| By :
Nick Messe
The most common response to the possibility of basement flooding is to install a sump pump. While a quality sump pump is an important investment in flood prone areas, it should be the last line of defense instead of the first. To keep your proposed basement weight and exercise room from floating away, measures need to be taken to prevent the sump pump from being needed. The first step in protecting your basement from water damage is in the grading of the home site. The soil must slope away from the basement walls at least six inches in the first 100 feet. If an existing house has slope problems correcting the grade may require a major project, but the resulting improvement of basement dryness will be worth the effort. A less obvious basement water problem comes from the roof. If gutters and downspouts are not kept in good repair or are improperly installed they can allow water from the roof to seep into the soil along the foundation and leak into the basement. An average 2000 square foot roof produces close to 1200 gallons of water with for every inch of rain. Clogged gutters or downspouts without sufficient tiling to drain water away from the foundation can cause severe dampness of basement walls. During severe or prolonged rainfall, it can even result in flooding. One solution to poor grading or roof drainage problems is a dry well. A dry well chamber surrounded by gravel gives downspout and sump pump water a place to go into the ground away from the foundations of the house. This can be a simple alternative to tearing up existing landscaping and re-grading the whole lot. Another method of handling poor drainage is a French drain. A traditional French drain is a simple gravel and sand filled trench that leads water away from low-lying areas. The grading of the trench is of primary importance. It should have a 1 or 2 percent grade. Add gravel up to within 5 or 6 inches of the surface. Top the gravel with a 3 or 4 inch layer of coarse sand and cover with a layer of sod or soil and grass seed. Some experts also recommend using a perforated drain pipe in the trench to carry overflow more easily. An interior drainage system can be used to channel leakage to the outside. This method involves breaking up the floor along the base of the basement walls, digging a trench, and installing drain tiles to carry the water to a sump pump or discharge point. This method does no damage to the room. The trench is then filled with coarse gravel and the floor replaced over the top. Just as settling or erosion can cause foundation cracks, they can lead to cracks in basement walls. If this is the source of basement flooding, the only solution is to repair the cracks. Use a good quality caulking material. This should be followed by the application of waterproofing materials that seal the wall surface.
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