Shopping Around for Basement Waterproofing? The Basement Doctor of Cincinnati has all the Educational Tools You Need!

Recently, we received a call from a customer that was having problems with work done by one of our competitors. Their basement was still leaking, and their drywall was showing signs of water damage. Bobby Miles, the President of our company, went out to the job site to see what was going on. He found out that the company they had used previously told them they didn’t have to take down the drywall. That’s exactly where the continuing leak and mold were coming from. When you receive a visit from one of our certified inspectors, you can feel good knowing that we’re not going to tell you lies to make a sale. If we inspect your home and find that you don’t have any major issues, we aren’t going to try to sell you products you don’t need. The Basement Doctor of Cincinnati doesn’t take shortcuts. We do the job right the first time, so you don’t run into problems down the road.

The Wrong Way to Waterproof a Basement

Installing The System Too Deep

When houses are built, they’re typically built with a pipe outside the foundation. In theory, this prevents water from getting inside the house. So many things can go wrong with that pipe though. Over time, this pipe almost always fails because it gets filled up with silt and soil. It’s no longer capable of protecting the interior of your home.

As you know from our previous pieces on hydrostatic pressure, water is going to make its way into your basement one way or another. How you control it determines how healthy your home is. Like us, most companies are going to take measures to control where that water goes when it does enter your home with an interior system. 

There’s a great debate within the waterproofing industry about how deep to install your system. There’s no debate for us. We at the Basement Doctor know better than to install the system any lower than the footing. We install it there because that’s where the clear water zone is. Any deeper you reach the mud zone. That’s exactly where the exterior pipes are installed. So, when that area gets wet, you're going to have the same problem you did with the pipe outside your home. The drain is going to fill up with silt and soil which causes catastrophic system failure. That is precisely what we’re trying to prevent.

The Myth of Self-Flushing Lines

Some of our competitors will tell you that their system is “self-flushing.” That means when mud gets into the system, it will flush the mud out itself. When you have an inspector on your property, keep in mind that mud should never get into your system in the first place.

Mud in your pipes means ultimate system failure. Even if the pipes do move mud through the floor drains, it’s just going to end up in your sump pump. The sump pump is meant to move water, not mud. If someone tells you that their system is self-flushing, don’t believe them! It’s a lie.

The Drain and Your Foundation Wall

Our introduction story touches lightly on the subject of foundation walls and a basement waterproofing system. To work properly, a waterproofing system should have a gap between the drain and the wall, but it shouldn’t be any larger than ⅜ an inch. A common name for this is a French drain. 

The average French drain leaves the gap open. The problem with this gap is that it lets more than just water in. Drywall dust, pens, pencils, and crayons from a child exploring their world, and other basement debris are just a few examples of what could get into the cracks. Our WaterGuard has flanges that prevent these unwanted objects from clogging the drain in the first place.

We know that basement waterproofing is an investment. We understand that you could talk to a few companies before you talk to us. The most important thing is that you have all the information you need as a consumer, so you don’t invest in the wrong company. You don’t need a business that will sell you lies. You need a company with integrity. You need The Basement Doctor of Cincinnati. Call us today for your free estimate.