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Basements are usually one or more floors that are below the ground floor of your building. Its construction provides valuable space in your commercial and residential construction. A basement is also known as a cellar. It gives you extra space without compromising your indoor or outdoor space. Sometimes, water running in and out of your house causes basement dampness or flooding with years of wear and tear. That’s when you should consider getting basement waterproofing to protect your basement from seeping water. In this article, we’ll get familiar with the concept of basement waterproofing, its causes, methods, and advantages in detail. Let’s get started!
What is Basement Waterproofing?
Basement waterproofing is a method where your hired professionals use different techniques to block unnecessary water seeping inside your basement. In exterior basement waterproofing, your skilled professionals will excavate the walls outside your foundation to preserve the structural integrity. Similarly, in interior sealants, sealants are applied to your basement’s wall and floor.
This process helps you protect and seal your basement from further water damage. Waterproofing your basement solves your house’s moisture problem, and you’ll be able to live in a safe and secure house.
While waterproofing your cellar, the professionals will perform an inspection, either for free or at a cost. Then, they’ll choose a suitable method and start their work according to your basement’s requirements.
Causes of a Wet Basement
You can face a wet basement due to various reasons. To make things easier for you to understand, we’ve listed down some of the most common reasons that cause a wet basement:
1. Condensation
Condensation is the reverse of vaporization. When there’s condensation, the basement’s gas phase turns into the liquid phase. As a result, you’ll see water sports, puddles, or droplets on your basement wall or floor. When you see this sign, you should consider waterproofing your basement.
2. Humidity
In the summer, when the cool air of your basement collides with external hot air, it causes humidity in your basement. Sometimes, a dehumidifier might help, but sometimes, it might not. However, when you fail to maintain your basement's humidity, it causes basement wetness.
3. Cracked Foundation
When there are crevices and cracks in your foundation, water seeps into your basement, which leads to wet basements. Cracked foundations can result from various factors, such as expansive soils, plumbing leaks, tree roots, drainage, earthquakes, poor soil, and more.
4. Plumbing Leaks:
Your basement is usually a dark and hidden space. Due to this, you might forget to check and repair it from time to time. If you forget to check it, you sometimes deal with different plumbing issues. We’d suggest you check your basement’s plumbing if you’re facing wet basement issues.
5. Mold Growth
The basement of your house is usually deprived of natural light. Due to this, you can maintain a good humidity level in your basement. Mold usually grows in damp places, so that you can face mold growth issues in your basement. When mold grows in your house, you’ll face a degradation of indoor air quality. Eventually, it will make your basement weak and wet.
6. Poor Drainage
Most basements are not well managed enough to face water drainage problems. As a result, they can’t handle an overflow of excessive water, which leads to a wet basement.
Methods of Basement Waterproofing
Check out our top four basement waterproofing methods as follows:
1. Interior Waterproofing
If you’re facing water issues in your basement due to condensation, that’s when you should consider doing interior waterproofing in the basement. This method redirects water that will enter your building into the drainage system. The coatings will be done on your basement’s floor and walls to prevent basement leakage.
Interior waterproofing is a perfect solution for you if you’re looking for an affordable and effective method. So, you should consider hiring a professional who is familiar with what they’re doing. If you do so, you’ll be able to rely on the waterproofing for many years to come.
2. Exterior Waterproofing
Exterior waterproofing is one of the most reliable waterproofing methods for your basement. This method prevents water from entering your house, so you’ll have no fear of damage inside the basement. In this method, your waterproofing service provider will fully excavate on the bottom and around your foundation to make it strong. This way, external water won’t seep inside your house's foundation walls at any cost. Polymers are used to coat the exterior of your house, which cures all the water issues instantly.
3. Foundation Crack Injections
In this method, your house foundation wall cracks are repaired from the inside without extracting any soil. The professionals you hire inject different types of liquid, like epoxy or polyurethane, around the cracked part. This process hardens your foundation, which prevents water from seeping inside your house.
This method is usually used to cover up cracks that aren’t too huge and can be repaired instantly. However, if you have seen large cracks around your foundation, we suggest you not use this method.
4. Drainage Systems
You get moisture in your basement when there’s drainage. If you want to get rid of drainage in order to keep your basement area dry. The drainage system available out there will redirect water away from your house foundation. Different kinds of soil drain away in different ways, so before installing any drainage system in your house, you should consider checking your soil type.
After that, you can install a sump pump to collect water that exists around your foundation or basement. No matter which drainage system you want to install in your home, it’s better to consult a professional before doing so.
Advantages of Doing Basement Waterproofing
We all wish to live in a problem-free house. With basement waterproofing, you can do so. To help you understand, we’ve listed some of the top advantages of waterproofing your basement.
Increases your house value: When you decide to waterproof your basement, you can count it as an aspect of increasing your house value. A healthy home and lifestyle can increase your home value by up to 25%.
Prevents water damage: If you don’t take care of your basement issues on time, it leads to severe issues like structural damage. To avoid this, we’d suggest you do waterproofing on time and save your basement from damage.
Reduce your energy bills: When your basement is not waterproofed, you need to heat and cool your house more to maintain humidity. But once you waterproof your home, you need to spend less on your water and electricity bills.
Enhance structural integrity: When water enters your basement from unexpected sources and places, it destroys your house's structure. You can protect your house against the damage of structural elements with basement waterproofing.
Improve air quality: When you do the basement waterproofing of your house, there’s no growth of mold, fungi, or bacteria. This will improve the air quality in your house and positively impact your health.
Conclusion
If you want to protect your basement, house, and belongings from water, doing basement waterproofing through right way is a must. It helps you maintain the structural integrity and visual appearance of your house. Our house is undoubtedly our biggest investment. Sometimes, we need to do its repair and maintenance to make sure that your basement, foundation, and other parts are in the right condition. In this blog, we’ve covered everything that you need to know about your basement and its waterproofing methods. We wish you all the best in waterproofing your basement and living in a safe and secure house.
