Monday, May 11, 2015

The Impact of a Great Foundation Waterproofing

http://canton-de-levens.com/improve-your-energy-bills-with-proper-crawlspace-repairs/
The Impact of a Great Foundation Waterproofing
Recently we received a call from a prospective client that had water in her basement. She found our company through a search on the Internet and mentioned our approach to waterproofing foundations looked like more of a long-term solution than some of our competitors which offered foundation waterproofing solutions working from the within, something that truly is more of a temporary fix and it prompted me to write this short article to discuss the correct approach to waterproofing your foundation.

As a property owner, your most significant investment is probably your home, but not only is it an investment, it is your house, a place where you keep your family safe, secure, and warm and too often we stumble upon houses that have moisture or water in their crawlspace or basement, this can result in all sorts of issues from damage to health problems associated with mold.

Thankfully, there are long-term solutions to waterproofing your foundation. There is a saying "if your drainage is a mess, call us". This is truly where everything starts, your drainage. Since we are based in the soggy and water saturated area of Seattle and the Greater Puget Noise we have seen these problems turn up various times, even after another waterproofing contractor has completed their supposed fixes working from the within, but we know the problems come from the outside.

It's similar to the analogy of a doctor providing you medicine to hide a problem, rather than identify what the problem is, and typically our diagnosis results in resolving the drainage problem, rather than offering temporary fixes to hide the problem.

Here is typically what your solution should involve for waterproofing your house and foundation. A home that is built on a foundation should always have what is called footing drains that may or may not be tied into your rain gutter drains surrounding the boundary of your home. If you have water in your basement, it is many times because of failed footing drains if there are any footing drains, so what is needed to be done is to first excavate around the boundary of your foundation.

At this point it is important to excavate to the base of the foundation and put a waterproofing membrane around the entire foundation, it is important to note, that some contractors may put an alternative material, one that does not produce a true waterproofing membrane. After the membrane is applied, it is time to install your new footing drains utilizing perforated pipe, you can ask your local supplier for comprehensive directions. Make sure all your footing drains are sloped in the direction to your discharge point away from your home, possibly even to a drywell.

You have now completed a two part waterproofing system for your home and at this point water should not be penetrating your home, but you are not quite finished. You still need to purchase and fill trench with drain rock, cover with filter fabric, and backfill before you are totally finished.

I understand visualizing the process can be complicated, particularly if you have decks, outdoor patios, driveways, landscaping, etc. around your foundation, that's why it is best to always utilize a qualified waterproofing contractor in your area. Just make sure they utilize an approach just like the solutions we suggested in this short article, one that offers a long-term solution with a 100 % lifetime assurance.

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