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How Rainwater Gets into Your Home and How to Keep Rainwater Out
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Here are
just a few examples of how rainwater gets into your
house and how to keep rainwater out: |
Most often than not, a wet or damp basement is
directly or indirectly associated with rainfall.
Although there are a many ways in which water
can get into your home, the most common is the
result of rainwater.
Rainwater may be inadvertently channeled into
fill areas surrounding your home. Improperly
maintained gutters and downspouts often compound
the problem and increase water around the
foundation. As the water saturates the soil, it
makes its way down the outside surface of the
foundation, searching for the path of least
resistance.
If a crack in your foundation exists, the water
comes in. Even in the absence of an actual
foundation crack, because of the porous nature
of concrete, moisture can be absorbed right
through the wall, causing the wall to sweat and
bleed. With a block wall foundation, a crack in
a mortar joint will allow water to enter the
cavities of the blocks, eventually building up
to a level where it can leak into your basement.
Water often becomes trapped inside these blocks
and may produce a musty odor, even in the
absence of visible dampness of wetness.
Since no watertight seal exists between your
foundation walls and the footing, water can
easily migrate through this area and flow up
through the space between the wall and floor,
ending up in your basement. This is the most
common source of basement leakage. If the water
table rises above your basement floor, the water
will exert pressure on the floor, and seep up
through floor cracks. If the floor has no cracks
and is otherwise sound, and can withstand the
rising water pressure, the water may still come
up through the space between the wall and the
floor, again causing basement leakage.
The key to resolving a rainwater problem is to
direct water away from your foundation. This can
be done by a variety of simple approaches
including gutters, downspouts and grading. Other
times, a more serious problem may exist which
requires the services of a professional
waterproofer and foundation specialist.
For more information or to schedule a
free inspection and estimate, please
ask for Owner/Operator Terry Chubb at 216.732.8485 or
440.942.1169. |
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