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Keeping Your Basement DryBy Jim Sulski Summary: There is nothing worse than discovering water in your basement after a rainy night. Jim gives you tips on how to keep your basement dry. Although basements are below grade, there are several steps homeowners can
take to prevent water from getting in a basement. For example, if water comes into a basement through a flood drain, a homeowner can install a standpipe. A standpipe is a wide diameter pipe inserted into the floor drain. Once the below-ground water backs up into the drain, the water moves up into the standpipe, staying contained in that pipe versus entering the basement. Standpipes are either screwed or dropped into the basement drain opening. In some cases, it may require a coupling available at most hardware or plumbing stores. A homeowner must decide whether to leave a standpipe in year-round, where it could be in the way of walking path, or be around to place it in the floor drain in the event of a rainstorm. Another possible remedy to drain openings is a drain plug. The plugs are set up to pop open again if there's too much water pressure so that the floor doesn't crack. Another prevention method is a sewer or check valve, installed on the underground drainpipe that is connected to the basement floor drain. There are manual and automatic valves. Basically what they do is restrict the flow of the water so that it runs away from the house. Expect to pay anywhere from $2,500 to $6,000 to have one installed. Another solution is an overhead sewer, which is more costly (they start at about $10,000) but guarantees water will not back up into a basement. It especially makes sense if the basement is finished and has a bathroom. With this system, basement sewage is collected in a tank and then pumped out by a motorized ejector pump through an overhead pipe that prevents any backup. Homeowners should also check to make sure their home's downspouts are not tied into their drainpipe. If the downspouts travel down into the ground, there's a good chance that they are connected to the underground drainpipe. The solution here is disconnecting the downspouts from the drainpipe. Start by cutting a downspout about a foot above where it enters the ground. Install an elbow connector at the cut, and then add an extension pipe to the elbow so that water from the downspout is directed away from the house. Remember not to point the pipe so that it floods your neighbor's driveway or yard. There's a couple of ways to address seepage coming in through cracks in the walls and floors of the basement. The most common is to have the walls and floor sealed, preferably from the outside and the inside. If you hire a company to do that, carefully check them out. Expect to pay several thousand dollars to have the basement sealed. A homeowner can also opt for the less expensive method of sealing from the
inside, an easy job for the do-it-yourselfer. This requires cleaning the basement
walls, and then filling any large cracks with hydraulic cement. Then, you can
apply a coat of waterproof sealing paint to the interior foundation wall © by Jim Sulski. All rights reserved. February 22, 2005. NOTE: This column is distributed by Real Estate Matters Syndicate, PO Box 366, Glencoe, Illinois, 60022. This column may not be resold, reprinted, resyndicated or redistributed without written permission from the publisher. © 2005 by Ilyce R. Glink. Distributed by Real Estate Matters Syndicate. |
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