If your basement walls have cracks in them, it’s not unusual for them to be leaking water. However, even small amounts of water leaking in can cause huge issues. After a short while, your damp basement will develop mold, bacteria, and pests. So, what can you do to fix basement wall cracks? The answer may be more complicated than you hoped.
Find the Source
The first thing to do is find the source of the leak. If you’re looking for repair solutions, you probably already know where the water is coming from. If a basement window isn’t doing a great job of keeping out water, window well waterproofing will solve the problem. This process is fairly simple. We install something you could call a tray, which catches any water collecting in the window well. The water is then redirected away from the house.
However, if your basement leak is caused by basement wall cracks, there’s a bit more to be done.
Don’t Fill Cracks
When people experience leaky basement wall cracks, their first instinct is typically to fill the cracks in. However, you should never try to fill in basement wall cracks from the inside.
Because water leaks in from the outside, filling the cracks from the inside traps water within the walls. The water will then expand and contract with the weather. This will cause a lot more damage to your walls than if you’d left them.
Determine Severity
Next up, you need to figure out how severe the problem is. During the worst weather of the year, is the leaking simply causing moisture on the inside of the walls, or is it running down them and pooling on the floor? If the worst the weather can do is give you a little moisture on your interior basement walls, you probably just need damp proofing. However, if it’s enough to pool, even in tiny rivulettes or puddles, you’ll want to go the waterproofing route.
Both methods involve accessing the basement walls from the outside, which means digging a trench along the side of the house. However, they each offer a different level of protection.
Basement Damp Proofing
When damp proofing, the real culprit is the cracks in the wall, allowing regular ground moisture in. So, when hiring POM Waterproofing to damp proof your basement walls, we fix cracks from the outside and then coat the exterior of your basement walls. The crack repair will build the integrity of the walls back up while the coating will keep moisture from getting in or forming new ones.
Basement Waterproofing
When waterproofing, the culprit is the amount of water trying to get at your basement walls. A high level of ground water will cause damage to otherwise intact walls. This happens when rain collects along the basement wall and erodes the stone.
When we waterproof your basement walls, we do the same process as damp proofing, but take it a step further. Once the wall has been smoothed and coated, we apply a solid membrane and adhere it to the wall. This membrane provides a solid barrier between ground water and your basement. Then, we install a track that collects and redirects ground water that finds its way to the membrane. The water will then be redirected away from the house, ensuring it doesn’t just pool against the membrane.
Give us a call today if you’re interested in protecting your home from invasive water.
