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How To Prevent A Leaking Basement

Leaking Basement

Lucky are those homes, which have a basement and that basement is free from leakage issues. There are many old homes which has damp and leaky basement. You cannot even stand if you are having a leaking basement and thus it is very important to prevent a leaking basement. A leaking basement is a home to mold and algae which is not at all good for your home and it becomes a necessity to prevent a leaking basement. Here are some of the ways to prevent a leaking basement.

Do a leakage test

For preventing a leaking basement, first you need to do a leakage test. For preventing a leaking basement, you need to dry out wet basement so that you can find out the source of moisture. You can do this simple test by using a plastic wrap and a masking tape. This will help you to know whether the wetness is coming from inside the foundation or outside the foundation of the house. To preventing a leaking basement, you can Tape this plastic wrap to the discolored area of the foundation tightly. If you see the moisture outside the plastic tape that means moisture is coming from inside the basement. If this is the thing then to prevent a leaking basement, you just need a dehumidifier to be installed in your basement. If you find the wetness inside the plastic then you have issues of gutter and grading. So to prevent a leaking basement, you also need to clean the gutter and keep debris out of there. You can also try adding gutter extensions to the downspouts for preventing a leaking basement.

Check gutters and grading

If you want to prevent a leaking basement, you must check your grading and gutters. While you are checking your grading, you must see that water is diverted at a moderate distance from the foundation of the house. If you are adding extension to the gutters then try and make sure that the extension is also away from the foundation of the home. If it is nearby the foundation then it can destroy your foundation.

Repair hairline crack if any

If you want to prevent leaking basement, then you need to check out for any hairline crack. If you detect any hairline crack in the walls of your basement then you must repair it as quickly as possible. You just need a hammer and a chisel to repair hairline crack. You need to open up the area with hammer and chisel. You need to start at the top and then come towards bottom. You just need to widen the space don’t completely break it. If there is any debris which is blocking the crack, then remove it. You can also use a stiff bristled brush to remove any dislodged small pieces and being a hurdle in repairing the crack. Wet the space in the crack and fill it up with cement to repair it. Push the cement properly in the crack so that no space is left in the crack and it is repaired in the proper manner.

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