Water Next to a Foundation Damages Foundation Walls and Basements
The presence of water next to a home’s foundation is inevitable – there’s always ground water in the soil or water that has soaked in from rain or snowmelt. When these rains are heavy or the water table is high, this naturally occurring water can do damage to the basement and foundation.
There’s not much a homeowner can do about this except to take steps to protect the foundation and basement like adjusting grading to make sure water flows away from the house or applying an exterior waterproofing membrane and/or installing exterior drain tile.
Quite often, however, homeowners unwittingly make the water situation worse by not managing water properly outside the home. One common mistake is to ignore rain gutters, allowing them to clog and cause rain water to spill over the edge of the roof and into the soil around the foundation. Another even more common mistake is to leave downspouts as the builder left them, stubs that were meant to be extended after landscaping was completed.
In the following brief video, basement waterproofing and foundation repair expert Barry Schilling explains how the original construction of a home creates a “danger zone” around the foundation that leaves the basement vulnerable to seepage and the foundation to serious damage.
The basement waterproofing and foundation repair experts at U.S. Waterproofing have saved thousands of foundations from danger by minimizing water saturation around the foundation and properly managing exterior water. Why not ask for their free advice if things are getting soggy around your home?
If you’d like to know more about how water around the foundation and unfinished downspouts can lead to water in the basement and foundation damage, please post your questions in the Comments box below.