Improving Drainage Around Your Home Is Often An Important Part Of Basement Waterproofing
Posted on: 9 February 2021
If your basement gets wet when it rains, your property might have a drainage problem. Water is supposed to flow away from your house, but if it flows toward your foundation, you could have problems with a wet basement and even foundation damage. A basement waterproofing contractor can suggest ways to get your basement dry. Here are some options for improving drainage they might recommend.
Install Or Repair Your Gutters
Faulty gutters can lead to a wet basement. It's important that rain rolls off your roof and into a gutter trough where it is carried away through the downspout. If rain falls over the sides of the gutters, your basement might get wet. Gutters need to be the right size and be free of leaks.
The downspout has to point away from your home, and the spout might even need an extension added to make sure the water rolls far enough away. You might also want the downspout to empty in a drain in your yard so the water flows to the street and stays out of your yard completely.
Grade Your Property
If the soil around your home settled, shifted, sunk, or was moved while landscaping your yard, water might roll toward your house when it rains. This problem can be fixed by grading your yard. The contractor might need to add soil and slope it so rain that falls near your house rolls away.
Install A French Drain
A French drain can be installed inside or outside of your house. These drains are buried in the ground so water enters the drain and is moved away rather than make your basement wet. Your basement waterproofing contractor can help you decide if a French drain is the right solution for your problem and if an interior or exterior drain is the right choice.
An advantage of installing an interior French drain is that it is less disruptive, even though the contractor has to bust up part of the floor in your basement. When the drain is installed outside, your yard and landscaping have to be dug up when digging the trench to bury the drain.
However, an advantage of an exterior drain is that the trench exposes the exterior wall of your basement, and since that has to be done, the waterproofing contractor might recommend putting a membrane or coating on the walls for additional protection against water trying to get in the basement.
An interior drain is used along with a pit and sump pump so the collected water is pumped out of your basement while the exterior drain empties in the street or other area where the water won't cause harm.
Contact a company like J.A. Kilby Enterprises Inc to learn more.
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