Top 5 Winter Dangers for Your Basement

Danger # 5 Frozen Pipes & Lines

Action - Insulating your plumbing pipes can protect against frozen lines that may cause a burst and flood your basement, the same problem can happen with your discharge line from your sump pump, if your line freezes outside your water from your sump pump has no where to go and backs up over your sump pit and into the basement. Ice Guard is a patented system to protect from this.

Danger# 4 Uncovered, inefficient basement windows

Action - Check to make sure you have energy efficient windows in your basement. Cold air through basement walls and windows is a major cause for energy loss. Air travels from bottom to top so cold air in your basement makes for a cold, inefficient house.

Danger # 3 Poor insulation

Action - Insulate your rim joists and foundation walls. When people think insulation they think attics, think again. Insulating your rim joists above your foundation walls can increase efficiency by around 10%. Not to mention sealing up air leaks to the outside can help keep out pesky critters like bugs and mice when they are looking for a warm home in the winter.

Danger # 2 Foundation Failure

Action - Get a Foundation inspection - If your foundation walls have shown signs of bowing or cracking, the winter freezing and expansion of ground water can add pressure that may be the breaking point for that wall. If you see these signs have a professional out to look at the issue and determine if your walls need support to withstand the pressure.

Danger # 1 The inevitable melting of winter's snow will leave many a basement with wet floors and a big mess to clean up.

Action - Ensure your waterproofing system can handle this before the snow melts. Waterproofing in the winter may not be logical to most but it makes perfect sense when you think about it. Some years the first snow melt can be the most water next to your home that there will be all year. This puts tremendous pressure on your drains, tiles, and sump pumps. If you aren't sure if your system is ready to handle this have a system service set up. Or if you know that it isn't ready set up an estimate to get a bid on a waterproofing system that will keep your basement dry for life.

Our specialists can help you both fix AND prevent these problems! Call the experts at Midwest Foundation Repair to schedule a free quote!