What is the best time to fix your leaky basement? The best time to fix your leaky basement is in the early stages because its cheaper to fix the problem in the early stages. The cost to fix a leaking basement goes up when the water does massive damage to your foundation. The reason water does so much damage is that it eats away at the walls of your foundation. By the time you see the water it will have already made a hole in the foundation wall of your basement.
You first need to find the source of the water. Knowing where the water is coming in is key. Now that you have decided to fix your basement you have to decide what type of system you need to fix your basement problem.
Internal Versus External Basement Waterproofing
There are two types of systems to fix your leaky basement. An outside system is called an external system. External basement waterproofing systems involve digging up the foundation and putting layers of epoxy against your wall from the outside and then back filling it with gravel and pipe. This causes the water to run away from your house. This process is then completed with the addition of an external sump pump, which ensures the water stays away from the foundation of your home.
The internal water management system involves digging a trench on the inside of your house down to the footer. Then a PVC pipe is placed next to the footer which is sloped to a sump pump. The sump pump pumps the water out of the house to a discharge line that runs away from the house. This solution will solve your basement problem forever if it is installed the right way. Again, it is very important to fix your basement water problem because one night you can have water coming in just causing your carpet to get a bit wet and the next night you can have a foundation crack. Letting a water problem go can lead to more damage and thus more money being spent to fix that damage.
Waterproofing stops the water from coming in the house all together. The only way to do this is to dig down from the outside of your house and expose the basement wall and then waterproof the outside wall preventing any water from penetrating. Water management is an inside system that most home owners get installed. It’s a system that allows water to come into your house through a PVC pipe system which channels that water to a sump pump which pumps the water away from your house. Having an inside system installed is best way to fix your leaky basement and the most cost effective way as well.
Now the next step is having an waterproofing expert come out and examine your basement and explain to you why his or her system will not clog and will solve your basement problem. You can find an expert online or through the yellow pages. Its best to go with an older company that has been around longer and knows what they are doing and also has a track record of happy customers.
SAN-TRED is an affordable alternative to other costly waterproofing methods