Permanent Basement Waterproofing in Colorado

An interior drainage system will be installed around the inner perimeter of your Colorado basement, as its name implies. The only visible portion of this system will be the wall flange installed along the wall and floor joint. Most of the water from leaks tends to gather here. The system then will capture any moisture that tries to seep into your basement and redirect it to the powerful sump pump, the heart of the entire drainage system.

The sump pump has a complex float system that lets it know how much water has entered its system. Once it reaches a specific amount, the pump will then activate on its own and work to pump water away from your home. You will not have to worry about rushing to turn it on yourself in the middle of a storm, for instance. Our pumps can drain thousands of gallons of water. Should your power go out during a blizzard, if you have a battery backup attached to the sump pump, it will still keep churning out water, slush, and ice from your home with ease.

It also has an alarm system that will sound once it turns on and when it is running on low battery power. You can call our basement experts to replace the back-up battery so that it will not shut down in the middle of a huge storm. Installation of this system typically takes less than a day and will not interfere with any other pipes around your home. You can enjoy a completely waterproof basement after just a few hours.

Although it is not always indicative of structural failure, the most telltale sign of structural damage due to basement water penetration is foundation wall cracks. Wall cracks can occur in multiple ways and often tell a definitive story about why and how they cracked.

For instance, stair-step or vertical wall cracks often occur as a result of differential settlement. Differential settlement typically results from rainwater funneling underneath your foundation walls, washing out, and eroding the soil below, leaving voids. Void-laden soil simply cannot support the heavy foundation walls that sit atop it, and thus the walls will start to crack and shift or settle down into the void.

Another common cause of foundation wall cracks is hydrostatic pressure. Hydrostatic pressure can push against your foundation walls, resulting in horizontal or diagonal wall cracks. Over time, these cracks will widen, and your walls may start to buckle, bow, or shear. This is a major structural issue, as total wall collapse can occur if your walls are left untreated.

A good way to determine whether your basement or crawl space has high humidity levels is to check if the concrete has efflorescence stains. Efflorescence is a white, powdery substance on the surface of concrete. If you touch it or scrape it, it feels grainy and some of it flakes off. At times, homeowners will confuse efflorescence for mold, but this is incorrect. Efflorescence is salt, which you can feel the texture of if you scrape it off the concrete.

Efflorescence appears on your concrete either due to primary efflorescence or secondary efflorescence. Primary efflorescence usually occurs 48 to 72 hours after the concrete is poured and it’s a result of an excess amount of water in the cement mixture. As the cement cures, the water evaporates and rises to the surface of the concrete but brings along with it all the salts and minerals from the cement. Even professionals get a bad mixture from time to time, but an experienced contractor is less likely to make cement that produces efflorescence.

The section where the wall of your basement meets the floor is referred to as the space’s cove joint. These joints have a significant amount of exposure to the groundwater that can put your home’s structural supports at risk. As such, it’s fairly common to see seepage and flooding at these points in your basement. If left untreated for an extended period of time, cove joint leaks can become havens for mold growths. Similarly, leaks in these locations can contribute to the hydrostatic pressure impacting the structural integrity of your foundation, hastening along cracks or sinkage that might lower the overall value of your home. 

These joints, however, do not leak at random. If you do not have home waterproofing measures in place, you may find yourself contending with unwanted seepage after every heavy rainstorm. Alternatively, seepage in these areas may suggest damage in your foundation or basement that you’ll need to see right away. The most common causes behind basement cove joint leaks include: 

• Hydrostatic pressure
• Foundation shifting  
• Leaks, interior and exterior

There are a number of potential causes of dampness when it comes to a property’s basement. Some are fairly benign, while others can be linked to very serious damage to the structure of your home or its internal workings. Of course, the most common and easy to spot source of moisture in any basement is damage to the property’s plumbing systems and any attached appliances. Small leaks in the joints between pipes, or deterioration in appliances like water heaters, can significantly raise humidity over time. More dramatic plumbing floods are more likely to cause dampness, of course, but also less likely to be allowed to continue for any amount of time.

The other possibilities are structural damage or a process called seepage. Seepage is a fairly common and surprisingly benign process that can, nonetheless, have serious implications for your home. Seepage occurs because of the porous nature of concrete as a building material. If the soil outside your home is saturated, then there is a high chance that the water it holds will start to seep through your basement’s concrete walls. This rarely causes noticeable amounts of standing water, but it will raise the humidity in your home. It may also leave a white residue on your walls. This is known as efflorescence.

Finally, damage to the structure of your property, the foundation, or the basement walls is a common but serious issue that should not be ignored. While foundation damage and bowing basement walls are the most severe kinds of damage that can lead to dampness, any crack in the structure of your home can let water in over time. As such, you should act quickly and contact a professional to make sure that the cause of your dampness is not structural of some kind.

Our patented, top-quality solutions are tested and proven to work to keep water out of your home for a safer living environment.

Cheaper, quick fixes like paints and wall coatings are only temporary bandages that will not address or tackle the root of the problem. Yes, you can apply a special sealant to your walls and floor, but it will pop and flake indicating a lingering moisture problem. Water also follows the path of least resistance. If it cannot enter through one location, it will find another way in.

So, don’t waste your time and money on fast fixes. You need our quality permanent solutions. We use reliable, custom equipment and state-of-the-art technology to install these various systems.