Repairing Wet Basement Concrete

Water leaking into the basement through concrete walls is something of a nuisance if it does not cause structural damage and if it does, well, then it is a much bigger problem that needs to be dealt with. Whether you use your basement for storage or for an extra bedroom or an entertainment area, having a wet basement tends to create an uncomfortable atmosphere. Musty smells from mold growth will result, especially if there are things in the basement for the mold to feed on, such as paper or furniture. Not only is the smell quite repulsive, but the mold also creates a health risk for anyone living in the house. Mold often gets transferred from room to room by people and pets, so the infestation being mainly in the basement will not stop it from getting to other areas of your house.

So, what can you do to waterproof your basement walls? If there are already cracks in them, particularly in the middle of the wall, then sealing up the cracks is a fairly easy job to do. The only thing that you need to really do is determine what kind of material that you need to fill in the cracks with.

Caulking the crack shut does not work because it does not bond to the concrete and water will eventually cause it to come loose and just fall out. Cement does not work, either, since it is rigid and concrete is always moving, expanding, and shrinking.

Using a low-pressure injection of concrete is one of the best things that you can do to correct this problem. While it used to be expensive and need a heavy amount of equipment to accomplish, you can do it these days with a normal caulking gun.

Expandable polyurethane is one material that you can use to fill in cracks allowing water into the house. While it does not give the concrete any added strength, it does create a waterproof barrier. The polyurethane will bond to the crack whether water is seeping in through it at the time or not.

Go around the exterior of the house and find where water could be seeping inside. This could be around the foundation where water settles into pockets because the soil is not piled high enough around the house. You can fix this by getting soil from another area of your yard, if possible, or purchasing some and packing it in these pockets around the house.

If the problem is ground water, one of the only things that you can do about this is to install a drain system in the yard so the soil does not get oversaturated.

Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood water damage restoration chicago and other states such as
South Carolina mold remediation companies across the united states.