What Are The Cause And Prevention Of Basement Flooding

We are going to cover basement flooding in two sections. The first section will be the causes of flooding and the second section will be how to protect the basement.

The causes of flooding.

Flooding is caused when the water that should stay outside of the house moves into the house. This water may be an unusual occurrence or it may be an everyday problem.  From the homeowner's perspective, the unusual occurrence is easier to deal with and explain.  This may be a sudden rise in the river, excessive rainfall, rapidly melting snow, or a malfunction of the water line.

If the problem is an ongoing battle, it may be as simple as a crack in the basement concrete or as complex as a poor house design, an underground spring, or being the lowest area of the neighborhood.  By understanding the problem, the homeowner can take steps to correct it or to reduce the impact.

On the inside of the basement, you can apply a waterproof sealer to the floor and walls. This will keep the basement dry inside as it does not allow internal moisture to seep into the concrete. It will not stop the water infiltration from the outside of the walls. This process is easy to do and inexpensive. You just clean, patch and seal the basement walls and floor with a special waterproof substance.

If water accumulates regularly, you can install a sump pump. This is a special pump that sits in a shallow hole. When the water that is drained into the hole reaches a certain level, the sump pump will start and automatically move this water to another location, usually into the sewer or septic.

Outside you walk around the house and look at it. Does the ground sloped away from the house? If the ground against the house is lower than the yard, any water will run to the basement walls causing basement flooding. The land against the house should be higher than the landscaping for at least 10 feet in all directions to help in waterproofing a basement. If this is the problem, this is the easiest and least expensive correction to make. You change the landscaping to protect the house. Also you will check your rain gutters and make sure the down spout has an extension that runs 10 feet downhill from the house.

If you find that the soil stays wet and will continue to weep water into the basement. you can install a French drain system. This is an 8 to 10 inch perforated pipe placed in a bed of gravel at the bottom of your footings. The water that comes against the basement will run down the side of the wall and into the pipe and be filtered away into a drainage area. For new construction, there are several products that will seal the outside of the basement and foundation. Both of these are expensive repairs on an existing home.

You can protect against basement flooding and damage by understanding what is causing the problem and taking steps to correct it.