Our team has been solving basement leakage issues since 1967.
1: What kind of water issue is it?
Is there visible water coming in through the walls of the floors? Or is it simply an air moisture issue?
An air moisture issue could be a simple basement humidity issue fixed by a humidifier.
If water is leaking through the walls or the floor, a bigger fix may be in order.
2: Check where the water is entering from
If your conclusion from step one is a confirmation of water entering through the wall or floor, your next step is to check common entry points.
We have written before about some of the most common places water will enter:
- Cove joint - the place where the wall meets the floor
- Cracks in the wall
- Cracks in the floor
- Rod holes - the rods used to hold the walls together during construction
- Water lines - In some scenarios, there may be degraded pipes that are allowing water to flow back into your basement
It is not always obvious, and the holes do not need to be large.
3: Check for subtle water leak clues
It's not always obvious why a basement is wet.
Hydrostatic pressure can cause water to come up through micro or hairline cracks in the concrete.
An exterior sealant may be able to help, but that's not always a perfect solution.
Efflorescence is a powdery substance that appears when water gets on the floor or walls. It dissolves and leaves the left over minerals.
This can be a good clue. Check the most saturated area, and you may have your water leakage source.
And you may also be able to use some advanced tools, such as a thermal imaging, to determine where a water problem is channeling in from, but this again is not always a great, or even formidable, way of finding a solution.
4: Trace the water leak problem back to its source
If you know where the water is entering from, now you'll have a better show of pinpointing where on the outside it is coming from.
Oftentimes a wall leak means the ground gets too saturated and has nowhere else to direct the water to except into your home.
We've even seen scenarios where poorly installed gutters and downspouts left water piling up right next to the house.
A poor yard slope could also cause water to channel down into your basement. This is common if your house was built in a valley rather than on a hill, so to speak.
5: Test and monitor
In some scenarios, you may be able to monitor the leakage issues live, but this isn't always possible.
In reality, if you see water entering from anywhere in your walls and/or floor, a drain tile or similar system will most likely be required.
If the water gets in one place now, it may be able to find its way in others as well in the future.
