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Keeping The Water Away

Most basement leaks tend to be sporadic – depending on the season and levels of precipitation

There’s been heavy rainfall in Wasaga Beach and the Georgian Triangle throughout the spring and summer of 2009. Moisture has to be a concern for homeowners and buyers alike. Unexpected leaks and excess moisture can take their toll, leaving behind mould and mildew that not only have an offensive odour, but can cause future health problems. Excess moisture can even cause structural damage to the property.

Remedies for basement leakage depend on the source problem. Cracks in poured concrete basement walls can sometimes be successfully repaired from the inside. Patching doesn’t remove the problem and usually only works if the problem is very minor. The water may simply find another way in.

Eliminating or reducing the source of the water is a good start to keeping a basement dry. Eaves troughs and downspouts shouldn’t leak or overflow, and the downspouts should be angled to discharge water at least six feet from the house.

Regrading the exterior to drain water away from the building is one of the most effective ways to reduce water seepage. Make sure land around the house slopes away from the house. That will solve nine out of 10 wet basement problems. Ideally, the ground should slope down and away from the house at a rate of one inch per foot for the first six feet.

In older homes that don’t have weeping tiles (a drainage system at the footing level of the home) or damp proofing, and in cases when basement leakage can’t be eliminated or reduced by controlling the source water, more serious measures may be necessary. It may be necessary to damp proof the outside walls, and to provide or replace the perimeter drainage tile system.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 at 8:05 am and is filed under The World Of Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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