What to do if you have water in your basement
If you get water in the basement after storms or heavy rain, here's what you should do.
What to do if you have water in your basement
Your basement constantly faces the pressure of the soil that surrounds it. That soil contains water, which builds up against the foundation walls adding pressure, as the water flows to the area of least resistance. This situation is exacerbated in areas with high groundwater or during heavy rainstorms.
While often a cause of panic for homeowners, water in the basement is not always the nightmare that you imagine. If you get water in your basement after storms or heavy rain, here's what you should do.
What to Do If Your Basement Leaks When It Rains
1. Check the grading around your home
Grading involves landscaping to create a downward slope from your home's foundation to the rest of the yard. Proper grading around your home is the natural, first line of defense to preventing water from building up against the foundation walls. It's the pressure from this build-up that causes your basement to leak during heavy rain. If grading slopes away from your home, you'll have much better odds of allowing gravity to keep water away from your foundation.
2. Check the gutters and downspouts
Once you're satisfied that your home's foundation has proper grading, it's important to inspect your gutters and downspouts. Efficient gutters and downspouts play a critical role in directing rainwater away from your home, and poorly installed or nonexistent rain gutters can be the cause of basement flooding, especially during heavy rainfall. If you find your gutters are clogged, clear them and identify the cause. You can simulate rainfall and test your gutters by spraying water from a hose onto your roof. If you observe water pooling, you may want to extend downspouts further away from the foundation. It's recommended that downspouts extend at least six feet away from the foundation of your home.
3. Inspect basement walls and floors for cracks
Obvious openings like basement windows often leak, but water can also seep into your basement through cracks in the walls or through the basement floor. The good news is that many cracks can be fixed easily, but they should be inspected by a professional.
Wall and floor cracks are mostly caused by foundation settlement, but it's important to realize that even hairline cracks or tiny spaces between the foundation footing and the wall can be enough to cause serious issues, and they will almost always get worse over time. If you do find cracks in your basement walls or floors, do not ignore them! Oftentimes, a crack injection is a simple but very effective way of resolving the issue before it gets worse.
If the cause of the water in your basement eludes you, or if you need help assessing how to best fix the problem, call a professional waterproofing company.
Quality Waterproofing is a local, veteran-owned, family-owned waterproofing company that has been serving the Dayton area since 2005. From relatively simple repairs including cracks in basement walls, to more complex issues that require foundation repairs and the installation of drainage systems, they have handled just about every water in basement scenario you can think of.
Quality Waterproofing will send one of their experienced professionals to your home to inspect and identify the problem, answer any questions you have, and leave you with a free, no-obligation estimate.
Don’t wait until it starts raining! If you have a wet basement, call the Dayton Office at 937-673-1661. Visit their website at quality-waterproofing.com
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