Three Methods You Can Use To Waterproof Basement Walls

Don’t you just hate walking down into a basement that smells musty and damp? No matter how nicely the people living there have fixed up their lower level, the moisture makes it an unpleasant place to spend time. One of the major reasons basements are damp is because their walls are surrounded by earth. When it rains or snow melts, water saturates the earth, the earth presses against the basement walls, and small drops of water are forced through minute pores in the walls. If this is the problem in your basement, it’s a relatively easy one to fix in most cases.

There are special paints that have been formulated to coat cellar walls and permeate the concrete or stone, filling in the pores where water can seep in. These paints are thick and more difficult to apply than standard house paints, but that quality is what makes them so effective at blocking the water that’s trying to enter your home. Make sure that you’ve cleaned the walls thoroughly prior to starting to paint, because you want the paint to adhere well. Always use a high-quality waterproofing paint, even if it’s a bit more expensive than other brands. This is not a job you can afford to chintz on.

Of course, painting the inside of the walls can still leave you with problems. Unfortunately, while this method may keep the moisture from getting into your basement, it doesn’t prevent it from permeating the foundation walls from the outside. Over time, this can lead to the walls deteriorating. Only working from the outside of your home is going to take care of this, and that’s going to be a costly, extensive project. What we’re talking here is digging around the foundation so that it is exposed and then treating it with waterproofing or installing tile.

One fix for the outside of your home that may work wonders more easily is to bank up the earth around the foundation. It only makes sense that if the ground around the foundation is low, water is going to flow toward it. By banking up the dirt and rocks surrounding your basement walls, you will be channeling a great deal of the water away from your house.

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