The Barriers To DIY Basement Waterproofing
Basement waterproofing is something that every home should have, especially older homes. A flooded basement can cause damage to the foundation of your home, destroy what you have stored downstairs, pose a health threat to you and your family, and degrade the efficacy of your frame to hold your house up. But if you think DIY basement waterproofing is an easy task that can be done with some epoxy and a shovel, think again.
Professionals can stop the root of the problem. They can identify why the basement is flooding and attack the source. An amateur will probably misdiagnose the problem, try to fix the wrong thing and only discover the error during the next flood. This can lead to costly losses and repairs that mount up as the amateur plays a hit-or-miss game of waterproofing. Here are some of the things you’d be up against if you decided to waterproof your own basement:
• The cracks in the basement walls are not the root of the problem. If you have water seeping in through cracks in the concrete, then it is a good idea to epoxy the crack to stop the water, but it is not the root cause of flooding. The pressure put on the basement by the ground around the home can tear a hole in the foundation at any point.
• Professionals take into account the expansion and contraction of the ground around the home. The ground around your house is constantly moving with the season. Put a camera on it and speed up the film and you’d see the ground act like a wave. Professionals can interpret the movement and counter it to make your basement safer.
• Professionals use a two-pronged technique of plugging up holes and setting up drainage. This alleviates future water infiltration while attacking the immediate source of the flooding.