Water in basement? Don’t waste money “waterproofing.”

This time of year I see a lot of basements with water leaking into them.  On warmer days, melting snow keeps the ground wet and that water can work its way into your home.

Water is the number one destroyer of homes, so it’s important to correct this condition as soon as possible.

A common misconception is that water gets in because your home is not properly sealed, but in reality attempts to seal or “waterproof” can do more harm than good.

The two most common attempts to seal are to close off unused openings, and the more costly foundation “waterproofing.”

Closing off unused openings is a common fix for leaking doors and windows. I often see block glass, concrete or brick used to close off unused windows and doors in hopes of not allowing water to come in.   For minor problems this could work, and as long as there’s still proper egress it won’t hurt, but ultimately it only slows the water down.

A more extreme reaction to basement water is to hire a company to “waterproof” the basement.  They will dig around your house and coat your foundation with tar, rubber, or some other sealant.  This is expensive process is at best a temporary Band-Aide, and at worse can cause major problems.

The digging can violate what’s known as the “cone of compression.”  The cone of compression is the sub-surface soil that supports your home.  Imagine you’re at the beach and you want to set down a water bottle 6 inches higher than the rest of the sand.  You can’t just build a column of sand the same diameter as your water bottle because the loose sand will collapse.  Instead you need to pile together a cone shaped pile of sand to adequately support your water bottle at the top.  The soil under your house works the same way, and if that cone is compromised it can cause settling issues with your home, just like if you scooped into the sand near your water bottle and caused it to fall over.

Another problem with basement waterproofing is that it can actually trap water inside your home.  Michigan weather is tough on sealants.  The fluctuating temperatures cause materials to expand and contract which can result in sealant cracking.  These cracks will allow moisture inside, but the rest of the intact coating won’t let it back out!

So, you can see sealing off a basement doesn’t really work, but I promise I won’t offer only doom and gloom.

The best way to keep water out of your house is to direct it away.  This can be accomplished by regrading the landscaping, installing and/or maintaining a roof drainage system, and in some cases installing a landscape drainage system. Read more about these methods here.