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Home & Garden Articles
How to Get a Dry Basement and Keep it That Way
Wed 18 Mar 2009 - 08:07
How to Get a Dry Basement and Keep it That Way
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Craig_R._Powers]Craig R. Powers
When you have a basement under your home, there is nothing better than having a dry basement. Having one that is moist and smells musty all of the time can become rather irritating. This is especially true when that smell comes through the floor of your home and into your house. So if you don't have a dry basement and you are wondering how to get one and keep it that way, there are several things that you can do to make this possible.
Here is what you want to do:
First, check the drainage systems around your home to make sure they are diverting water away from your home. Make sure shrubs are not too close to the foundation and plug any holes and cracks that may be in the walls. From there, you want to identify your biggest problem areas. You can usually tell because water leaves a white powder, which consists of mineral deposits.
The next step is to dig a trench with a jackhammer around the basement walls.
Cut a hole in the floor. This is the area that will hold your brand new sump pump. Make sure you take measurements before cutting the hole so that you can ensure a proper feet.
You can put up bright walls to hide water stains and to create a barrier that will channel any water that comes through the walls into the trench.
After the bright walls are installed, you can then install a series of drains in the trench. If you need other pipes, you can do this and use those pipes to channel water to the trench. The trench leads to the sump pump.
Any spaces between the trench and the floor can be filled in with crushed rock to avoid any gaps.
Once this system is in place, the sump pump will pump the water outside of the home. Just make sure that the water is diverted away from the home via a drainage system so that the water does not come back into the basement. If it comes back into the basement, then you're dealing with a never ending cycle of water coming in and out. This can weaken your basement walls, can cause water to seep below the basement floors, and many other issues. Any time the walls and floors become weak, they crack. When they crack, more pressure is put on the walls of the home itself and this can cause them to crack as well. This also occurs when your home sits on soils that are known for shifting. Keeping the soils dry is the best way to keep this from happening. The only way you're going to keep them dry is to have a good drainage system outside of your home and to ensure that your basement stays dry.
You'll find that having a dry basement is a great way to save a lot of money on future repairs from water damage. So make sure you're high and dry and keep it that way.
Craig Powers is the owner & CEO of Power Jack Foundation Repair, a Texas-based residential foundation repair company serving Dallas/ Fort Worth, and the greater DFW since 1991. For more information on foundation repair services check out http://www.PJFR.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Craig_R._Powers http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Get-a-Dry-Basement-and-Keep-it-That-Way&id=2091153
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