Every year, thousands of more homeowners discover that their aging home is beginning to experience some form of water damage. Over the years, the steady pressure from surrounding groundwater can slowly cause havoc for your foundation walls, eventually causing cracks, mold and mildew. And while some homeowners have plenty of warning when it comes to potential flood damage, there are always some every year who are taken totally by surprise after a heavy rain.
In this situation, one would think that basement waterproofing can do nothing but good for keeping your foundation safe and dry. In most cases, this is correct, as long as the work is done by a competent, fair and experienced basement waterproofing professional. But if you decide to save a few bucks by waterproofing your basement by yourself, and you have no experience in the field, you could actually end up doing more harm than good to your basement. And if you haven't properly researched the company you choose to do work, a similar amount of unnecessary damage could be the outcome, as well.
Quite often, new home owners think that keeping water out of their basement is as simple as sealing up the small cracks and coating their internal walls with a waterproof polyurethane paint or other substance. In fact, this could not be further from the truth, and in many cases could end up making the water damage problem even worse. Water damage occurs to foundation walls from the outside in, so sealing internal walls with a coating of waterproof paint will only hide the awful damage that is happening to the rest of the blocks.
Cinder blocks are, surprisingly, made of a hard but porous material that can suck up water from the soil like a sponge over a period of months or years. Only by moving water away from your foundation entirely can you really ensure that the walls won't eventually suffer deterioration. The best way to do this isn't with coatings or sealants, although they do serve a necessary purpose. Instead, ensuring that your external foundation drainage, such as footer drain tiles, are properly installed and maintained.
Basement waterproofing companies that don't examine your existing footer drains and the effects of hydrostatic pressure on your walls and floor may be doing you an expensive disservice in the end. Most companies are very fair and competent, but there are always a few who opt for the quick fix rather than a comprehensive solution that will solve flooding problems for many years to come.
So before you try to personally fix your basement water damage problems or hire a company that only touches up superficial damages, make sure that you more closely examine the overall shape of your foundation. Your problems could go much further than the small cracks or leaks you see inside of your basement, and dealing with hidden threats could save you many thousands of dollars in the future.
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