Wet Basement Problems?

Nothing is more frustrating than dealing with a wet basement. It can damage walls and flooring and ruin irreplaceable things like photo albums and family heirlooms. But knowing the causes of wet basements and how to prevent water damage can help avoid this frustration.

In order to prevent wet basements, it is important to understand where the water is coming from.

There are four common sources of water that seeps into basements:

• Surface water running down foundation walls
• Groundwater in water-saturated soils being pushed into the basement by hydrostatic pressure
• Storm sewer water from the municipal storm sewer system backing up into the home's existing perimeter foundation drain and leaking into the basement
• Sanitary sewer water from a combined municipal storm/sanitary sewer system backing up into the home's drain system, causing sewer water to come up through sink drains and floor drains on lower levels.

When homeowners experience wet basements for the first time, it is imperative to determine if the water problems are going to reoccur or if it was a one-time event. Essential to solving this question is determining where the water is coming from.

Perimeter Drainage System  Field Drainage System With Sump

The principal weapon to combat such problems is your home's perimeter drainage system. Unfortunately, most houses built locally prior to the mid-1980's have antiquated clay or concrete tile and "Big-O" systems, or, in the case of older homes, sometimes no drainage at all.

Our Modern drainage systems consist of continuous CSA Approved PVC plastic pipe bedded in a layer of drain rock.

A complete drainage system includes

• Two separate runs of pipe:

• 4" perforated pipe (footing drain) at the base of the foundation dedicated to picking up the ground water which threatens to seep through the foundation.
• 3" or 4" solid pipe (rainwater lead) sitting above the perforated pipe to take away roof water being channeled into the system by way of the gutters and downspouts.

The two-pipe system ensures that extra rain water from the roof is not being sent into pipes which are already working hard to take water away from the foundation. The two pipes combine past the low point of the foundation into a solid pipe traveling off the property into a sump and the city's storm drain mains.