waterproof basements

Flood Prevention

Have you ever gone down to your basement after a heavy rainfall to find the floor covered with water? Flooding can cause a number of different problems over time including eventual property damage, possibly leading to higher insurance costs and lowering property value. It may also require time and effort to clean up afterwards, so, needless to say, most people are not very fond of the idea of a flooded basement. If you have experienced flooding, or if you're worried that you might, here are several things you can do to help reduce flooding in your basement:

Adjust the Gradient

In some cases, the surrounding land may slope towards the base of your house in certain places. The slopes can be very large or, more likely, very small. If this is the case, then the best way to combat the effects would be to create a barrier of dirt around your home. One thing to be wary of is the distance from your walls: If you actually pile the dirt against the walls, then, if they are made from wood, the accumulated moisture will cause them to rot over time and you'll have a large amount of bugs making their home there. If you put the mound too far from the wall then it will have little effect.

The best solution for wooden walls is to pile the dirt at a height that looks about right (it doesn't have to be awkwardly high, we put about 6 inches) and place the peak about a foot from the wall (do what works for you). The slope should be steep on the wall side and shallower on the side that faces away from the wall (it should slope away from the house for around 6 feet). Were it steep on the side facing away from the house, water would collect there during rain. A shallower slope also blends in better with the surroundings. Some may wonder why make it steep on the house side? True, rainwater can still fall in that area, but consider how much of the water that seeps into your basement actually consists of this particular rainwater - very little. Most will be from the water that flows down surrounding slopes.

If you need somewhere to get dirt, one good place is from higher up on the surrounding slope. This helps to even the land, meaning it additionally reduces the threat of flooding. The disadvantage is that, if grass or other plants are growing in the area, then this will make it slightly less visually appealing and you will probably want to purchase some grass seed to plant in the area. This may sound like more trouble than it is - if you decide that you wish to use a mound of dirt as a flood barrier then it would be a good idea to plant some grass on it anyways. There are two reasons for this. The first, once again, would be visual appeal, and the second is because the roots of the grass will help to hold the dirt in place (rain and wind could wear it down over time a lot faster without roots in it).

Check Your Basement Walls for Cracks

Sometimes cracks in the concrete foundation of your home may be the path that the water chooses to enter your basement. The best way to repair cracks in your walls is through the process of crack injection. What you inject depends upon the width of the cracks: for cracks up to half an inch urethane or epoxy crack filler (don't just use regular epoxy) should work. For wider cracks you should first put in some sand and then add the epoxy crack filler.

I'm no expert on this particular topic, so if I was you I'd be careful when it comes to a cracking foundation- this is the thing that holds up your house! Don't just fill it up; make sure the cracking isn't something more serious than just an entrance for rainwater (you may want a professional opinion on it).

French Drains

French drains are another effective way to protect your basement from flooding. Basically, you just dig a trench around your house, fill it with gravel, and viola! You've got yourself a French drain. A good idea would be to dig a path where the collected water flows away from your home, possibly leading into your yard somewhere away from your house. If you want to make it more effective, you can place a pipe along the bottom, giving the water a clearer path to travel by. This is also a good method to combine with adjusting the gradient: If you dig the trench at the base of the slope facing away from your house, then the two methods can coincide at an increased level of effectiveness. If you don't like the look then you can do what we did and cover it with a thin layer of dirt. This might lower the efficiency a bit, but it's still better than nothing.

Sump Pumps and Indoor Drains

If you have a flooding problem and you don't have a sump pump, then you should probably get one. Basically, a sump pump is a pump that you stick in your basement floor (in a sump pit). There are two main ways that they can be set up. If your basement is lower than the water table, then the sump pit is dug in the floor and the sump pump is used to pump water out if it rises too high. The other way is where water is fed to the sump pit by pipes set around the foundation. Sometimes, a French drain is dug around the inside of the walls in the basement floor collecting water that seeps in and carrying it to the sump pit (you may be able to do this yourself but it's a bit tough with a cement floor).