Water Seeping Through Basement Floor?
Don’t panic just yet, this can be fixed! If you have water seeping through your basement floor, you may have a high water table and the hydrostatic pressure is pushing up under your basement floor and forcing water into your basement. But before you diagnose this as your problem, be sure that you first check for the following:
- Check for leaking pipes or appliances in your basement. Sometimes water ends up in your basement from a leaky water heater, water pipe, or a leaking washing machine. Wherever the water is puddling up try to trace where it might be coming from. If water is only puddling up next to your washing machine, it could just be your washing machine leaking.
- Does water only leak in your basement after it rains? There’s a chance that rainwater isn’t being diverted away from your house very well. Make sure that you have gutters and that your downspouts are connected extend away from your foundation. If you connected the downspouts to drainage pipe and diverted it even further away to a dry well, even better. Lastly, make sure the soil around your house is graded away from your house and not towards it. (Check out what I did at my house.)
How to Fix a High Water Table Problem
If you’ve concluded that water is simply seeping through your basement floor and the water isn’t coming from any other source, you need to relieve the hydrostatic pressure. In order to do this, you will need to install a sump pump and probably a french drain as well. You can either try to do it yourself or hire a professional.
I try to do most things myself before hiring a professional, but for some things I draw a line. For example, if I have to climb higher than one story on a ladder, I’m hiring a professional. Doing things yourself is often cheaper if you do it right the first time, but if you mess up, it can become a major headache. If you are skilled and you are confident that you can do a good job, do your thang. (At your own risk)
The upside of hiring professionals to do it is that many basement waterproofing companies offer warranties. Many even offer transferable lifetime warranties. This can be great for peace of mind and if you ever decide to sell your home you can disclose to the buyers that you had your basement professionally waterproofed and that it comes with a transferable warranty.
I hope this article helped you at least learn your options about water seeping through your basement floor. If you are considering hiring a professional, click here to get free quotes from basement waterproofing contractors near you.