The Importance of Basement Waterproofing

The importance of basement waterproofing is well known to those with a wet basement that has rotted any organic produce or materials that have been stored there. People use their basements for a number of purposes although to be frank, you should not use it for storing anything that needs a good airflow to stay fresh - unless you have a ventilation system installed. Clothes can mildew and foodstuffs such as apples and other fruits or vegetables can rot or become moldy - not just because of the lack of air flow, but to a combination of that and dampness.

Damp conditions enable ubiquitous fungal spores to germinate and not only generate mould, but also the larger fruiting bodies associated with fungi such as dry rot that can destroy your woodwork. If your basement is carpeted that will be ruined, although basements in areas generally associated with dampness or flooding tend not to be fitted with any floor covering.

Here are some methods you can use to prevent dampness, and enable you to have a dry rather than a wet basement. Most damp basements need not involve basement waterproofing, but each has its specific problems.

A. Fill In Cracks and Gaps

You can help to prevent water seeping into your basement by plugging any cracks or gaps in the concrete or the joints between floor and walls. This will help prevent a wet basement caused by regular rainfall or surface run-off, particularly if your house is built on a slope. However, this is not a viable solution if the problem is rising water.

B. Guttering and Downpipes

If the downpipes fed by the guttering around your roof is discharging rainwater too close the walls of your home, then it is possible for it to filter down into your basement. One solution is to extend the pipes out from your home - the recommended distance is a minimum of five feet. However, a neater solution is to have underground piping installed, leading your rainwater well away from your home or even using water butts and recycling the rainwater to clean your windows, car and so on.

C. Dams and Ditches

If your wet basement is caused by water running down a slope onto your house, an association with 'A' above, you could build a dam, which is a shaped mound of earth designed to divert downward running water around your house. An alternative is a ditch that does the same job. These need not look as ugly as they sound once you have planted around them and used them as attractive features in your backyard or garden.

D. Check the Drains

If you live in an area with a high water table that is prone to high hydrostatic pressure from the water under the earth, you may spot water seepage around the joint between your basement floor and walls. This type of wet basement is not so simple to deal with, although if the builder knew of the problem when your home was built, footing drains may have been installed.

These are underground drainage pipes designed to lead water away from the foundations, and so prevent this problem. They can be blocked with debris, so the solution may be as simple as giving them a clean out. There should be either a small manhole cover in the floor of your basement or a capped drainpipe a few inches above it. You can flush it out with a hosepipe, pressure hose or get a plumber to do it for you.

E. Install a Gravel Trench or Curtain Drain

Another possibility is to dig a trench round the uphill side of your house, as in 'C' above, and fill it with gravel. It should be dug to collect and divert downhill water round past your house, so is best dug round three sides, leading the water round past your house. At best, the trench could lead water into a drainpipe that then diverts water well downwards of your home. It should be connected to piping at its end, that is led further downhill of your house.

F. Basement Waterproofing

Finally, the ultimate solution is basement waterproofing so that water cannot penetrate. If your house was built in an area with a high water table and subject to flooding, then that should have been added during building. However, some older homes will not have this, and it will likely be expensive to have done retrospectively. We are talking possibly five figures, maybe less, but if it is not carried out then your home may have limited life, and your basement will be largely unusable.

Professionals can carry out the work effectively, and you will receive a guarantee that your wet basement will be cured: basement waterproofing is generally effective as long as it is carried out by a professional firm and not a friend of a friend who will do it for a few hundred dollars if paid cash!


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Founded in 1983, Unique Home Solutions offers a variety of products to help improve your home including replacement windows, vinyl windows, doors, house siding, exterior siding, soffit and fascia, metal roofing, and gutters. Unique Home Solutions specializes in basement waterproofing and fixing a wet basement.