Video: Is Basement Waterproofing Worth the Investment?

Is Basement Waterproofing Worth the Investment?

Basement waterproofing is definitely worth the investment if the conditions are right. Find out if basement waterproofing is worth the investment with help from a professional engineer in this free video clip.

Video Transcript

Hi, I'm Rick Koller, the chief operations officer for Criterium-Tauscher Cronacher Professional Engineers. Today, we want to talk about is basement waterproofing worth the investment. Most below grade rooms and basements are prone to having some water leakage come in. As you can see here there's some staining on this block foundation wall and that's due to water either seeping in through the stone or maybe some condensation from when it's cold outside and warmer down here in the basement. Especially in the Northeast since most of the basements are finished, the tolerance for having water in the basement is usually zero. So the only way to guarantee that you will have no water in your basement is through a French drain. That doesn't prevent the water from coming in but what it actually does is it captures the water and then gets it out. The other options are if you have some minor seepage or a little bit of water in a specific area in the basement, what you can do is put a waterproofing surface on the wall. That can either be done in the interior or it can be done in the exterior of the house. Obviously the interior is typically easier because the wall is exposed and we have access to it. If we do it on the exterior we have to dig up some of the surrounding grade to be able to get enough of the waterproofing on it. When it comes to putting any kind of waterproofing material on the foundation wall, it's not going to guarantee that water won't come in but it's really more of a water preventative. It's not that different than the material that's used on a flat roof. It's called a modified bitumen asphalt and it can either be rolled on with a roller brush or it could be brushed on with a paintbrush. So those are some of the options that you have. Since it's very difficult and it can be extremely costly, what we always recommend you do is get the opinion of a third party independent consultant either a professional engineer or somebody who is an expert in this area that can give you some advice before you pay a contractor the money to take care of a problem that maybe you don't even need to be that concerned about. Again this is Rick Koller, the chief operations officer for Criterium-Tauscher Cronacher Professional Engineers, and that's just some simple tips on whether or not it's worthwhile waterproofing your basement.

Is Basement Waterproofing Worth the Investment?

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