Staying dry

Prevent water from collecting in your basement As a certified home inspector, Mike Norman knows the telltale signs of a leaky basement. When he spotted a stain on the floor going from an exterior wall to a sump pump in his own finished basement, he tore out a section of drywall and discovered the leak. The home inspector wasn’t shocked by the discovery. He knows that over time most basements will develop water problems. The American Society of Home Inspectors estimate 60 percent of homes in the United States have wet basements. “Homes settle and cracks develop,” Norman said. “In the vast majority of cases, leaky basements don’t affect the structural integrity of the home. But they are a big nuisance, and they can be a mess to clean up.” With more basements now considered living areas equipped with home entertainment centers, wet bars, bathrooms and bedrooms, it’s become more important to solve lower-level water problems. Soggy basements ruin carpeting, furniture, electronic equipment and drywall. They can also spawn fungus and mold. “The first thing you want to do is identify where the water is coming from,” the home inspector said. “It may be water backing up from the sanitary sewer causing water to come up through sink drains and floor drains in a lower level. “It may be condensation, which may require better ventilation and a dehumidifier. But I would estimate that 80 percent of wet basements are caused by surface water running down next to the foundation. And this often can be corrected by the homeowner.” Water coming in at one location and only at the exterior foundation wall is typical of surface water problems, Norman explained. The home inspector found the source of his own basement water problem during an inspection of the outside of his home. Water from a downspout was running back to the foundation of his house. “The grade in this area of my yard was sloping to my house,” Norman said. “I had to correct that by backfilling the low areas so water would run away from the home.” The rule of thumb, the home inspector said, is that the ground slopes away from your house at least 1 inch vertically for every horizontal foot. And this should continue for a minimum of 6 feet, he said. He also extended all of his gutter downspouts underground 8 feet out from the home. The downspouts are connected to devices called Bubbler Pots, which are buried in the ground with their lids even with the ground surface. As water fills up in the Bubbler Pots, the lids raise up letting water evenly flow onto the lawn. “Since I made these simple improvements, I haven’t had any water leaking into my basement,” Norman said. “And it’s been a year since I first noticed the problem.” Some wet basements result from subsurface groundwater under hydrostatic pressure. This is probably the case if water is seeping through cracks in the basement floor or coming in from multiple locations in the floor and walls. Serious water problems or those from subsurface groundwater may require professional help. Today, professionals deal with most basement leaks from the inside of the home with perimeter drain systems. The most common and inexpensive channel system is one installed at the base of the foundation. Holes are drilled in the basement walls to allow water to come in and relieve the hydrostatic pressure. The water is typically channeled to a sump pump and pumped away from the home. “This interior drain system works well,” Norman said. “But they require some homeowner maintenance. You have to periodically check the channel to see it is flowing properly. You also want to protect it by keeping furniture away from it.” Another perimeter drain system is one below the concrete floor. This requires replacing concrete at the slab edge and installing a drainage pipe that leads to a sump pump. There are a number of topical sealants that can be used to seal interior basement walls. This is less expensive than interior channel systems, but less effective, too, according to experts. “Sealants are generally temporary,” Norman said. “Most often the water finds another way into the basement.” With its headquarters in Canton, Ill., Basement De-Watering Systems Inc. installs both types of interior drainage systems in dealing with basement water problems. “The most popular is the above-slab gutter system,” said Doryan Konhorst, sales manager for Basement De-Watering Systems. “The cost naturally depends on the size of the job. But a typical job runs between $1,500 and $3,000. The sub floor system is a little more expensive.” The business sells its products and expertise to 450 dealers throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Among its latest products is a dehumidifier that is guaranteed to take care of mold and mildew problems in a home, according to Jerry Jarnagin, a owner of Basement De-Watering. This special dehumidifier costs about $1,600. Jarnagin said most of the company’s work is in houses more 20 years old. In older homes, the footing tiles that run along the perimeter of the foundation on the outside become broken or clogged and no longer can direct water away from the home. Another problem is the sealant used to seal the outside of the cement blocks breaks down over many years. While doing home inspections, Norman has seen many makeshift attempts to solve wet basements. He remembers once seeing a hose stuck into a hole in the basement wall, draining water into a 55-gallon container. Not a good solution, he said. Rain, rain go away In addition to improving the grade and extending downspouts away from the home, certified home inspector Mike Norman recommended other simple things homeowners can do to keep surface water from finding basement cracks. They include: • Check gutters to see they are clean and not blocking water from draining. Water from overflowing gutters runs down next to the house foundation. Norman suggested installing guards to keep debris out of gutters. • Run water from a hose into every downspout to check for blockages. • Repair leaky outside water spigots and replace hoses that leak at the faucet. • Keep window wells covered. • Thin out overplanted landscaping. Don’t plant trees too close to the foundation. Tree roots can cause cracks in foundation that allow water to seep into your basement.