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We Offer the Best Systems in the Industry

and Back it Up With a Lifetime Warranty.

Call Now for a FREE Quote!!
(866) 797-9755

thomas@qualitydrybasements.com

Causes & Solutions

Why Is My Basement Wet?

Rainwater and groundwater (acidic) lead to filling in the pore spaces within the excavated zone. This leads to hydrostatic pressure adding additional stress against your foundation. There are interior and exterior factors involved in this as follows:

  • Interior moisture sources of leaky pipes and other mechanical items in the basement can cause water to spill onto the walls and floor, leading to wet floors directly under and around the mechanical items, furnace, boiler, oil tank, hot water heater, well filter, etc.
  • Ventilation from outside causes condensation along the cold water pipes, filter systems, water tanks, and more, which leads to wet floors where they drip down.

How Does Water Get Into My Basement?

Hydrostatic pressure causes water to move through cracks and holes on walls and floor from areas of higher pressure (back-filled area outside the home) to lower pressure (your basement). Two key reasons why this happens:

  • Capillary suction (wicking), air leakage though walls or floors.
  • Vapor diffusion through foundation walls and floors.
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Why Do Basements Leak and Flood?

Hydrostatic builds up due to groundwater in the back-filled zone around your house. This zone has higher porosity and permeability than the surrounding native soil on your property. Hence, more water can fill this area, leading to higher pressures. To complicate things, the groundwater in the northeast part of the US is acidic, which causes chemical dissolution of the lime in the cement and mortar.

Water will always go from areas of higher pressure (back-filled zone) to lower pressure (your basement) and the acidic groundwater will ensure the cracks get larger over time. Additional factors include:

  • Inadequate draining.
  • Defective or missing gutters and downspouts.
  • Improperly designed window wells.

What Solutions Are Out There?

  • Move surface rainwater away from the house.
  • Gutter placement and extending drain spouts beyond the back-filled zone around the house. (typically 3-5 feet beyond the house)
  • Sloping landscaping away from house.
  • Placing a foundation drain along the exterior of the house. This solution gets very expensive, very quickly, and is only guaranteed about a year, typically with other construction projects. Issues can arise with mud, roots, and silt clogging the drains, and potential collapses with around 8 feet of rock and dirt overlying them.
  • Placing a foundation drain along the interior of the basement. This solution is generally less expensive and solves many of the issues that the exterior drain encounters. There are three typical types of interior foundation drains, all of which lead to a sump pump:
    1. A drain placed along the corner edge in the basement.
    2. Placing a drainage system under floor, but above the foundation.
    3. Placing the drainage system adjacent to the foundation – the lowest point available ensures the hydrostatic pressure decreases the most.

Our company specializes in the latter type of system, a sub-floor deep-pressure relief system.

By understanding the physics of water-flow and chemical reactions around it, we ensure your basement will not leak from the walls or floor.

Give us a call at (866) 797-9755 to discuss the appropriate solution for you.

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