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How To Fix Basement Leaks
Simple Tips to Prevent Water Damage to Your Home
Fixing problem basement leaks is no easy task. But, it is very important. Water can cause thousands of dollars of damage to your precious home. Not to mention, mold and mildew, sometimes even in the wall. Fixing the cause of the leak yourself will save MUCH money. Either way, a leaky basement is a problem one definately doesn't want to continue to have.
One of the biggest causes for a basement leaks is improper landscaping. Most new houses have a drain system incorporated around the exterior outer floor of the basement wall to pull water away. Concrete leaks! If your house is older like mine, it will not have this luxury and installing one can be costly and a lot of work. There are many things one can do though to fix those basement leaks without installing an exterior drain system.
- The first thing to consider when locating the cause of basement leaks is to start from the outside. Before damage on the inside can be repaired, the problem causers must be addressed. Is the water damage localized in one corner of the basement? If so, you will want to start your outside examination here. Ultimately you will want to examine the whole perimeter of your home.
- What do you notice? Does the soil angle away from your home or towards it? Has the soil eroded a small canal next to the foundation?
- Look at gutter drainage. Does the gutter drain in the problem area? If so, a simple fix is gutter extensions to get the water away from the problem area. Do the gutters need resealed? This is cheap and relatively easy to do. A leaky gutter can't get the water away from the foundation. Are the gutters old? Are they too short for the roof? You may need to have some new ones installed.
- Next, come up with a plan of action. In my case, water was leaking from one corner of the house after heavy rains, but over time old water stains began to emerge through the drywall near the ceiling in other areas. The first thing I did was look at the exterior of the house where water pooled in the leaky corner. The gutter drained here, and was too short for the roof. So not only did it drain right next to the foundation, but the water did not run off either. Moving along the side of the house, I noticed a small gully along the foundation where water has ran, drained, and pooled. Not good.
- The first plan of action was to rebuild the exterior landscape. Needless to say, this took many trips to the local hardware store and a weighed down car. Top soil is cheap, about $1.50 for a 40 lb bag. I started by chopping up the grass along the problem side of the house and corner. I then filled in the gullies with top soil and continued to build up the areas so they flowed away from the house and not towards it. I then converted this grassy side to a rock bed with 3 small burberry bushes. This would not only keep weeds down, but help eliminate runoff as well.On the problem corner, the privacy fence actually starts here. I built this corner up well. I also then placed a few larger flat landscaping rocks over the top to help protect from run off and added a gutter extension to pull the water away from the house. So far so good and many heavy rainstorms without leaks.
- But, my work is not yet finished to further fix basement leaks. In the spring I will continue to finish the landscaping. Along the front edge of the rock bed I will be installing a french drain. What is a french drain? I will start by digging a trench about 18 inches deep, and bring it under the fence and well into the backyard. The trench will be lined with landscape fabric. Inside this landscape fabric are rocks. Rocks like those used in the rock bed will be just fine. The landscape fabric is then wrapped around the rocks and topped with sand. This will just about fill the trench. The remaining 2-3 inches will be filled in with top soil. This works like an underground gutter to draw the moisture and run off away from the house. Mulch is recommended to cut down on the weeds on top of the trench. I will also be landscaping the back yard to drain the moisture away from the house.
All in all, a project well worth undertaking yourself. Much work is involved, but will save many dollars in the long run. Once the outdoors are taken care of, time to tackle the inside. Mostly, this will involve removing and replacing any damaged drywall and inspecting for mold or mildew. Once these problems are addressed, apply a concrete sealer to the inside of the concrete walls. This is readily available at Home Depot or any local hardware shop. Once the concrete is sealed, replace the dry wall and enjoy your fresh, dry basement! No more basement leaks!
How To Fix Basement Leaks |
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