AVOID A WET BASEMENT THIS SPRING
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| | Spring has sprung. So could a leak in your basement. |
WHAT ? | Improve your grading, gutters and downspouts to avoid a wet basement. |
WHEN ? | As soon as you begin your outdoor chores. |
WHY ? | Ninety percent of wet basements are caused by surface water -- not by underground streams and high water tables. Surface water comes from rain or snow that lands on your property (your lawn, garden, roof, driveway, etc.) or your neighbors'. If your lot slopes toward your home, you're just asking for a wet basement. |
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HOW ? | First, ensure that all the land around your house slopes in the right direction. This can require as little as a couple of bags of topsoil or as much as a new driveway. Pay attention to localized low spots like gardens, window wells and the space between sidewalks and foundation walls. Secondly, look at your gutters and downspouts. Gutters must be sloped properly to drain. Downspouts must be frequent enough (every 35 feet) to prevent overflow in heavy rain. Look at where downspouts discharge. If they go into the ground, the below-ground portion of the drain may be broken or plugged. This almost guarantees a wet basement in the vicinity of the downspout. It is better to have downspouts discharge onto the lawn. |
TIPS | | Make sure the downspouts extend at least six feet from your home. Place them where they won't get tripped over and where they won't create sheets of ice in the winter. | | | Grading improvements should be made with impervious materials like concrete or asphalt wherever possible. Soil and grass work reasonably well, but extremely porous materials like gravel allow water to drain right through them. Gravel works well as ballast over plastic sheeting in areas where plant life won't grow, like between houses that are very close together. | | | Be sure to check the grading below decks and porches. It's often bad. |
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