Here are a Few Steps To Take To Dry Out a Wet Basement

If after you have heavy rains water leaks into your basement it can cause a mess and weaken the foundation of the walls in the basement. There are some things you can do to prevent this and dry up a wet basement.

The first thing you should do is make sure that the rainwater runs away form the foundation of the house. To find the problem areas you should go outside and watch how the water flows off of the roof and where it travels on the ground around your home. Be sure to pay close attention to the area below the roof valleys where they will be a lot of run off.

You can add soil in order to make a slope away from the foundation of your home. The grade you make with the soil should have a slope of I inch for every foot up to 4-6 feet. It may be the case where you will have to direct the water coming off the roof using either gutters or downspouts.

If this does not work you can install an interior drain tile and a sump basin. When doing this the corrugated edging on the floor will catch the water running down the inside of the foundation wall as well as seeping under it. It will then direct the water to the drain tile. The drain tile will carry the runoff water into the sump basin where the electric pump will get rid of the water.

The materials for this job are pretty cheap but there will be a lot of labor. You will need to use a jackhammer to cut out a strip of concrete around the perimeter of the basement, haul away the concrete rubble and dirt, bring in gravel, and then finish off the concrete floor by patching it. This can be a tough job but well worth it as it may save the foundation of the basement.

To install a system like this you can follow these steps.

∗ First break out and remove an 18-inch strip of concrete around the walls in order to expose the footing and the dirt underneath. To do this you will have to rent an electric jackhammer, unless of course you have one lying around.

∗ Next dig a 12 inch by 8 inch trench beside the footing

∗ Determine the place you will put the sump basin. The best place for it may be an unfurnished room. You will have to have an electrical outlet for the sump pump. You will also need to have a way to run the discharge pipe outside your home. You can take out more flooring and then dig a hole and put the basin in the hole making the top flush with the concrete floor.

∗ Lay a couple of inches of gravel in the bottom of the trench. It will be best to use crushed stone or river rock for this job. Now run the perforated drain tile inside the trench pushing the end of it through the knockout of the sump basin. When doing this you can try to create a loop of the entire basement with the drain tile and run both ends of it inside the basin. Take more gravel and fill in the trench, making sure to leave at least 3-4 inches so you can fill in with concrete.

∗ Use 6 millimeter polyethylene sheeting and hang it from the top of the foundation wall. Be sure to leave the bottom edge of the sheeting so it hangs just above the footing.

∗ Take the floor edging and lay it on the footing. If laid correctly the polyethylene sheeting should run directly behind it.

∗ On top of the gravel lay a strip of the polyethylene and the pour the concrete in order to patch in the flooring.

∗ The final step is to install the sump pump and then run the discharge pipe outside of your home. The pipe should be at least 6 feet away form the foundation of your home to make sure you do not dump the water near the foundation so it seeps backs to it.