Wet Basement Waterproofing in Flossmoor IL 60422: 3 Methods
Flossmoor IL is one of the smaller Chicago suburbs, occupying only 3 2⁄3 square miles and having slightly fewer than 9500 residents. It is often spoken of in tandem with its neighboring town, Homewood, as the two villages share a high school and a joint park district.
It would be fair to say that Flossmoor owes its existence to the game of golf. Around the turn of the last century, a group of investors decided to build a golf course in the unoccupied area south of Homewood and convinced the Illinois Central railroad to extend its line and build a station to serve the new facility, now known as the Flossmoor Country Club.
The golf course proved so successful that others followed and the area today is home to the Idlewild, Ravisloe, Olympia Fields and Calumet country clubs.
Homes and businesses soon followed the golfers into Flossmoor and the village was incorporated in 1924. Modern Flossmoor is an upscale community that is home to many Chicago commuters who live in the village’s 3400 homes, some of which date back to the village’s founding.
Owners of these as well as the newer homes in Flossmoor face the challenges of home maintenance and repair and many of them find themselves in need of wet basement waterproofing.
3 Methods of Wet Basement Waterproofing in Flossmoor
Just as in nearby Tinley Park and Frankfort, homes in Flossmoor are individually diagnosed when in need of wet basement waterproofing but there are three commonly used methods that will solve the problems of most homeowners.
1. Interior Drain Tile — Seepage often occurs in Flossmoor homes when hydrostatic pressure under the foundation forces water in through cracks in the basement floor or through the cove joint. Installing interior drain tile, perforated pipe buried in a bed of washed gravel under the basement floor, will alleviate this pressure and carry the ground water to a sump pump for disposal. Properly installed, interior drain tile will never require maintenance.
2. Crack Repair – Poured concrete foundations are the most common in the Chicago area and the most frequent source of water is a non-structural crack in a foundation wall. These cracks can be repaired permanently by injecting them with expanding polyurethane from the inside of the basement. The polyurethane fills the cracks all the way to the outside soil and creates a seal that remains flexible when cured to prevent the crack re-opening due to minor foundation movement.
If the crack cannot be reached from the inside it can be repaired from the exterior with sodium bentonite clay. A small hole is dug next to the foundation at the site of the crack and filled with the clay, which forms a pliable but permanent barrier against water.
3. Exterior Waterproofing – Concrete foundations experience seepage over the top of the foundation wall or through patches of porous concrete; masonry foundations through mortar joints or porous masonry units. The best way to repair either is to install an exterior waterproofing membrane, a thick coating of asphalt-modified polyurethane that is applied to the outside of foundation walls with a trowel.
If large amounts of ground water are present, the membrane can be augmented with exterior drain tile and drainage board that channels water downward.
Regardless of the best method for his or her particular home, a Flossmoor homeowner with a wet basement needs the help of a professional basement waterproofing contractor that knows the village and its homes. At U.S. Waterproofing we have been doing wet basement waterproofing in Chicago since 1957 and have already helped many Flossmoor homeowners keep their homes dry and healthy. Why not ask for our free advice?