Your Cincinnati Basement Waterproofing Headquarters!

Cincinnati Basement Waterproofing headquarters.

The drought conditions during the middle of the summer for the last decade plus has caused a huge problem with basements leaking. This is the result of the ground surrounding your foundation literally drying out. I know that it seems odd that the results of the ground being extremely dry is that now your basement leaks or is at least weeping. Let me try to explain.

As the ground dries out it shrinks. If you think of your foundation in terms of the dirt being directly up against it, imagine that as the dirt dries, there becomes a void between the foundation and the normal dirt that would be touching it.

With an extended drought, or several years of drought conditions, the dryness starts at the surface and as the surface dirt dries, a small void begins, then as the drought continues, becomes deeper and deeper until there is a significant void left behind. The resulting void is what causes the beginning of trouble. We can resolve all Cincinnati basement waterproofing problems with one call!

Without there being dirt to stop the water from falling between the foundation and the dirt, water then flows freely between the foundation in the void and where the dirt used to be. All of this means quite simply that water then can penetrate deeper into the foundation and ultimately find small cracks or fractures that are in the concrete or concrete block foundation and ultimately seep into the basement. With multiple years of drought conditions, the dirt that once touched the foundation, never completely re-hydrates and becomes a compounding problem. Are you looking for a Cincinnati Basement Waterproofing expert? Call us today, we can help! 513-479-7575

We are the Cincinnati Basement Waterproofing Experts!

So then the question becomes if you're having this problem how to fix it? The Cincinnati Basement Waterproofing experts at Cincinnati Landscaping can help. We have years of experience in the problem that you're having. While many companies work on the inside of your home creating a huge mess and ultimately not keeping the moisture where it was originally intended to be which is outside, Cincinnati Landscaping operates on the outside of your foundation correcting the problem at its core. By excavating directly around and against your foundation in creating a mechanism by which water can flow into drainage pipes below the floor level of your basement, on the outside of your home and then be routed to where it can be removed from the foundation is how the foundation problem will be solved. We can’t make water flow up hill. Since the beginning of time it has flowed down hill.

Cincinnati Basement Waterproofing starts by taking the water where WE want it to go instead of where it naturally will go! Just as in the rest of our drainage work, Cincinnati Landscaping uses technology to its benefit. When the foundation excavation is complete we then apply a coal mastic to the outside of your foundation in order to seal any small fractures or cracks that are in the foundation walls. On top of that mastic we then apply a fiberglass batting that wicks moisture away from the foundation wall to the bottom of the trench. The trench is been back-filled with either one-inch round stone were one-inch crushed limestone without dust depending upon the application, filter cloth is added at the surface usually and then the topping is added which is usually topsoil. By using filter cloth, between the gravel that's put back in the trench and the topsoil on top, we create a drain that has a significantly longer life span than those not using filter cloth. This filter cloth as the name implies filters the small settlement or silt out of the water that falling into the drainage pipe at the bottom of the trench. In almost all cases the cause of failure for foundation drainage or drainage tile is simply that it is plugged up with mud. There's nothing anyone can do to prevent dirt from entering the trench but what we can do is avoid that dirt ultimately migrating its way all the way into the drainage pipe, thereby causing the drain’s failure.

The following series of pictures show what the process is to resolve leaking basements, step by step.

First, the exterior of the foundation is excavated to expose the entire foundation wall. Once the wall has been exposed to the depth of the footing, it is high-pressure washed until all the compacted dirt is removed and any fractures and voids are exposed.

The next step is significantly clean the cracks out and open them, removing any loose material and dirt from inside the crack. Next is to apply a fibrous mastic that bonds to the surrounding concrete as well as the crack. This material allows flexibility so as the foundation wall expands and contracts, the crack remains sealed. 

Once the cracks are sealed the entire surface is coated with a hot tar emulsion. This coats the concrete and waterproofs the surface. Once the tar is applied, a half inch fiberglass sheet is applied as a topping. This material will not allow water to pool on the outside of the wall, instead, causes the water to fall to the bottom of the wall where the drain tile is located to remove it.

The last step is to back fill the foundation. We apply a minimum of 3' of gravel fill to allow as much flow of water to the drainage tile as possible. The rest is usually filled with topsoil so that planting beds can be maintained at the surface.

We are the Tri-state leaders in Cincinnati Basement Waterproofing!

If your home sits in an area where there is no where to run a discharge or effluent pipe to an elevation lower than the floor of your home, the easiest resolution is the addition of either an internal or external sump pump. In the case of an internal sump pump, there is a round hole that is cut in your basement floor, the concrete removed, the soil under the slab is also removed to the depth of the plastic sump insert. In some cases, if there is no water “flowing” under the floor, hand excavating inside the small sump hole will be necessary in order to connect the sump to the external drainage pipe, outside the foundation wall. This pipe is then routed directly to the sump pit. This sump insert is then sealed into the newly created hole. Depending upon the application the pit measures 30 inches in diameter and 30 inches deep. There are holes that are drilled in this plastic sump or pit to allow water that's trapped under the basement floor to flow freely into the sump pit. There is an electric sump pump that is then added to that sump pit. The sump pump is plumbed, usually with PVC pipe, to an area far away from the foundation, in some cases to a storm sewer but most often, to a lawn area. In the case of an external sump pump an external sump pit is placed directly adjacent to the outside of your foundation at a depth below the top of the basement floor. Again, an electric sump pump is put at the bottom of that pit. In most applications the sump pit when external, is accessed from above with a locking cap. This is so no small animals fall into the pit as well as preventing someone stealing your sump pump from outside which can become costly. Call us today to schedule a no obligation evaluation of your Cincinnati Basement Waterproofing needs! 513-479-7575

The only downside to doing external excavation around your home is that any plant material that is around your foundation will need to be removed and ultimately replanted after the construction is completed. Our experience tells us that this is the best option of resolving long-term foundation leakage.

If you have a wet or leaking basement, call the Cincinnati Basement Waterproofing leaders today 513-479-7575

You want to avoid this at all cost!

As far as Cincinnati Basement Waterproofing services are concerned, sometimes it may necessary to work outside to divert water, before moving inside. This is a video of one such case. We created a catch basin and re-graded the area leading toward the home and the problem was solved.

Cincinnati Basement Waterproofing 

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