What Causes A Basement To Leak

Why do Basements Leak!?

Basement foundations are built into large holes dug out of primarily clay soils creating “clay bowls”. These clay bowls hold water much like a pong holds water.

Even after the foundation is backfilled, the bowl that the basement was built in will still hold water, because the backfilled soil is much less dense than the untouched soil around it. Water percolates through the soil and saturates the area in the bowl, and around the foundation. The result! a wet basement in need of waterproofing.

What Causes A Basement To Leak – To prevent water from collecting around the foundation and creating a wet basement or crawl space, the builder installs a drainage system around the perimeter at the base, and seals the foundation walls before backfilling. However, sometime after construction, the water brings dissolved soil and sediment into the original system and the system begins to clog.

Once this clogging process occurs, water builds around the foundation and creates hydrostatic pressure, forcing the water into the basement through weak points where the wall and floor meet, as well as through cracks in the walls and floor.

As Ohio Basement Systems, our Waterproofing Specialists have the expertise and professional know-how to diagnose the issues in your basement causing the moisture and mold to build up. With a correctly installed perimeter drainage system, using the award-winning BasementGutter drain, you can rest assured that any moisture seeping through the foundation walls is captured and drained away. The drainage system will drain into a superior-grade SafeDri™ Sump Pump that will discharge the water far away from your basement and foundation walls. With the added power of a dehumidifier, a basement can be a dry and healthy space the whole family can enjoy – all the time!

Ohio Basement Systems also offers a superior line of basement finishing products. Made of inorganic materials, these products are designed specifically to resist the damp conditions in a basement. Be it a ‘man cave’ or a home theatre, a refinished basement can be a beautiful new room and ‘addition’ to your home.

Call or contact us today. We offer free written estimates for homeowners throughout our service area, including Greater Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, Sandusky and cities nearby.