A Complete Guide to Basement Waterproofing
Some of the qualities are more essential for your home’s health than its actual ability to stay dry, even in the wettest conditions. When your homes have basements – those need to be ratcheted up more due to their location on the below-grade level. A completely dried basement can actually enhance your living space while providing you with an additional area. Moreover, a finished basement – even an unfinished basement needs to be dried for better use. It can increase your home’s value while guaranteeing the good condition of your overall home structure. Let our basement designers in Houston help you deal with severe basement issues too that arise due to water damages.
Why does your Basement need to be Dry?
Your basement needs to stay dry if you want to put them to better use but when you think about adding living space, our basement designers in Houston can help. Even if your home is 1,000 square feet, a well-planned basement finishing project can transform it to 2,000 square feet. With this, the chances of creating a dry space increase with reliable renovations. Few surfaces in the finished basements tolerate moisture well, and these include dry walls, carpeting, paint, and even hard flooring.
If you are not planning to leave your home due to a dull basement, you still need to keep your basement as dry as possible with useful tips and tricks. Moisture does not get away from the building material that ultimately leads to mold and mildew. No doubt, not all molds are harmful or toxic, but some molds can produce extremely harmful mycotoxins.
Basics of Waterproofing with Basement Designers in Houston
Waterproofing your basement is not a single project, but it needs quick fixes, such as coating the basement from its interiors or clearing gutters. Along with that, you need to waterproof a group of interlocking projects that can take your basement to the driest condition. Think of your houses with three concentric rings or zones –
- The outermost
- The middle one
- The inner zone
When you divide your space into these zones, it becomes easier for you to work on keeping your basements drier to the fullest. The outermost is actually the space outside the home that is not connected to the home. It includes an improperly graded area that sends water towards your house. You can set up your goal for this area that can stop the water before it can reach your property.
The middle zone is your home’s exterior envelope, including foundation walls, gutters, windows, and well covers. Here you need to make sure that the water eliminations are working well and keeping the water from entering your space.
Finally, the inner ring is everything inside your basements and covers each space that your basement contains.
Causes of a Wet Basement
Poorly graded soil – The space next to your property that actually slopes back to your home can send water along with the foundation. From there, it can seep into your home, causing wetness and impacting the overall basement area.
Missing drain gutters – If your gutters are blocked, these can allow water to drip over the sides and next to the foundations, impacting your basements badly. Downspouts can be the missing pieces that work efficiently to send water away from your home. So, make sure your home has the one to keep your basement dry enough.
Poorly designed window wells – Window wells are also known as the bigger holes in the space that build up around the basement windows affecting them severely. You need to look after them and make sure the wells can actually pool up with the water.
Poorly installed window well covers – window wells are designed perfectly to prevent the trash and water from reaching your basement windows. If covers are loose-fitting or misplaced, water can reach while breaking through the basement windows.
Ineffective drain tile – Drain tiles are the buried drainage systems built around a home’s outer side. These are a misnomer as these are not the tiles but a pipe, and these can become blocked or crushed due to outer elements.
Blocked drains – French drains are the drainage systems that can get blocked with the soil or roots. You need to keep a regular check on them to look after the elements that can block or clog them.
Structural cracks – Cracks in the foundations can also make the water get into the basements, impacting them badly.
Cost of Basement Waterproofing
The cost of undertaking a basement waterproofing project ranges depending on the type of defect it actually has. When you are going to add the whole waterproofing plan except for one element, such as interior waterproofing or gutter extensions, it can cost more than $50. You need to keep at least $250-$300 with you to make things achievable for you as well as the project.
Hiring professionals for home renovation in Houston to install a French drain can cost between $20 to $30 if taken as a linear foot. You can also re-grade the soil all by yourself without using any material. It can only cost you for the use of tools and nothing else.
The most suitable method you can even adopt is to hire professionals who can sort out the problem with exterior methods of waterproofing your basements. If it goes well, you don’t have to employ anyone for interior methods, but it does not mean you can always ignore the interiors. Always do a double check on everything to keep your basements in their best possible conditions so that the situations cannot become worse as they are now.
No doubt, basement waterproofing can also lead to various problems if your old home has insufficient or poor waterproofing. Seepage can also even severe damage if those are not addressed appropriately, so once you need to get the issues fixed by the professionals as soon as possible. Don’t let the same problem arise in the future – our professionals can provide you a basement designing that you always need for your home.