What are Basement Waterproofing Systems?
How do waterproofing systems work in the basement and what exactly are they? To answer that question, let’s first look at historically conventional basement waterproofing and how it is supposed to work.
If you imagine how a basement is first built, when the house it is sited in was first conceived, then basically the following happens:
In case you are curious to know how the basement is built, you will see that the idea was first conceived in the design and then the next steps follow. It starts with the digging of a big hole, then the footer or foundations are laid. After the base is done, the walls of the basement are built and then only the rest of the house is constructed.
The important point to note is the first one in the list above - that big hole in the ground. When basement walls are constructed there is an area outside the walls that must be filled. This void gets filled with loose backfill. The problem here is that water looks for the path of least resistance, and you’ve just given it just that with a huge pile of loose backfill, no matter how well it’s been compacted.
Water will continuously seep into this area. The conventional basement waterproofing system provides some form of drainage pipe for this water to drain away, but the problem with this is that often these pipes get silted up. It’s natural enough, the water is bringing all sorts of suspension with it. The system can overload if the pipes get over-filled and then the pressure of the built up water would be concentrated on the outer basement walls. If there are crevices in the walls, water will push through even if the basement walls are waterproofed.
This type of problem doesn’t usually go away because the pipes that are supposed to take away the excess water gradually worsen over time.
Many times there is simply no access to these pipes which is a huge oversight. Basement waterproofing is also applied to the external walls of the basement to try and keep the water out. Usually this is called a tanked system.
If you want to find out if you have water inside the concrete block of your walls simply tap a hole into the concrete block, near the floor, and see if you have water coming out of this block then you may want to consider a drained cavity waterproofing system this system drains the water from your walls, much the same way you just did, by adding drain holes in the bottom blocks that allows those areas to drain into a type of interior french drain system. To protect the property water is controlled, collected and then made to pass through hidden drainage channels which are either natural drainage or sump pumps.
The waterproofing systems for basement are better systems because they are installed internally and have easy access ports for removing the silt etc. It takes minimal disturbance to the original basement where traditional tanking or other methods have failed.
In conclusion, you want a basement waterproofing system that will deliver:
- a permanent or long term fix
-stop water through the floor and walls
-not disturb the exterior appearance of your home
- usually be an approved waterproofing method for home loans
-more affordable than other methods
You want to be sure to choose a reliable waterproofer for your home, keep in mind that it will greatly increase the value by far more than what you initally paid.
Waterproofing your home is an investment in its value.
Start using the waterproofing system for your basement with no hassle or hard work. If you wish the the basics and ensure that you have a hassle free and cheap experience, visit , a website describing the plus and minus points of a water proofing system.
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