It’s important to make your basement waterproof if you want your Kansas City home to be less vulnerable to various calamities. Water in a basement can lead to many issues like mold growth, wood rot, and infrastructural damage to walls, floors, and stairs. Check out some of these procedures for waterproofing your basement.
Basics of How to Make Your Basement Waterproof
There are certain waterproofing projects we do often because they’re proven to last a while and fully address whatever’s wrong. This includes installing drain-tile systems, and epoxy injections, as well as waterproofing the exterior (waterproofing the membrane).
Every home is different, especially with basements in the Kansas City area. Some places have finished basements that look like every other room in the home, but we also see unfinished basements with little more than a concrete slab.
That factors into how we implement a solution. An unfinished (unpainted) basement wall, for example, might be a better candidate for sealant application as opposed to walls with lots of efflorescent material.
Sump Pump Pit Installation
One of the most common tasks we do to divert water from entering your home is a sump pump pit installation. These, along with drain-tile systems, are designed to contain water as much as possible. It’s impossible to eliminate water intrusion altogether, but this procedure makes things much more manageable.
You can learn even more on this topic, by reading this article on the best waterproofing systems. There we cover other practical measures like applying sealants and epoxy injections when you have smaller and more containable problems.
Interior Solutions Are The Most Effective
You can attack the problem from the exterior of your home, but we find that the best solutions are the ones that focus on rehabbing the interior structure. Some homeowners ask about French drains, which have a purpose but aren’t the most effective way to keep water out of your basement.
If your goal is to reservoir or pool the surface water at your exterior, then a French drain might be useful. However, it will only delay the problem if you already have water intrusion (plus, it’s an expensive project). That’s why we don’t offer warranties for French drains.
On the other hand, we’re much more confident about drain-tile installation, which is why we back that with a 15-year warranty. In fact, the performance is so reliable that you probably won’t need to call us for further help even after 20 or 25 years.
Waterproofing Solutions Custom Fit for Your Home
Our philosophy is that you shouldn’t do a larger waterproofing project than what’s necessary for fixing the problem. If damages are minor, it’s not terribly cost-effective to spend a fortune on a huge renovation. As much as possible, we prefer to tailor the drainage solution or repair work to the problem without going overboard.
If you detect small cracks in your walls, isolated to a certain segment of your home, we can install wall bracing or a drain-tile system that’ll target the specific area. It’s not always necessary (or financially feasible) to do a total overhaul when we see the problem confined to one spot.
Make your Basement Waterproof Once and for All With Olson Foundation Repair
Water intrusion is a very serious matter once you experience mold proliferation and material deterioration. If you don’t want to take chances with it, then you should call Olson Foundation Repair to do an inspection and make recommendations for a permanent solution.
We serve all the major communities and neighborhoods around Kansas City, and we’ve seen all the basement problems you can ever imagine in over 30 years of business. Therefore, you can leverage our experience and expertise to fix your basement before things get worse.
Contact us soon to find out how we can make your basement waterproof for years to come.
