Water Loves Cracked Basement Walls

Did you know your basement walls are moving? Expansion and contraction of soil due to precipitation push your walls in and out throughout the year. 

This is especially true in Iowa with our extreme seasonal changes and soil conditions causing concrete walls to shift and move even more. Wall movement leads to cracks and openings in foundations that allow water to find their way in. There are several methods to address this issue.  

FAILED METHOD 1:  

Patching the crack on the inside with a "waterproof" sealant and the chances of success are slim. This is because wall cracks move and shift as well and this can wear down and reopen patched cracks. Water will find a way into any open joint – rendering the sealant useless.  

Sealing up a crack in your wall is a way to prevent insects and critters from entering your home, but it will not resolve leaky water issues. 

FAILED METHOD 2:  

Digging up the earth around the foundation and patching the crack on the outside is another way people attempt to solve the problem. This excavation is expensive and disruptive to your home. Since patching can fail, water can re-enter your home once the patched crack has opened again.  

So, what would you do? Dig it up again to fix the problem with the same solution that failed once already?    

If you want to solve the problem once and for all you'll want a repair method that removes water from your basement instead of just trying to stop water from entering. 

WaterGuard interior drainage system is one of our  solutions  for this issue. It is installed around  the  perimeter in your  basement, above the footing. This  stops  any mud or other  debris from  clogging up your  drain. It  is specifically designed  to drain water from wall  leaks and  floor leaks straight to your  sump pump.  

This means that any water entering your basement from  cracks or holes runs into the WaterGuard system and is  drained to your sump system and then to the outside.  With  this method, even if water enters your basement  through a  hole or crack in the wall, it has nowhere to go  but out. 

It is also important to remember that not all interior drain  systems are designed the same and some are more  effective  than others at solving wet basement issues.  For  more  information about interior drainage  systems, please view this  post: http://bit.ly/28KBj74 

If you have concerns about your cracked basement walls  or  are having water problems call our office and set up a  time to  have our system design specialist out to your  home to  diagnose a solution to your issues.