If your basement is often waterlogged, you should understand that it can lead to tons of problems with the basement and your house as a whole. Therefore, you must start acting immediately to keep water out of the basement and prevent your house from encountering further damages that can cost you thousands of dollars.
What can you do to prevent water from coming into your basement? Take advantage of these five tested and proven strategies.
- Check the plumbing system
Sometimes, the water in your basement is not coming from outside of your house. Your toilet, shower drains and other units of the plumbing systems may be leaking water from time to time. So, don’t be fixated on the things happening outside of your residence; check the plumbing system and fix any issues that may be causing water to leak into your basement.
- Interior waterproofing
Interior waterproofing is one of the best strategies for keeping small and regular leaks from causing flood in your basement. This strategy is best if the problem is with the walls of the basement. There are three methods you can use for interior waterproofing. Concrete waterproof coatings are recommended for concrete walls and masonry. Silicate-based concrete sealers are good for unpainted or unsealed surfaces while waterproofing paint is good for painted walls.
- Foundation sloping
Foundation sloping is a good strategy can assist you to divert the water away from the house. Here, the ground that is close to the foundation must slope away from the foundation. With this, the water will not come into the basement. It is important to make sure that the crown of dirt found close to your residence is about six inches or more above the first 10 feet in different directions.
- Crack repair
If there are cracks in the foundation of your house, water may be leaking into the basement. Over time, the structural integrity of the whole house may be affected by the basement cracks. How do you deal with this problem? Foremost, you need to check the walls of the basement to see if there are any cracks there. Once you have found any cracks, the next step is to repair them. A foundation expert or structural engineer can provide the solutions you need.
- Remove overgrown shrubs
One of the least expected causes of basement leakage is the overgrowth of plants and shrubs around the foundation. When the plants and shrubs are deeply rooted in the foundation, they seem to allow water to get into the basement. Of course, this will lead to various problems.
The strategy is simple to implement because you only have to remove the overgrown shrubs and plants. Also, do not plant vegetation too close to the foundation of your house.
Perchance your basement is already affected by the water; don’t hesitate to look for a structural engineer or contractor to help you. With excellent water damage restoration, your home will be prevented from experiencing more damages.