How do waterproofing systems work in the basement and what exactly are they? Let’s take a look at the time and tested waterproofing of basement and how it works.
If you imagine how a basement is first built, when the house it is sited in was first conceived, then basically the following happens:
If you can see a home being built the contractor first surveys the lot using the blueprints for the home to be built; then he sights out the lot to find out the best place to start digging and grading the property, then he lays the footer or foundation and begins building the basement walls, lastly the balance of the home follows.
The important point to note is the first one in the list above - that big hole in the ground. When the walls of the basement are built, there is always a gap left outside the walls which needs to be filled. This void gets filled with loose backfill. Well compacted or not, introducing a huge pile of loose backfill is going to cause problems. Water will always flow in the path of least resistance.
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. As the water comes it brings all sorts of suspension with it and that is to be expected as it is natural. 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. So while the walls of the basement may be waterproofed in some way, water, as you probably already know, will usually find a way through the tiniest of gaps.
This kind of situation is persistent because the tubes that should drain the excess water eventually deteriorate.
Many times there is simply no access to these pipes which is a huge oversight. In an attempt to keep excess moisture out basement waterproofing also can be put onto the outer walls of the basement. This is often referred to as 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. Water is controlled, collected and allowed to flow through hidden drainage channels either to natural drainage or to a sump pump where the water is removed away from the property.
Basement waterproofing systems are reputedly a better system in that they are installed internally, have easy access ports for removing any silt and can be applied to basements where traditional tanking or other methods have failed but with minimal disturbance to the original basement.
So to summarise, a good basement waterproofing system will:
- a permanent or long term fix
-stop water through the floor and walls
- not disturb landscaping, decks, patios, driveways, etc
-an approved method by home loan lenders
- often be substantially cheaper than other waterproofing 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.
You should look at waterproofing not as an expense but as an investment in the value of your home.
Start using the waterproofing system for your basement with no hassle or hard work. Teach yourself the important steps and get an environment lacking problems by visiting a basement waterproofing systems website As with most companies you can now get information on basement waterproofing systems via an online website.