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Strategies for Preventing a Wet Basement
posted at 2018-10-10
"It's raining hard out there. I should check the basement. Oh, good golly!" Sound familiar? Is there really any such thing as a waterproof basement?
On our first visit to our current home five years ago, it was clear that the basement flooded regularly - up to three (3) inches several times each year. The house was constructed in 1942 and included an evolving series of sump pump wells. We took on the challenge to make this home dry. Here, we discuss how we are winning the battle!
This is not an exhaustive list of dry-basement strategies but will inform your efforts to control water on your property. There are many strategies out there, but these methods have worked very well for us in Mount Washington, Maryland. They are relatively low-cost, but some are labor-intensive. Professional landscapers, civil engineers, plumbers, and other trades can help.
Here are some ways to prevent water from reaching your house, to keep your basement dry.
1. DRAIN ROOF RAIN WATER AWAY: Annually, do a check to determine where your roof's rain water goes. All gutters should be secure - not bowing down in the middle. Rain should drain directly into downspouts even in the strongest rain. Sometimes, gutters and downspouts must be increased in size. Downspouts are best that discharge into "rain leaders" - pipes in the ground that discharge downhill or at street curbs. You can test a rain leader by lifting off the downspout and running a hose in the ground leader. If it fills and overflows, this pipe needs work; to clear or repair a broken pipe. If it keeps accepting hose water, go and find where it comes out. Downspouts MUST NEVER dump next to foundation walls. Continuously wet basement walls can soften supporting soils causing structural cracks, drafty rooms, and a wet basement.
Categories: General
