Basement Water Problems or Leaks in your basement

Water has the potential to cause more damage than anything else to your home. Even a relatively minor leak can cause thousands of dollars to repair and clean up. Gordon Energy is here to help you prevent such a nightmare or if it has already happened to fix it right so it does not happen again. Our team of leaky basement inspectors have years of experience in this line of work. Their experience level ranges from 8 to 30 years with an average of 18 years. This experience matters when you consider the numerous reasons your basement could leak water. Some of the primary sources for a basement leak include::

Ground water is rising and is not able to be diverted to your draintile system. This water will find the path of least resistance which is usually where the floor meets the wall or in the cracks in the floor.
Your house is older and does not have a functional draintile system. Often times, ground water is not a problem, but in times of heavy rainfall it may become a problem.
Basement wall cracks or other penetrations allow outside water to come in.
Leaks over the foundation wall.

WATER THAT ENTERS YOUR BASEMENT FROM UNDER YOUR FLOOR
During rains, the ground forms a water table. Think of it as digging a hole in the ground and at some point your hole will be full of water. This water table rises because the ground is so saturated, it has no where to go. If you are one of the unlucky ones, you may experience a water table beneath your home that rises to the level of your basement floor. As it rains heavier and heavier, this water table continues to rise and can push up through cracks in your floor or where your floor meets the foundation wall. There are many ways to control this so it does not impact your basement.

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO COMBAT A HIGH WATER TABLE ISSUE
Get a bigger sump pump. If your home has a sump pump, in some rare cases it might not be big enough to handle the work load of your water table. You may opt to install a new sump pump capable of handling your needs.

Install a battery powered backup.
If your sump pump failed due to a power outage, then you may need to think about installing a battery backup unit. These units will operate when the power goes out.

Make sure that the rainwater is getting away from your house.
Do you have the proper grade around your foundation to divert water away from your foundation? Are your gutters discharging water at least 10’ away from your house? Anything you can do to get water away from your home will help to minimize the ground water table directly beneath your basement floor. We offer assistance by installing a French drain, burying your gutter downspouts, and adding dirt around your foundation. (see French drains)

Install a sump pit basin & sump pump in your basement floor.
Installing a sump pit and pump requires us to jack hammer the concrete, dig a hole for the sump pump basin, connect the sump pit to exterior or interior draintile system (if you have one), pour and level cement to restore your basement floor, & install a sump pump. The concept of this is simple. Provide a place for the water that exists under your floor to go to before it floods your basement. If your home has a nice 4” or deeper bed of gravel beneath your concrete floor, water should be able to travel through it and migrate into your newly installed sump pit basin. If you do not have a good bed of gravel under your concrete floor, you may need to install an interior drain tile (see below). We usually recommend installing the sump pit basin first, then wait to see if it works before taking the next step. We always try to look for the least expensive solutions first!!!

Install an Interior Drain Tile. An interior drain tile system is a 4” tube with holes in it that is installed directly beneath your basement floor. It helps to ensure that ground water that may exist beneath your basement floor actually gets to your sump pump basin. This is done when your gravel bed is not enough to allow the proper flow of ground water to your sump pit basin. We typically recommend that you install the sump pump basin first then wait to see if that works in and of itself. But, if you aren’t willing to risk another water issue, you may opt to go ahead and put the inside tile in. This decision will be solely up to you. We just provide the facts and let you decide. Most homeowners opt to install the sump pit basin first, then take a wait and see approach before going to the next step of installing an interior drain tile.

WATER THAT ENTERS YOUR HOME THROUGH THE FOUNDATION.

Temperature & moisture changes expand and contract your concrete walls and the earth next to it. This continuous movement and pressure will often to lead to the formation of cracks and potentially a wall leak. If your basement is finished this wall leak may not be so obvious. A wall leak will run down the concrete wall behind your sheetrock, once it hits the floor it may travel horizontally for a ways before it is noticed as a wet spot on the carpet. Depending on which type of foundation wall you have will determine how to approach solving the problem.

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO COMBAT WATER THAT COMES THROUGH THE FOUNDATION.
Inject the crack
This is a relatively economical way to stop cracks from leaking. We can inject one of many liquid products into the crack by pressure. The down side to this is that if another crack forms later, you will not have any protection from it leaking, too.

Install an Interior Track System
An interior track system is installed directly where your concrete floor meets your foundation wall. It is designed to catch any water that leaks through your wall. The track system controls this water so it never gets onto your floor. Many homeowners opt to do this when they have a cinder block wall, stone foundation, or a poured wall foundation with too many cracks to economically repair. It is kind of a sure “catch all” for any leaks in your wall. The track system terminates into a sump pit basin, keeping your floor dry. The advantages to this is that if new leaks form, this track system will be in place to control those leaks, too.

Dig up the outside.
A more expensive option is to dig up the dirt on the outside to expose the foundation wall & install a true rubberized membrane over the crack. If you have multiple cracks, you may opt to dig up the outside of an entire wall or more depending on your circumstances. In this case, we would also recommend that you install a drainage board on your wall and an exterior drain tile system at the base of your foundation wall to help eliminate any hydrostatic pressure on your wall. These methods will stop the water before it gets to your foundation.

Whatever problem you are having, we always put all of the solutions out on the table and try to create the most economical plan for you. We ask ourselves, “what would we do if this was our house?” Not all solutions are cut and dry. If we can find a solution that doesn’t cost you a dime, we will gladly tell you about it. If we aren’t so lucky, we start with the most economical solutions, determine and discuss their effectiveness, then work our way up to the guaranteed solutions. We let you decide after you are totally educated. Most of our competition start at the top and don’t even consider some of the more economical possibilities. Sure, you get a lifetime guarantee with lots of small print, but you will pay for it.

Basement Water Problems or Leaks in your basement

WATER THAT ENTERS YOUR HOME THROUGH THE FOUNDATION.

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