What are Basement Waterproofing Systems?

What are basement waterproofing systems and how do they work? To answer that question, let’s first look at historically conventional basement waterproofing and how it is supposed to work.

If you imagine how a basement is first built, when the house it is sited in was first conceived, then basically the following happens:

If you can see a home being built the contractor first surveys the lot using the blueprints for the home to be built; then he sights out the lot to find out the best place to start digging and grading the property, then he lays the footer or foundation and begins building the basement walls, lastly the balance of the home follows.

That big hole in the ground, the first on the list above is important to note. The construction of basement walls invariably leaves a void on the exterior which requires backfilling. This void gets filled with loose backfill. Well compacted or not, introducing a huge pile of loose backfill is going to cause problems.  Water will always flow in the path of least resistance.

Water will continuously seep into this area. The conventional basement waterproofing system provides some form of drainage pipe for this water to drain away, but the problem with this is that often these pipes get silted up. It’s natural enough, the water is bringing all sorts of suspension with it. When these pipes get filled the system overloads and a lot of water pressure gets applied to the outside walls of the basement. So while the walls of the basement may be waterproofed in some way, water, as you probably already know, will usually find a way through the tiniest of gaps.

This kind of situation is persistent because the tubes that should drain the excess water eventually deteriorate.

A huge problem is that often there isn’t access to these pipes. Basement waterproofing is also applied to the external walls of the basement to try and keep the water out. Usually this is called a tanked system.

If you want to find out if you have water inside the concrete block of your walls simply tap a hole into the concrete block, near the floor, and see if you have water coming out of this block then you may want to consider a drained cavity waterproofing system this system drains the water from your walls, much the same way you just did, by adding drain holes in the bottom blocks that allows those areas to drain into a type of interior french drain system. Water is controlled, collected and allowed to flow through hidden drainage channels either to natural drainage or to a sump pump where the water is removed away from the property.

Basement waterproofing systems are superior because they are installed internaly, have easy access ports for removing silt, and can be installed in basements where other methods have failed.

In conclusion, you want a basement waterproofing system that will deliver:

- a permanent or long term fix
- stop both ways by which water can enter through the walls and up from the floor
- not disturb landscaping, decks, patios, driveways, etc
- usually be an approved waterproofing method for home loans
-more affordable than other methods

Choose a reputable basement waterproofer when protecting your home, remember it is economically foolish not to waterproof, because the increased value from waterproofing will definitely exceed the cost of the waterproofing.

From an expert in the field, not waterproofing can be a dumb an expensive mistake in the future.

Make it easier to start using basement waterproofing systems, quickly & easily. Teach yourself the important steps and get an environment lacking problems by visiting a basement waterproofing systems website As with most companies you can now get information on basement waterproofing systems via an online website.