Leaky basements not only smell and feel terrible, but they pose serious risks to the structure of your home...and even your health! Moisture in the walls and floors of your basement creates a breeding ground for all kinds of bacteria and mold. These can give your home that “basement smell.” A house with a dry basement has more value, and a wet basement can make your house tough to sell. But keeping a Cleveland basement dry in winter can seem tricky, until you understand all the possible causes and fixes that can correct the problem.
How do we end up with damp basement walls anyway?
When the weather is cold and wet like we experience in the Ohio winters, rainwater and melted snow can run toward your walls from yards, roofs, and driveways. To get rid of it, you have to set up your home systems to direct all that water in the opposite direction and send it packing.
How to Stop Water from Seeping through Your Basement Walls
Some wet basements solutions are simple and can rid you of unwanted moisture without busting budget.
- Check the gutters: They need to be cleaned regularly! When autumn leaves fall, gutters can get clogged with leaves and sticks, which keeps them from draining properly. Simply clearing them out is often a solution to get the water flowing in the direction it needs to go.
- See that all downspouts point in the right direction: With windy conditions or snowdrifts, downspouts can slip. That directs falling water right onto your walls, instead of away from the house where it should be! Check the downspouts after a big storm or during particularly bad weather to ensure everything is where it should be. The water needs to spill at least four feet away from the house.
- Look for gaps, holes, and cracks: If you catch unwanted defects in your basement floors or walls before they get too bad, you can seal up the gaps in the foundation with a simple epoxy or spray foam caulking. If you take this preventative measure, be sure to monitor it to make sure it doesn‘t spread. Sometimes cracks develop from age or moisture. If they start getting worse, there may be an underlying problem with the foundation that needs to be addressed.
- Monitor Surface-water around the house: Keep an eye out for pools of standing water or swampy areas in your yard. This can indicate areas where additional drainage solutions can help.
Ways to Prevent Damp Basement Walls and Basement Floor Wet Spots
The best wet basement solution is to prevent dampness in your basement floors and walls before it happens.
- Start by inspecting the soil around your house to make sure it‘s graded properly. It should slope downward gradually as it gets further away from your house. A general rule of thumb is to slope downward one inch per foot, for the first six to eight feet away from the foundation.
- Inspect that all parts of your gutter and downspout system are operating properly and directing water away from your home.
- Is your soil and yard clear of debris that may clog its drainage?
- Are your walls waterproofed from the outside?
- Is all outside drainage piping in good condition without breaks or blockages?
- Are the footer tiles around the outside of your building functioning properly?
Or course, checking the condition of underground drainage pipes can be tricky. A service like our camera snaking can help see inside your pipes without digging if you suspect you may have clogged or damaged drainage pipes.
Location Matters: Pay Attention to Where the Water Seepage is Coming From
Often the source and direction of the water seepage can provide additional clues to the problem.
- High on the Walls: If moisture appears to start high on the walls and flow downwards to the floor, that can indicate:
- Poor grading of the soil on the outside of your home.
- Issues with gutters or downspouts not directing water properly.
- Failures in your waterproofing system.
- Floor or bottom of walls: if the moisture appears to be starting at the bottom of the walls or rising from the floor, that can indicate:
- Malfunctioning footer tiles causing the water table to rise above the level of the basement floor.
- Blocked or broken drainage pipes.
- Waterproofing system damage.
- Foundation cracks or damage.
Diagnosing and Solving more complicated problems
The experts at Sitework Developing can help you diagnose and solve problems with your wet basement.
- We can help you check the grading around your property to make sure it is properly sloped to take water away from your structure.
- Our grading specialists understand the causes of drainage problems and have the right equipment to address both large and small problems.
- Our team uses specialized camera equipment to check underground drainage pipes or the footer tiles outside your building to locate breaks or blockages.
- Once located we can correct these problems.
- If your outside waterproofing is an issue, we can diagnose and correct that as well.
- Finally, if your situation is so dire that structural or foundation issues need correcting the experts at Sitework Developing can even solve those major issues for you.
Keep Your Cleveland Basement Dry with the Help of Experts
When it comes to solving and repairing wet basements, you have to fix the problem at the source. (Read common causes of wet basements.) Don’t settle for inexperienced repair contractors who simply band-aid the problem or propose outsized and overpriced solutions that will not solve your problem long term. At Sitework, our goal is to fix the problem at the source. As experienced site developers, we understand how drainage systems and grading impact foundation health as well. Thus, our team offers the unique approach of assessing beyond your home or business’s foundation to ensure that the problem won’t happen again after we complete the repairs. Finally, we have the equipment and experience to address small, simple water issues to major foundation excavation and repairs. We give your home or business the personalized care it needs for a solid foundation.
Superior Service
As members of the Cleveland community for over 30 years, we hire and train your neighbors. The know how to keep your Cleveland basement dry through drainage and waterproofing systems. As a result, you’ll know whom to contact with your questions as your foundation repair project progresses. You can also count on our crew to offer an honest assessment of what work needs to be done and receive a free estimate. We’ll only recommend work that is absolutely necessary to get your home in prime condition. We won’t tack on any extra services to drive the price up either. After all, as your neighbors, we believe in treating you as we’d like to be treated. Finally, if your foundation repairs require significant digging, you can count on us to repair your lawn and landscaping when we’re done. In short, Sitework Developing doesn’t just get the job done right the first time, we treat you right during the process, too.
Call the Best Wet Basement Repair Contractors Near Cleveland
Don’t let a wet basement problem worry you and keep you up at night any longer. A simple solution can prevent further damage from occurring. Call Sitework Developing for a full assessment of your foundation’s health. Our free estimates answer your questions and allow you to plan for the long-term health of your home’s or business’s foundation.