Water Diversion Systems

Wet basement problems?

There is nothing more frustrating than having a wet basement. Water in the basement can damage walls and flooring, it can ruin irreplaceable stored items. One must know the cause of the wet basement in order to learn how to prevent further water damage.

Reasons for a wet basement:

Prevention of a wet basement requires knowledge and understanding of where the water is coming from. There are 4 common sources of water seepage into basements:

1 Surface water running down home’s foundation walls.

2 Groundwater from water-saturated soil being pushed into the basement by hydrostatic pressure.

3 Storm sewer water from the municipal storm system backing up in the home’s perimeter foundation drain. This causes leaking into the basement (this can only happen if the perimeter foundation drain is connected to the municipal storm system).

4Home drain system back-up caused by sanitary sewer water from a combined municipal storm/sanitary sewer system. The back-up causes sewer water to come up through the floor and sink drains on lower levels.

90% of wet basements and crawl spaces however are from improper down spouts being deverted away from your house. That’s why we are here for you.

If your problem comes from surface water (see determining factors below), Joseph Exteriors can install a water diversion system to alleviate the problem.

Surface water issues:

If this is the first time you have had water in your basement, you should first check for surface water draining down near your homes foundation. If the water is coming into the basement at only one location and only along the exterior wall, this is typical of a surface water problem. Here are some common indicators:

• Is your home’s gutter overflowing due to blockage from leaves and debris? Products are available to prevent leaves from getting into gutters. Learn more about our guttering options.
• Is your home’s gutters overflowing due to too few downspouts? You can check this yourself by observing your gutters 15 minutes after a heavy rain. If any water is overflowing from your gutters, you have an issue. The overflow is running down the house, next to the house foundations. While not always getting into the basement, it could be causing your homes foundation to erode. See our guttering solutions or call for a free evaluation.
• Does your home’s downspouts extend at least 10 feet from your home. While this may not be your preference, it is the minimum distance needed to release the flow of water coming off of your roof so it is far enough away from your home. Also, be careful to not have your downspouts extend too close to your neighbors property. Find out more about our guttering options.
• Does your home’s downspouts drain into a footing tile system? By having the water from your roof drain down next to the footings, increased hydrostatic pressure can occur. This is especially common when the footing tiles are either leaking or blocked. This can happen over time due to soil movement or damage from tree roots. This problem can be easily eliminated by modifying the downspouts so that they drain at least 10 feet from your home.