As soon as new basement design plans and approved construction permits have been secured, basement renovation can commence immediately. Prior to renovation, your basement should be completely dry and free from moisture issues. Moisture on walls {not water flowing down them]is a problem that can be easily tackled but with the help of a professional basement finishing contractor. Ground water table can cause water accumulation around the outside perimeter of your basement wall, thus resulting into hydrostatic pressure. There are many different factors that causes hydrostatic pressure including:
- Bad drainage system
- Blocked or stuffed spouts and gutters in the house
- Presence of natural spring in the compound
These are the most common causes of ground water accumulation around the basement perimeter. These problems can be easily fixed. Once this issue has been identified and fixed, then it should dry-up completely. Concrete walls and pan-poured walls are often impermeable and so water can’t find their way through them, on the other hand, “block units” or Mansory walls are more vulnerable to moisture issues due to their permeable nature.
There is a huge difference between a “moisture problem ” and a full blown “water problem”. Typically, water problems can be easily spotted by home owners when they find stagnant water or a water pool around the home. This usually signifies a major problem. In such cases it is important that you must invest in a proper waterproof System. Water will always creep back in through the weakest spots; this implies that even if you rarely have water in your basement, say every 3-5 years, it will always find its way back in again! It is therefore advisable to install a full perimeter waterproof system, as it offers long lasting solutions to water issues
This is one of the guaranteed ways of maximizing your efforts and money put into the basement finishing project. This will ensure your basement space is kept safe and dry. Once all the moistures problems have been fixed completely, basement finishing project can now commence.
Most new homes especially those ones built after the early 90s have had “footer drains” installed in the basement footer perimeter upon construction. There is usually a provision for sump pits set up in the corners of uncompleted basements. These sump pits usually have a sump pit motor installed into them by the home owner at any point in time. Most builders however do not pay much attention to installing the sump pit motor which results into future problems. In such circumstances, the home owners are saddled with the task of keeping themselves safe from accumulation of ground water, and are strongly advised to get one installed as soon as possible.
Almost any kind of basement can be renovated which has an underlying moisture or water problem, so long as the root of the problem have been identified and properly corrected. Remember, only professional basement finishing contractors should be hired to handle the waterproof perimeter system.