10 Suggestions For Removing Moisture From The Basement
Your property will gain value if your basement is all finished. You can check out these suggestions to make sure you begin with a tidy, dry area before converting your basement into a fantastic recreation room, family room, or even an additional bedroom.
Keep Your Basement Dry
Prior to beginning any finishing work, your damp or wet basement must be fixed. The good news is that adding or fixing gutters and downspouts and grading the soil to slope away from the foundation are usually sufficient to solve most water issues. If the above techniques don’t solve the problem, you’ll need to take more drastic measures, such as waterproofing the walls and installing outside drain tile, or installing inside drain tile that empties into a sump basket with a pump. The price of completing a basement is listed below.
Here is what you need to know about waterproofing a basement floor if you want to keep your basement dry:
Find the Source of the Water Issue
Two things can cause water or dampness in basements. One such source is indoor humidity, which forms droplets on cold surfaces in a manner similar to how they do on a drink on a hot humid day. Water or water vapor that is brought in from the outside is the other option. Water that has saturated the earth near your foundation and leaked in could be rainwater, snowmelt, or groundwater. Water can seep through porous concrete or masonry walls through cracks, or it can enter as water vapor through gaps. Aluminum foil taped to your basement wall can help you identify the issue by looking at it a few days after it’s been there. It’s a sign of excessive interior humidity when the foil has moisture on the outside surface. Moisture trapped behind the foil indicates that walls are allowing moisture to enter.
Remove Extra Humidity In Your Basement
Your basement will dry out more quickly if you get rid of the sources of humid air. To stop unwelcome humid air from entering your basement, foil wrap leaky dryer vents. Use more than duct tape; else, it will come off. Make sure your family uses the vent fan you installed in the basement bathroom by turning it on while taking showers. When it’s humid outside, keep the windows in your basement closed. And if condensation is still appearing on cool surfaces, turn on a dehumidifier to reduce the humidity level in the room.
Insulate the Pipes
Water problems in the basement might be exacerbated by condensation pouring from cold pipes. For the purpose of preventing condensation, wrap cold water pipes in pipe insulation foam. Cost-effective and simple to cut with scissors is the foam insulation.
Wall Insulation
Protect against condensation by insulating external walls. Basement wall insulation helps you save money on heating costs in chilly areas. However, if water is coming in from the outside, don’t add insulation to the walls because you can end up with a mold issue.
Refrain From Putting Water Near the Foundation
Making sure water is directed away from your foundation may help to remedy the problem if your basement leaks after a strong storm or after snow melts. It’s typical for the soil next to your home to settle over time, forming a moat that collects runoff and channels it down your foundation wall and into your basement. Gravel along the foundation’s perimeter and lawn edging can exacerbate the issue. Create a slope that is 6 feet broad and descends to the ground 4 inches from the foundation to solve the issue. Use a 6-mil poly layer to add an extra layer of protection over the sloping soil. Once it is done, cover the poly with mulch, gravel, or a layer of soil that is covered in grass. In the vicinity of the foundation, this will prevent water infiltration.
Expand Downspouts and Add Gutters
If you don’t already have gutters but your basement leaks after a rainstorm, think about installing them. Rainwater is collected in gutters where it is sent to downspouts where it is directed away from the house. Make sure the downspouts have horizontal extensions of 4 to 6 feet to direct water away from the home, whether you are installing new gutters or you already have them.
Reconstruct Foundation Holes and Cracks
Your basement may become wet and humid as a result of foundation holes and fractures. Although it will assist, repairing them is unlikely to stop basement leaks. Due to its ability to build up even in water and the fact that it expands as it sets to seal the hole and secure the plug in place, hydraulic cement is a fantastic material for foundation repair. Enlarge the hole or fracture into an inverted “V,” with the narrow part of the “V” resting on the surface of the wall, using a cold chisel, an angle grinder, and masonry-cutting discs or diamond blades. Next, mix and use the hydraulic cement according to the directions on the package.
Waterproof the Walls of Your Basement
In order to stop water from leaking into the concrete or masonry walls, waterproof coatings that are applied like paint plug the gaps in the surfaces. These coatings need to be applied to bare masonry or concrete walls in order to be effective. With a wire brush, start by eliminating any loose particles. Use masonry cleanser to remove any white powdery “efflorescence” that may have formed. Pay close attention to the safety and application directions. Spreading out the use of masonry waterproofing solutions is a common error. In order to produce a continuous waterproofing membrane, it is necessary to fill every pinhole. In order to completely fill each pinhole, brush the coating in all directions. After the first layer dries, apply a second.
Develop a Drainage System For Your Basement
Installing drainage tubing below the basement floor and connecting it to a sump basket and pump is the best long-term solution for resolving persistent basement leaks. An installation like this can be done by the homeowner, but it requires a lot of backbreaking labor to remove the concrete floor, bury the tubing, and patch the floor. It will cost between $700 and $1,000 in materials to finish an average basement. For a system to be professionally installed in a typical-sized basement, budget between $3,500 and $8,500 in total.
