A wet basement does not necessarily indicate that you have a poorly built home. In fact, a lot of cement built houses have water problems in their basement. Learning how to do basement waterproofing should help you to take care of such a problem.
Simultaneously, if you learn to do it yourself, you can save a lot of money by cutting down on labor costs. Wet Basement Causes The most common reason behind basements getting wet is because the foundations underneath the house are not reinforced with proper water proofing materials. A bituminous waterproofing should be used to seal the foundations of the walls, inside and out.
Old houses are especially prone to wet basements perhaps because waterproofing materials in the past are not as sophisticated as they are now. Another reason is that some houses or buildings are built on wet land such as near rivers or lakes. Again, proper waterproofing is required to keep basements as dry as possible.
When To Do It If you are building a new house or building then this is one of the first measures you should take when the foundation has been built. Waterproofing a basement efficiently when it is first built will ensure that it will last for a long time. This is also the best time to do basement waterproofing because it's much easier to get into small spaces before they are closed off due to constructions, such as corners and even areas where drainage pipes will be installed. Waterproofing Old Houses If you are the owner of a fairly old house, the first thing you will want to do is inspect the basement walls.
You will also need to look at the areas where drainage pipes have been installed. If you need to re-waterproof the walls and floors then you will need to use a multi-layer membrane system that will require you to epoxy the cracks in the basement and also outside around the floor area of the house. You can also use impervious hot tar to seal up cracks in and outside of the basement walls. If you see that there is no improvement with the basement condition, then that is the time when you can call for the advice of experts. Otherwise, you can do this by yourself or with the help of friends. Exterior Attention Effective waterproofing means that the outside of a basement is attended to first.
Observing the way water flows outside the basement area will help one devise a channeling system. One system includes digging small ditches to direct water away from flowing towards the house. The water can be redirected to another area that can be drained later on. Rebuilding One can also consider rebuilding the basement of a house or building.
It can be done without destroying the foundations. The areas that need the most attention are the walls and floors by adding layers of cement and tar where it is required. The basement will be dry and the foundation will be stronger after this application. Any broken pipes should also be attended to and perhaps replaced. Waterproofing Products Proper waterproofing means using the right products. The traditional way is to use cement for the walls and floors.
Likewise, tar can be used to cover cracks and thus disallows water from seeping through those cracks. But there are new products on the market that are quite expensive to use, like epoxy. They have proven not to be more effective than traditional ways but there is promise in the technology to improve in the future. Epoxy can be injected into cracks in the wall and again this can be quite expensive. A dry basement is important for any house.
This is especially true for houses that are more than 20 years old. Remember that a damp basement usually means that there is a leak or damaged foundation somewhere that needs to be repaired. Learning how to do basement waterproofing and knowing when to waterproof will save your basement and perhaps a little money if done alone.
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