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Bruen Custom Building, LLC |
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New Jersey's Design / Build Remodeler |
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Bruen Custom Building, LLC |
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New Jersey's Design / Build Remodeler |
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In a perfect world you want a dry basement, but in our area that is not always possible. But do not lose heart. There are some proven strategies:
You should habe about 8" of foundation showing before you reach the ground level. Over time, mulch and leaves build up and decay, becoming valiable soil, but make sure you do not let it build up too high.
Buy a dehumidifier and get it set up in the basement. Ideally set it up so that you don't have to go down and empty it each day, but rather set it up so that it drains into a basement sink.
Go outside and look at the soil around your house. The ground should slant away from the foundation - a 15 degree pitch away from the house for the first six feet is recommended. This is so that when it rains the water will run away from the foundation - not towards it. Over time the soil tends to compact around the foundation (due to having been backfilled) and it collects water.
Shrubs and trees that are too close to the foundation can exert tremendous forces on the foundation and lead to cracks in your foundation walls. In extreme cases these forces can push a foundation wall in so far that it results in some degree of foundation failure.
Have your gutters and leaders set up so that they direct the water away from the house at least three feet - six feet is better. Add an extension and a splashblock to route it away. The shrubs can hide the leader so that it does not look unsightly.
In our are with so many trees, clean your gutters at least two times a year. Ideally, pay someone to do this, as it is particularly dangerous. We have a good friend who was badly hurt cleaning his gutters. Costs vary, but most homes cost under $100 per cleaning.
This is a last resort, and is very expensive, is rarely done, and is not often a recommended course of action...BUT, you can have the soil around your foundation fully excavated and then a number of systems can be applied to the exterior of your foundation walls to control water infiltration. It is often better to move on to one of the water management systems described below.
But what if you've done all of this and you are still getting water into your basement?
In that case we move on to internal water management. The water is still getting in. So let's attempt to control it so it does as little damage as possible.
Some homes already have a hole built in to the basement floor for a pump that will take water and pump it out-side of the basement. If that is the case, you can add a sump pump, direct the output of the pump to the exterior of the house and away from the foundation for at least six feet. Often that will solve the problem. (until the electric goes out in a storm)
If you don't already have the sump hole, one can be dug into your floor.
This can make a huge difference, and how effective it is has much to do with how your basement slab was built and whether there is internal drainage under your slab.
A more involved approach involves putting drainage pipes under the perimeter of your basement floor, and then directing those pipes to the sump pump pit to be expelled to the exterior by the sump pump. While more expensive than some of the other fixes, these systems can work phenominally well if they are set up and executed properly. Watch whom you choose to build such a system - the details do matter. Corners should be piped with elbows, NOT just butted together with straight pipe. And the trench that the pipes are set into should have proper pitch and should be smooth. There should also be cleanouts positioned throughout the system to allow for regular servicing of the system.