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Exterior Waterproofing Waterproofing
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Basement water problems are one of the most frequent homeowner complaints in our region of the country. Your home sits in a hole in the ground. The hole would fill with water if it couldn't drain away. Most homes with basements have drain tile installed around the perimeter which collects ground water and takes it away from the foundation. Most homes older than 1973 have drain tiles made from red clay tile, which normally had a lifespan of 30 to 40 years before failure. Many homes built after 1973 had a flimsy black plastic corrugated drain tile installed which was often easily crushed during backfilling.
Water infiltration problems begin when drain tile becomes clogged with dirt, breaks or comes apart, or disintegrates and water is no longer carried away. Once this occurs water pressure will build up around the foundation and water will try to find a way inside. Water follows the path of least resistance and will easily find its way through any cracks or gaps in the foundation. If the surrounding backfill is clay the additional moisture will often cause the clay to swell, (hydrostatic pressure) this swelling pressure often exceeds the mechanical strength of the wall causing the wall to crack and buckle inward.Exterior Waterproofing.Once the problem has been diagnosed and the repair plan agreed upon your work will be scheduled. The area to be waterproofed is excavated down to the footing. Generally the trench width is 3' and an additional 6' of width is needed on top to temporarily place excavated material. The wall is then power washed. All cracks are tuck pointed and sealed. The outside wall receives a cement parge coating. This coating is allowed to dry and then a thick tar sealer is applied. Schedule #35 rigid pvc drain tile is then installed with above ground cleanouts and tied into the existing system. The entire outside trench is backfilled with schedule # 57 limestone and then capped with 18” of dirt. The remaining dirt is hauled away and the site is cleaned up. When permits and inspections are required EBR handles the arrangements. We highly recommend that when the trench is opened up you bring in a sewer jet cleaning company to clean out and inspect any draintile on walls not being replaced to be certain that water collected in the replaced draintile will have somewhere to discharge. Cleanout piping is installed on walls we waterproof for future servicing from above ground. Expect to remove plants, decks, steps around the basement perimeter. Expect some wear and tear from equipment coming and going through your yard. We clean up, regrade and reseed when done. Winter and wet season work makes a much larger mess! Expect some settlement of dirt along the trench areas in the future. |
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