6 Reasons Why You Don’t Want a Wet Basement
6 Reasons Why You Don’t Want a Wet Basement
When you allow water into your home, you open up the door to a whole host of problems. That musty stench in your wet basement is only the beginning. The fact is, you need to view a wet basement as an emergency.
Water kills your home, pure and simple. Think of it like cancer. Sometimes it happens slowly, over the course of many years. Other times it comes quickly. Either way, failing to fix your wet basement means destruction for your home.
Are you convinced? If not, the following reasons should be plenty to send you in search of a solution. And luckily, a solution exists in basement waterproofing.
1. Risk of foundation damage— When water penetrates cracks in your basement, your entire foundation is at risk. Eventually the cracks in your foundation walls will grow to the point that your foundation will shift, causing cracks to grow at a more severe rate. That’s when the real damage happens. How do you fix it? Hire a professional for concrete crack injection and nip the problem in the bud. Otherwise you’re looking at spending a lot more on foundation repair.
2. Rising electricity bills—The thick basement air eventually find its way into your home. As you’re air conditioning unit fights to cool your home, the humid air will war against it. The result? More electricity is used to obtain the internal temperature you want, causing your electric bills to shoot through the roof.
3. Health risk—Wet basement air sets off allergies. That means headaches, stuffy noses, coughs—irritants that can make home life miserable. And what if your wet basement breeds mold? Then you’re looking at more serious health risks. Some mold can even result in death. So save yourself the doctor’s visits. Find a solution and get a dry basement.
4. Kills resale value—Would you buy a home with a wet basement? Of course not. Not knowingly, anyway. And neither will anyone else. So if you ever see yourself selling your home, invest in basement waterproofing. Not only will it secure your investment, but it will actually increase your home’s value.
5. Invites pests—Damp, dark corners in your basement are great if you like roaches and spiders. But if you’re like most of us, you don’t want these pests breeding in your home. Rather than spraying with toxic chemicals every other day, why not bite the bullet and invest in basement waterproofing?
6. Renders your basement useless—When your basement is wet, it’s basically useless. You don’t want to go down there because it stinks. You don’t want to store anything in the basement because the moisture will attack it. So you end up wasting valuable space in your home.
Face it– you don’t want a wet basement. No one does. Fortunately, if you’re wanting a dry basement, a viable solution exists for your problem. Basement waterproofing contractors can stop up your cracks, install drainage systems, and ensure that you never have to worry about water intrusion again. Why not look into this solution right away?
Find waterproofing basement IN and basement waterproofing contractors at StayDryWaterProofing.Com.
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Categories: Basement Moisture Tags: Basement, dont, Reasons, Want
3 Reasons You Should Control Moisture and Humidity in Your Basement
3 Reasons You Should Control Moisture and Humidity in Your Basement
Why not control the indoor air quality in your home by eliminating the musty odors in your basement ? Many homeowners have experienced it. In the past, homeowners actually ignored the problem and considered it normal for a basement to smell. Only until recently have we understood the impact of the basement air quality on our entire home. Some still choose to ignore the smells because they grew up in a home with a damp, musty basement and consider it normal.
For you to consider, here’s three reasons to control moisture and mold in your basement.
At first, in its favor, allow me to point out that 40% of the air you breathe on your main floor comes from your basement environment. Sure, I understand your objection that you may have had a moldy, musty basement as a kid and nothing happened to you. That which you say may be true, I agree, but what if your family members suffer from allergies or maybe even asthma. Lowering the humidity in the basement and cleaning the air of mold spores and dust mites could help them breathe easier .
Second off, You actually should consider that those musty odors that your smelling is actually mold doing it’s job, eating organic material. And, additionally, consider that by not controlling the humidity levels in your basement with an energy efficient dehumidifier, you are increasing the load on your central air conditioning system by forcing it to pull the moisture out of the air, costing you higher utility bills each month.
Third and ultimately, considering how much time we spend in or homes, if we were to control basement humidity and its musty odors, it may even reduce the need for all the over-the-counter allergy medicine we take
Which will probably imply that It’s just a healthier way to live. And, additionally, added to that, you may even be inspired to finish and enjoy your basement. You already own the space, why not utilize it!
Once you have had an opportunity to study the reasons, you’ll see that a pretty good case can be made in favor of controlling moisture and mold in your basement by installing a energy efficient dehumidifier and air filtration unit.
Learn the way to Control moisture and musty odors in your basement at this website at (www.basementwaterproofingstcharles.com) .
Herb recommends the Santa Fe dehumidifier for homeowners in St. Charles Missouri with basements with high humidity and musty odors.
Article from articlesbase.com
Basements waterproofing:five reasons for damp basements
Basements waterproofing:five reasons for damp basements
PREFACE
Total waterproofing of basements / foundations is considered by some very experienced professionals as an unattainable objective.
Water, either under its visible liquid phase or under its more mysterious, invisible and unpredictable gaseous phase will sooner or later find its way through foundations in our precious living space.
We will check together five of the most common modi operandi our mischievous opponent uses to achieve its goals.
.
Epigrammatic presentation of the 5 reasons for wet basements – foundations:
1. Massive leaks through joints – cracks – discontinuities
2. The role of capillary suction (absorption)
3. Condensation phenomena
4. Water vapor diffusion through foundations
5. Air leakage due to stack effect.
1.Massive leaks through joints – cracks – discontinuities
Can you imagine a concrete basement as a monolithic construction? This means without:
- joints
- cracks
- honeycombs
- any construction discontinuity?
No way!
Concrete constructions are built in different phases. Different kinds of joints e.g.
Construction joints
Contraction (control) joints
Isolation joints
Expansion joints…
…will always break the construction continuity.
These joints need utmost waterproofing care and are among the prime suspects for water intrusion in the basements.
Many joints can be seen as predermined cracks. We know or we decide their exact position.
This is not the same with cracks that are generally occasional, random and unpredictable.
Even if you take the most exhaustive preventive measures, cracks will show up. You can reduce their number and size but you never eliminate them.
Cracks could originate from:
* settlement and principally differential settlement
* hydraulic or drying shrinkage of concrete
* constructional errors
* random, excessive pressures on foundations etc.
All above causes can be prevented but only up to a point. More or less they cannot be totally controlled.
Discontinuities are the number one reason leading to water intrusion in basements / foundations. They need special waterproofing measures which will be analyzed in the near future.
2. The role of capillary suction (absorption)
Moisture in its liquid phase moves through porous building materials from high to low concentration areas. Highly cohesive soils can drive considerable loads of liquid moisture through foundation walls and slabs.
The movement of liquid moisture through the capillary system of porous materials is based on molecular phenomena.
Polarity of water molecules make them adhere well on most of the building materials.
It’s is this strong adhesion that initiates water movement inside the capillary pores. Adhesion, though, cannot create and sustain massive movement of the water. It is the surface tension of water that involves and sustains the movement which could be an upwards movement against gravity. Each molecule pulls other molecules as if there were links in the same chain.
Put in another way surface tension fights to keep water surface intact and thus helps sustain movement.
Hydrostatic pressure, when present, gives the extra push for the phenomenon to develop. Hydrostatic pressure will second wall pores wetting, acting in this way as a catalyst for the phenomenon evolution.
Damp proofing or waterproofing – depending on the conditions – could be effective measures against capillary suction.
Other possible measures: Granular layers, drainage composites, extruded polystyrene etc.
3rd reason: Condensation
Condensation is described thoroughly in our entry “THE 4 PILLARS OF CONDENSATION PREVENTION”.
Condensation, in contrast with the previously mentioned reasons is an internal phenomenon.
Condensation has unbreakable bonds with dewpointtemperature and not with relative humidity which is a meaningless figure if temperature is not considered.
Condensation is often misdiagnosed and confused with capillary suction (or rising damp).
A well sealed piece of aluminium or polyethylene foil can easily help distinguish between the two.
“Summer” condensation takes place when warm air masses enter basements from the openings and condense on the relatively cold walls.
Interstitial condensation occurs inside the building envelope with the help of vapor diffusion.
4th reason: Diffusion
Diffusion evolves on a molecular level and has to do with the kinetic energy of the water molecules. These tiny particles pass through the voids of porous materials.
Moisture loads in the ground are almost always heavier than the interior and thus diffusion evolves from the exterior to interior.
Diffusion can have catastrophic results on most floor finishings. Additionally it can feed internal humidity on a continuous basis.
Diffusion can be curbed with the use of appropriate vapor barriers.
5th reason: The stack effect
Stack effect in basements is very powerful when they communicate with upper floors. As we have already seen , warm air rises and exlfiltrates at the top of building. A vacuum is created in the basement and air is sucked through discontinuities to equalize the pressure. Air, of course, will bring together considerable moisture loads.
Chris Strogilis
Civ. Eng. – MBA – DipM
Civil engineer with postgraduate studies in MBA and Marketing.
christos@macon.gr
http://maconwaterproofing.blogspot.com/
http://totalfitness-christos.blogspot.com
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Categories: Basement Moisture Tags: Basements, damp, Reasons, waterproofingfive
Waterproofing:5 Reasons Why Your Basement is Wet
Waterproofing:5 Reasons Why Your Basement is Wet
PREFACE
Total waterproofing of basements / foundations is considered by some very experienced professionals as an unattainable objective.
Water, either under it’s visible liquid foundationphase or under it’s more mysterious, invisible and unpredictable gaseous phase will sooner or later find its’ way through foundations in our precious living space.
We will check together five of the most common modi operandi our mischievous opponent uses to achieve its’ goals.
This is an ascertaiment entry! Please check other entries for solutions.
Epigrammatic presentation of the 5 reasons for wet basements – foundations:
1. Massive leaks through joints – cracks – discontinuities
2. The role of capillary suction (absorption)
3. Condensation phenomena
4. Water vapor diffusion through foundations
5. Air leakage due to stack effect.
1. WATERPROOFING
Massive leaks through joints – cracks – discontinuities
Can you imagine a concrete basement as a monolithic construction? This means without:
- joints
- cracks
- honeycombs
- any construction discontinuity?
No way!
Concrete constructions are built in different phases. Different kinds of joints e.g.
Construction joints
Contraction (control) joints
Isolation joints
Expansion joints…
will always break the construction continuity.
These joints need utmost waterproofing care and are among the prime suspects for water intrusion in the basements.
Many joints can be seen as predermined cracks. We know or we decide their exact position.
This is not the same with cracks that are generally occasional, random and unpredictable.
Even if you take the most exhaustive preventive measures, cracks will show up. You can reduce their number and size but you never eliminate them.
Cracks could originate from:
* settlement and principally differential settlement
* hydraulic or drying shrinkage of concrete
* constructional errors
* random, excessive pressures on foundations etc.
All above causes can be prevented but only up to a point. More or less they cannot be totally controlled.
Discontinuities are the number one reason leading to water intrusion in basements / foundations. They need special waterproofing measures which will be analyzed in the near future.
–
2. The role of capillary suction (absorption)
Moisture in its’ liquid phase moves through porous building materials from high to low concentration areas. Highly cohesive soils can drive considerable loads of liquid moisture through foundation walls and slabs.
The movement of liquid moisture through the capillary system of porous materials is based on molecular phenomena.
Polarity of water molecules make them adhere well on most of the building materials.
It’s is this strong adhesion that initiates water movement inside the capillary pores. Adhesion, though, cannot create and sustain massive movement of the water. It is the surface tension of water that involves and sustains the movement which could be an upwards movement against gravity. Each molecule pulls other molecules as if there were links in the same chain.
Put in another way surface tension fights to keep water surface intact and thus helps sustain movement.
Hydrostatic pressure, when present, gives the extra push for the phenomenon to develop. Hydrostatic pressure will second wall pores wetting, acting in this way as a catalyst for the phenomenon evolution.
Damproofing or waterproofing – depending on the conditions – could be effective measures against capillary suction.
Other possible measures: Granular layers, drainage composites, extruded polystyrene etc.
3rd reason: Condensation
Condensation, in contrast with the previously mentioned reasons is an internal phenomenon.
Condensation has unbreakable bonds with dewpoint temperature and not with relative humidity which is a meaningless figure if temperature is not considered.
Condensation is often misdiagnosed and confused with capillary suction (or rising damp).
A well sealed piece of aluminium or polyethylene foil can easily help distinguish between the two.
“Summer” condensation takes place when warm air masses enter basements from the openings and condense on the relatively cold walls.
Interstitial condensation occurs inside the building envelope with the help of vapor diffusion.
4th reason: Diffusion
Diffusion evolves on a molecular level and has to do with the kinetic energy of the water molecules. These tiny particles pass through the voids of porous materials.
Moisture loads in the ground are almost always heavier than the interior and thus diffusion evolves from the exterior to interior.
Diffusion can have catastrophic results on most floor finishings. Additionally it can feed internal humidity on a continuous basis.
Diffusion can be curbed with the use of appropriate vapor barriers.
5th reason: The stack effect
Stack effect in basements is very powerful when they communicate with upper floors. Warm air rises and exlfiltrates at the top of building. A vacuum is created in the basement and air is sucked through discontinuities to equalize the pressure. Air, of course, will bring together considerable moisture loads.
Chris Strogilis
maconwaterproofing.blogspot.com/
Civil engineer with postgraduate studies in MBA and Marketing
Categories: Basement Moisture Tags: Basement, Reasons, Waterproofing5
5 Reasons Why Basement Waterproofing is Essential
5 Reasons Why Basement Waterproofing is Essential
The foundation of your house depends on a strong basement. Basement waterproofing prevents water from penetrating into the basement area Waterproofing your basement is mandatory or else it could lead to structural damages and collapsing drywall.
Given below are 5 reasons why basement waterproofing is essential:
“ Structural damage: Water seepage is very common problem in basements; especially if you live in wet areas with moist soil. If you do not take proper preventive measures for this problem then it could lead to structural damages to your property. You find seepage mainly in the corners where the wall meets the floor. This process is typically slow and won’t show immediate consequences but if ignored then it could cause major damages such as bowed walls and cracked foundation. Basement waterproofing is very important to treat wet basements. Timely preventions can save you from disastrous structural damages.
“ Infestations: If you live in an area where there are black molds, then it becomes absolutely essential to waterproof your basement. Damp areas are a breeding ground for waterborne contaminants such as black mold. All kinds of mold can grow between walls and under padding of wet carpets; the worst kinds are the black molds. It is very toxic and can cause death. If basement waterproofing is not done in time them these infestations keep breeding in the wet areas which can cause major health hazards. You may even have to abandon the house if the professionals are not able to take care of the infestations.
“ Natural calamities: If you live in an area where there is heavy rainfall or in hurricane areas, basement waterproofing becomes very essential. These areas are prone to flooding; as a result, water is very likely to enter the basement. Rainwater can penetrate through cracks in the wall causing seepage. Also when flood water collects around the foundation walls, water collects in small pockets in the soil next to the foundation and starts forming hydrostatic pressure. Over the time this pressure increases until the water is pushed through the wall. Thus basement waterproofing becomes necessary in such areas.
“ Damage to property: Most of us keep a lot of stuff in the basement like furniture, books, equipments, etc. sometimes there are workshops or even wine cellars down in the basement. But if the basement is not waterproofed then water seepage can cause a lot of damage to your property. Wooden furniture rots when it gets damp. Expensive items could be damaged due to dampness. It you plan to use your basement for important purposes then it becomes even more essential to waterproof your basement.
“ Sloping and grading: It’s important to know if the ground around your house is sloping away from your foundation. The soil outside should meet the walls; if it doesn’t then the water can penetrate between the gaps. In this case you have to hire a professional grader to help slope the ground downhill and away from your house. But as preventive measures it is best to waterproof your basement just incase you do not detect the sloping around your house instantly.
Basement waterproofing can be expensive but it’s worth the cost to prevent you from irreparable damages in the future.
To learn more about the importance of basement waterproofing and to get helpful guides visit our website at http://www.allaboutbasementwaterproofing.com
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Categories: Basement Moisture Tags: Basement, Essential, Reasons, Waterproofing