5 Basement Waterproofing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

During the average span of home ownership, 98 percent of houses will experience water damage. As a result, it’s nearly a given that your basement will experience this problem! You may hire a basement waterproofing service to ensure that you don’t have to deal with pricey repairs due to flooding or other moisture intrusion issues. 

However, there are a few mistakes that you can make as you try to manage things yourself. Let’s look at five basement leak repair blunders that far too many homeowners commit below.

1. Draining Flooded Basements Too Fast

If your basement has flooded lately, you’re probably concerned with just one thing: getting the water out. When you remove all of the water from the basement too quickly, the remaining water in the soil surrounding the home may cause a lot of pressure on the now-empty basement. 

While this is a process that happens naturally, it has the potential to cause worse ramifications than normal when you intervene to rapidly drain water away. It’s advisable to avoid this problem by time-draining flood water from your basement. Otherwise, you might find yourself having to pay for costly basement repairs.

2. Relying on Only Paint for Waterproofing

Before we start hammering waterproofing paint, it’s crucial to understand why this sort of paint is necessary for waterproofing your basement. While waterproofing paint can assist an efficient waterproofing installation, it is not the only part that should be used. Many homeowners make the mistake of putting all of their waterproofing eggs in one basket with specialized paints.

For example, you can create bubbling and cracking if you apply waterproofing paint as a fast cure without addressing the underlying issue. This causes the paint to flake off, directly exposing the wall to the water. A water damage professional is a superior option for dealing with any water damage problems you may be facing. After treating the root of the problem, you may add a finishing touch by painting your basement walls with waterproofing paint.

3. Not Checking Soil Around the Foundation

Another typical problem of common waterproofing mistakes made by homeowners is failing to inspect their foundations’ soil. Water gets into the basement at the maximum rate when the soil around your house allows water to penetrate into your property. You may solve this problem by ensuring that the earth around your house slopes away from the structure. Fill up any depressions around the foundation to keep water from seeping too deeply into the ground.

Check the soil surrounding your home’s foundation before implementing any further waterproofing steps. You could discover that by following some easy procedures recommended by Basement Masters Waterproofing, you can more easily keep water out of your basement.

4. Not Allowing Enough Basement Drying Time

No doubt you are anxious to waterproof your basement once you’ve cleared all of the water out. After all, you want to avoid dealing with this problem again! The primary issue to address is that you must first ensure the whole basement is fully dry before proceeding. You may then examine the entire room for more water damage.

You can undermine your home’s foundations if you don’t let your basement dry out correctly. It can potentially lead to a collapse in the future! Consequently, you should wait until the basement is totally dry (or as dry as can be achieved) before contacting a basement waterproofing contractor like one of our professionals here at Basement Masters Waterproofing. They’ll check the area and tell you when it’s safe to begin waterproofing as well as the best recommended solution for your situation.

Waiting Too Long for Waterproofing Installation

Preventative steps are the simplest approach to avoid costly water damage repairs. That means acting quickly, so your basement is already secured prior to the event of a flood! Many homeowners mistakenly believe that their basements are impregnable. They decide not to waterproof their basements because “it won’t happen to me.” Nearly all homes may encounter basement water damage at some time in their lives. That’s why it’s critical to waterproof your basement as soon as your situation allows so as to avoid future damages and increased costs from complications that have not yet been remedied.

We can help you get started with a basement waterproofing solution that protects your foundation from harm, without falling prey to these common basement waterproofing mistakes. Call Basement Masters Waterproofing Northern Virginia now to talk with a waterproofing professional about protecting your basement.