Seal have decades of experience helping Chicago-area homeowners prevent water damage and keep their basements dry. Contact us today for a free consultation and get the piece of mind you need! We look forward to hearing from you!
The best way to fix this problem is to install a drainage system and a sump-pump system. This will help control the water table beneath your floor. Our certified foundation consultants can recommend a plan specifically for your home.
If your basement floor starts to develop cracks, don’t stress. It’s a common occurrence during the drying process of construction, much like with poured concrete walls. However, if you notice that your floor is also sinking or settling, we advise you to seek aid from one of our certified foundation consultants. Otherwise, more costly damage may be done to the infrastructure of your house down the line.
Water Spilling Over the Top Of Your Home’s Foundation Can Cause Serious Damage.
Take immediate action when you see the water creeping in from your basement walls. Figure out if the source is coming from below or above ground. If it’s the latter, it might be because of the old caulking, tuckpointing, windows that leak drafts, or even a problem with your roof. Water that penetrates through the outside of your home will likely travel down vertically through your walls and arrive in your basement–but there probably won’t be any upstairs evidence of this moisture migration!
The best way to tell if your problem is below grade is to look at the spillover joint. This is where the joists of the main floor meet the top of your foundation wall. If this joint is below grade or underground, then every time it rains and the ground gets saturated, water will spill over that joint and into your basement.
To find out if you have an issue with your foundation, do a water test. On a dry day, put a hose on the ground (so nothing above the ground gets wet) and run it for five to ten minutes. If leakage occurs, one of our certified foundation consultants can provide solutions to permanently repair this problem.
Efflorescence
Homeowners frequently reach out to us asking about a basement problem they’re having. They describe it as a flaky white deposit on their walls, which is powdery and found in all types of basements and crawl spaces.
The Main Reasons for Efflorescence
Cement is a porous material that slowly absorbs moisture from the surrounding soil and releases it into the below-grade space through cracks in the foundation walls. As the water moves through concrete, it also pulls small bits of minerals and lime deposits from the cement itself. Over time, this will cause a white powdery substance to form on your walls.
The ultimate way to stop this problem is to take preventative measures so it doesn’t happen again. You can buy cleaners or make a DIY mixture to clean the material off the wall, but that won’t solve anything long-term. To permanently resolve the issue, you need to find and remove the source of moisture. There are a few ways water can enter your home, but we know how fix each one quickly and effectively.
Thank you for considering Seepage Seal for your water damage prevention needs. We’re here to provide high-quality service and ensure that your basement is properly protected from water damage. Get in touch with us today and get started on the path toward a dry, healthy basement environment! Thank you!