Wet Basement Inspection

The average home buyers biggest concern is whether of not the basement has signs of water or previous flooding.  When you have an unfinished basement the signs of water entry are usually pretty eveident, staining on concrete or effervescence left behind after moisture evapourated.  Finished basements can be a little more difficult to determine if there has ever been a flood or maybe annual moisture problem every spring.  Sellers are not very forthcoming when it comes to water entry into the home.  On the other hand the buyer has up to 2 years from discovery of a lantent defect to file a lawsuit seeking damages.  A recent court case awarded $100,000.00 in damages after 9 years had passed on a home which sold for $183,500.00.  Sellers slapping a quick coat of paint on water stains in order to make a sale should take heed!

Levels of Wetness

Three Degrees of Building Wetness

We divide our wet building thinking into these degrees of severity: Damp, Wet, and Flooding. Here are our definitions of each of these levels of building water entry:

#1 Damp or moist conditions in a building: in most areas basements and crawl spaces are damp; certainly anywhere that we have masonry construction below ground level we can expect higher humidity and dampness; depending on the degree of moisture and other building conditions, damp or moist conditions can cause mold or other building problems.

#2. Wet conditions in a building: some limited areas of a basement or crawl space floor have been or are regularly wet or showing puddles in some weather conditions, but water does not extend over the entire building floor.

#3. Flood conditions in a building: water extends over the entire building floor, extending from a fraction of an inch to virtually filling the building and even flooding upper floor levels if a building is located in a flood plain or flooded area.  Some homes have been unknowingly built over top of artesian type springs which can be very expensive to water proof with no guarantee for future dryness.

Common Causes of Wet Basements 

After 20 years of inspecting homes the most common reason I have seen for wet basements is that the ground or surface water caused by rain or snow thaw is not properly diverted away from the foundation walls of the home.

There are many other potential causes of wet basements such as high water tables, underground springs and damaged or clogged weeping tiles to name a few, this article we will focus on the most common causes and simple
practical solutions.

In most cases the basement is below grade where moisture is always present and rain water naturally ends up travelling. This process puts pressure on your walls and, since water will always take the path of least resistance, if not handled properly that path could end up leading into your basement.

Common Water Related Problems

• Clogged gutters and downspouts
• Not enough downspouts  ( take an umbrella and walk around home during a good rain to see what problems exist )
• Downspouts that end at the house without a splash pad or extension
• Grading and landscaping slopes sufficiently away from foundation  ( ground should slope down a minimum of 3 inches at point 6 feet away from home )
• Rainwater run-off from the adjacent lawn, walks, or driveway
• Excessive watering of flower beds and shrubbery around the foundation wall  ( planters can trap water and it has nowhere to go but down )
• Sprinklers directed at the house

Note: Professional Landscaper can resolve most landscaping issues.

Moisture in Your Basement

To correct basement moisture problems, it’s necessary to understand where the water is coming from and what allows it to enter the basement. There are three common sources of moisture:

1.  Water from rain or ground-water.
2.  Interior moisture sources such as humidifiers, unvented clothes dryers, bathrooms and cooking, as well as the moisture in concrete after construction.
3.  Exterior humid air that enters the basement and condenses on cooler surfaces.

Moisture is transferred from the outside of the building to the basement interior by four mechanisms:

1.  Liquid water flow.  ( defined as the motion of a fluid subjected to unbalanced forces or stresses )
2.  Capillary suction.  ( defines as transport of liquids in porous solids due to surface tension acting in capillaries. )
3.  Vapor diffusion.   ( defined as Vapor diffusion is the movement of water vapor molecules through porous materials as a result of vapor pressure differences. )
4.  Air movement.  ( air carrying moisture )

Sometimes problems are traced to poor construction with cracking, settling foundations. In many cases, however, houses and basements can be structurally sound but are often not properly built to handle water drainage. Failure to slope the ground surface away from the foundation or lack of a good gutter and downspout system is common. Missing or nonfunctioning subsurface drainage systems are also found relatively frequently. These problems can all be addressed and corrected if a systematic approach is used.

A home inspection is a visual inspection of your home and property.  When ever the cause of a wet basement issue is not clearly visible we always recommend out clients look for a property that does not have a water issue.  Repairs for wet basements can be expensive and there is no guarantee that 10 years later the problem won’t come back.