Basement Waterproofing Materials and Uses

Materials used to waterproof basements can differ a lot in their forms and applications. There will be ones accessible to the general public and others accessible just to industry professionals. Let’s check whatever the situation is and learn from it for your own home condition.

First of all though, you need to be aware that the area you live in also affects the amount of water that’s likely to be around. So take that into consideration as this will also influence the type of materials you can use.

The first type of basement waterproofing materials that most people seem to be looking for are simple sealants. In other words, they have a basement that has already had some form of waterproofing applied to it and are looking to patch small damp areas up. RadonSeal being one of the top-end sealants treats poured concrete, mortar in block walls or stone foundations and concrete or cinder blocks.

If the whole basement including the walls and floor are not treated completely with sealant the water is likely to come back in. As it comes with a limited 20-year guarantee, this product is a practical option. Sealant is a potential problem to be aware of, (all sealants, not just this particular one)basement waterproofing sealants only protect the inside of the basement. This means there could be a number of water pressing against and through whatever other stuff the basement walls are created with.

Other avenues will need to be explored if you have cracks in the wall. Plaster coating can be used to the existing plaster if that is what the walls are made from. Chip away any loose material from around the crack and simply refill with the plaster.

One other option which is available is to use a stitching material. These metal staples are stapled across the cracks to prevent or limit further movement. The cracks are then filled with any cement that doesn’t shrink.

Gunite (a form of concrete) can be sprayed on bigger cracks in basement walls or floors. The special spraying equipment that is required can be rented. The mixture ratio must be correct for the spray to fill any cracks and leave a smooth finish. But it is still a good choice, because it adhere to most surfaces.

It has to be mentioned that the key to basement waterproofing is not only the substance but its proper application as well. In addition, you should be making sure there is as little water as possible getting into the ground water.

So also consider:

 

- maintaining rain gutters that are in excellent shape.

 

 

- sloping the ground away from the foundation of the house

 

 

- grass can be seeded around the foundations once the flower beds, bushes and trees have been removed

 

 

- filling up driveway cracks

 

 

- put in some curtain drains to move water from the surface away from the base of the home

 

 

- putting in dry wells for the rain water spouting at a minimum of ten feet from the house.

 

 

- installment of sump pumps.

 

 

- water can be routed to a floor drain through the use of interior gutters in the basement walls

 

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