Is There Water Intrusion in Your Home and How Does It Get There?
Water intrusion can become costly for property managers if not addressed as soon as water is discovered. So, how does water get in a basement or crawl space from outside?
Most basement homes are built on a footer and have a poured concrete slab with concrete block walls. Surface water caused by heavy rains or poor yard drainage may flow over the walls, over the sill plate, and into the basement. Exterior waterproofing may initially stop water from coming in this point of entry, but water often seeps into the basement via other places.
Another way water enters a basement is from below the footer, whether through the concrete floor or by the cove joint. Water from below can find the tiniest of cracks in a basement floor or imperfect cove joint, where the footer and basement wall meet. Likewise, moisture can make its way into a crawl space by rising up through the dirt floor. This is known as rising damp and can be a result of overly saturated soil.
Commonly, small cracks, holes, or seams in the block wall allow water in the basement. Pressure from saturated soils outside of these walls, called hydrostatic pressure, may have caused the cracks, which is why foundation repair and waterproofing many times go hand in hand. Some cracks in the basement wall may not be visible, which is why fighting water intrusion with interior waterproofing proves more effective than exterior waterproofing alone. Because water can also enter the crawl space from the inside, you will want to protect the foundations of your properties with more than exterior waterproofing options.
Watch this video of John Lombardi with United Structural Systems who answers the question: How does water get in my house from outside?
Learn more about waterproofing or if you have any questions about water intrusion in your home, whether it be a basement or crawl space, call USS at (615) 307-9510 or fill out the online form.