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How to Prevent Water in Your Basement ?

Where-is-your-water-table

The first item of importance you have to determine is where the water is coming from!  The very first observation you need to make is where the water is coming from; Above ground or Below Ground?

Is Your Water Attacking from Above or Below!

This is where Knowledge and Experience will lead a Professional Home Inspector to tour the Interior of the home and then the exterior, and interpret visible signs  to determine a reasonable determination of where the water is coming from.  Weather, Time of Year, Snow Load, Amount of Rain and How Much Snow is Melting will all factor into this equation.

The Common Source of Water Above the Ground

As the Barrie Home inspection has inspected over 8,000 properties.  There are two common factors which can affect water entering your basement that I have personally come across.

1.  Water collected by your roof and discharged through your gutters and downspouts onto your property.  This is a great amount of water.  For example:  (Just a half inch of rain falling on a 1,000-square-foot roof will yield 300 gallons of water)  This amount of water if directed to one particular part of your foundation will most likely overcome “Weeping Tile Defense” and penetrate your foundation wall.   ie:  this is just one of many examples. 

2. Underground water sources usually controlled by the lay of the land and the amount of water discharged from sump pumps and downspouts.  Most homes have a swale which extends from the back yard into the front yard.   This is typically located on your property line.   If swale is filled in or altered, water may not drain away from your home and find its way into your basement.

Water Table

Simply looking into your Sump Hole you can quickly determine the water table level in your area.   You can determine quickly the difference from your floor to the water below.  Typically the the greater the distance between the Weeping Tile and Water Table Line the better.

There are many more items or situations that can affect flooding of a basement that it would be impossible to just write one article about it,  a thousand may not encompass the full understanding.   There will be further articles on this subject!

Inside Weeping Tile

Although this is only my personal opinion, I would never install a water collection system that only works after to water has passed through your foundation.  Concrete is strong but one item that can erode it is water.  Everyone can invested based on their own decisions,  I only recommend a decision based on Education, Knowledge and Experience.

Common Causes of Water Entering your Basement

✅  Over the Footing. …

✅  Under the Footing. …

✅  Through Floor Cracks. …

✅  Windows and Window Wells. …

✅  Pipe Penetrations. …

✅  Over the Sill Plate. …

✅  Wall Cracks and Mortar Joints. …

✅  Failed or Undersized Pumps.

Need an Opinion ?

As the Barrie Home Inspector I have many years of experience in many areas concerning residential homes.   If you have a question about your home or how to solve a problem in your home,  JUST CALL ME 705-795-8255

As long as I am not in the middle of an inspection I would enjoy answering your Questions about YOUR HOME  or PROPERTY.

Years ago I used to work in a building full of Tradesmen.  Their knowledge and willingness to share enabled me to learn to learn so many things that I am more than happy to pass on any information to anyone needing that knowledge.