Is your basement a warm and cozy space with everything you could need for a family room or kids’ playroom? Or do you wish it was? The first step if you want to use your basement for living space or even just to store stuff, is basement waterproofing. Nearly all basements suffer from water damage, which can destroy your belongings and weaken the foundations of your home. Basement waterproofing services can help you turn your basement into a comfortable and dry space for living or storage.
Sources of water damage
Unfortunately, basements and water damage just seem to go together. There can be many sources of water getting into basements: drips, leaky faucets, leaking or burst pipes, heavy rainfall or icemelt, and actual flooding. All of which can cause expensive damage to your belongings and weaken the very foundations of your home.
In fact 98% of all basements will suffer some kind of water damage. Water damage accounted for more than one-fourth, or 26.4%, of all insurance claims in the U.S. in 2013. Floods are the leading type of natural disaster in the U.S. according to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and lead to an average of over $3 billion in claims each year.
Fortunately basement waterproofing services and some simple precautions can keep most basements safe and dry.
Simple steps to prevent water damage
Simple steps like foundation repair, fixing leaks in basement walls, and other home waterproofing solutions can prevent a great deal of damage. Repairing a cracked foundation is necessary if the cracks are wider than one fourth of an inch, or if there are stair step cracks in blocks or bricks.
Landscaping and plantings should keep in mind that water runoff should be directed away from the foundations of the house. The ground around the foundations of the house should have a slope of at least six inches for every ten feet, so water can drain away from the house instead of collecting at the foundation. Plantings should be kept at least 2 feet away from the foundation. Plants should be placed deep enough in the soil so that they don’t direct water towards the foundation.
Home waterproofing services can keep your foundations secure
Basement waterproofing services can help you take these steps to protect your home. In fact a
full service basement waterproofing company will do all of these and more. They will
- Epoxy inject foundation cracks
- Install window wells
- Replace and install sump pumps
- Fix or install new drain tile systems
- Install crawl space liners to keep them moisture free
- Dig discharge lines
A leaky or wet basement is a sure sign of trouble in the future. A basement waterproofing company can help to keep your basement dry and foundations secure.