Water damaged basements

Not many things can be as disruptive to a home owner than arriving home to a flooded basement, or walking downstairs and finding water damage everywhere and not knowing what to do. The damage can be quite extensive ranging from wet carpets or worse, damaged hardwood floors and water damaged walls. Wet contents can also be ruined especially if the water damage has been ongoing for a while before being discovered and irreplaceable items like photo albums and family heirlooms can only add insult to injury. Fortunately understanding the reasons why basements flood and how to prevent future water damage can help alleviate this annoyance.

In order to fix a basement that’s suffered water damage and prevent it from occurring again it’s it imperative to know where the water came from in the first place. When water damaged basements occur for the first time, it is important to work out if the water issues are going to happen again or whether it was a one-off occurance. Essential to solving this question is determining where the water is coming from. In and around Sacramento and other built up cities there are four common sources of water that can cause basement damage, firstly surface water running down foundation walls and then into the basement. Groundwater in water-saturated soils being pushed into the basement by hydrostatic pressure can also cause major issues. Storm sewer water from the municipal storm sewer system can back up into the home’s existing perimeter foundation drain and leak into the basement. Although this can only happen if the perimeter foundations drain system is connected to the municipal sewer system. Lastly sanitary sewer water from a combined municipal storm/sanitary sewer system backing up into the home’s drain system, can cause sewer water to come up through sink drains and floor drains on lower levels.

To prevent, or at a minimum lower the chance of water related problems due to water entering the basement here are a few handy tips:

• Dampness or standing water in basements and crawl spaces may be evidence of a plumbing leak or improper drainage, which can lead to structural problems and mold damage which could result in arestoration company needing to be hired.
• Check your gutters frequently and clean any debris you find to prevent clogs.
• If you live in an area with trees that continually shed their leaves, purchasing gutter shields could be a worthwhile investment.
• Your downspouts should protrude several feet out from your homes foundation in order to carry rain water away from your house. If they don’t, you can purchase extensions that attach to your downspouts.
• Check where the gutters meet the stucco on the outside of you home, sometimes builders don’t stucco behind the gutter end piece correctly and water could be pouring into your home without you knowing.
• Fill in any low spots around the house and amend any cracked paved areas or paving that slopes towards the house so water drains away from the foundation.
• Inspect caulking around windows and doors and replace as needed where cracked or deteriorated.
• Check the flashing at chimneys, vents, skylights and other connections for damage or deterioration.
• Check the grade of the earth around the house to determine if it slopes towards or away from the house as that may be the source of the water? If they do slope towards the house, an engineer may need to be called to evaluate the situation and come up with an appropriate solutions.
• Is there a lawn/shrub irrigation system discharging too much water next to the house? Avoid placing lawn irrigation next to the house.

Filed under: digital safes, gas leakage detectors Tags: Tags: flood damage, flooded basement, mold damage, Water damage, water damaged basement by execar Date 29 October, 2009