Basement Waterproofing

It isn’t always a good idea to put your faith in DIY basement repair. For starters, you can’t always be certain as to why you need to repair your wet walls and floor in the first place. You might interpret some natural functions of your basement as signs of danger or dampness, for starters, and overlook the true cause of your home’s damage in the meantime. In doing so, there is a chance that when you try and fix something in your basement on your own, you’ll end up making the problem worse.  

If you try to block a leak or otherwise apply a superficial solution to a significant problem, you’re likely to find yourself dealing with even greater damage in the days and weeks to come. Not only that, but should you eventually reach out to a professional for guidance, you may find yourself paying far more for repairs than you anticipated. This is because a professional will have to remove your DIY solution before installing one of their own.

When it comes to fixing your wet drywall, it’s in your best interest to take the process in steps. First, identify your leak. Rapid changes in temperature can cause the pipes to burst, and hydrostatic pressure can build up outside of your home and force cracks to form in your home. Once you’ve identified your leak, you’ll want to reach out to the professionals serving your area to fix it. Should you leave a leak in place, your new drywall will likely find itself wet and unsafe within a week or two of your initial installation. After that, replace your drywall. To replace damaged drywall in your home, you can:  

• Measure the hole left in your wall  
• Fill the hole with appropriately sized drywall clips  
• Secure the clips with drywall screws  
• Blend drywall tape and joint compound to smooth out the wall  
• Sand the wall until you’re satisfied  

After you’ve replaced your drywall and ensured that all other damage to your basement or foundation has been attended to, you can discuss home waterproofing measures with a professional contractor in your area. They will prove most effective for you and will vary based on the circumstances that led to your initial leak. For example, if a pipe burst inside of your home due to dropping temperatures, you may want to invest in a dehumidifier. Alternatively, if it was external flooding that caused humidity levels in your home to rise, you might consider hydrophobic insulation, a vapor barrier, or a sump pump.

Wet drywall can come from a variety of sources, and many people don’t know why their drywall could be wet. Here are a few prominent reasons you might be seeing wet drywall in your home.

Internal Leaks 

Internal leaks are one of the more common reasons you could find wet drywall. Do you have a pipe hidden in the wall that’s leaking without your knowledge? Did you recently have a pipe burst in the floor above, causing flooding? Have you noticed that one of your pipe connections is leaking more than normal? These are all sources of internal leaks.

Of all types of leaks, internal ones can sometimes be difficult to fix. When you have a flood in the area, you’ll usually go down to your basement and make sure nothing bad happened. However, if you have a leaky pipe in the bathroom above your basement, you might not realize that it migrated downward. Any time you experience any strange leaks in your home, make sure you check your basement to clear it of leaks as well.

External Leaks 

Another possible cause of concern for your home when it comes to wet drywall is leaks from the outside. Did you recently have a flood in the area? Did it rain for a long time after not having any rain at all? Have you noted that water has been pooling around your home’s foundation? All of these sources of external water can cause leaks that will invade the home.

These external leaks are definitely a concern because they’re often responsible for an overly moist basement more so than standing water in the basement. Though you might think standing water is more dangerous than moisture, moisture can still cause foundation problems and mold, and it can be even more difficult to uncover than standing water.

Cracks in Your Walls 

If your walls have cracks in them, no matter how tiny, rest assured that water will find a way through those cracks eventually. Water wants to fill any space it enters, and if there’s any way for that space to become larger, the water will follow it. Therefore, it makes sense that water would work through the cracks in your walls.

The problem is, cracks can sometimes be extremely tiny. These cracks, known as “hairline cracks,” can be almost impossible to notice, which can lead to them going unnoticed for a long time, especially if you think a moist basement is normal. If you notice any amount of water seepage in your basement, even if it’s small, you should probably seek help for your basement’s health.

Condensation 

Any basement with high levels of moisture will probably deal with condensation at some point. The air can only hold a certain amount of moisture, which people express using the concept of “relative humidity.” When the relative humidity grows over 100%, that extra humidity has to go somewhere. Outside, it turns into rain; inside, it turns into condensation, usually on cool surfaces. 

Condensation can be a big problem in your basement because it can provide a fertile breeding ground for mold and mildew. This is especially true when you have drywall because the condensation can form on the drywall and therefore lead to wet drywall even without an internal or external leak. This is just one of the reasons you need to fix your damp basement as soon as possible.

The DIY mindset has made people think fixing things themselves is always possible or preferable to getting an expert. In this situation, that’s not possible, and it’s important to recognize what can arise if you try to do it yourself.  

Making the Problem Worse 

One of the biggest problems that can arise if you try to fix the problem on your own is unintentionally making the problem worse. Sure, you probably have a variety of YouTube videos and helpful DIY articles that will give you a head start, but do you actually know what you’re doing, or are you just rooting around randomly? 

If you make this problem worse, it’s going to be more difficult and more expensive to fix it. You could turn a relatively minor problem into something that might require thousands of dollars and multiple days to fix. Instead, contact a basement waterproofing expert to help you figure out what to do next. 

Not Addressing the Real Problem  

Another problem that tends to hide under the surface is the problem that you might not actually fix what’s going on. Sure, you might think you’ve fixed the problem, but have you actually? Or, in your quest to fix the problem on your own without really having an understanding of the process, have you instead hidden the true problem? 

It’s unfortunately common for a layman to believe that the problem is one thing when it’s actually another. If you think you’ve fixed the problem, watch out, because the problem might be much deeper than that. One of the biggest problems here is that it might make you complacent because you believe the problem is no longer happening, so you’re not going to be on the lookout for any extra problems.  

Damaging Something Else in the Process 

Although this is less common, it’s still something that can easily happen. What do you do if you’re trying to fix the problem, and in the process, you cause a different and less easy-to-fix problem? For example, you might bring in a ladder to reach a high pipe and in the process knock your ladder onto the wall, breaking free some pieces of concrete and causing a chip in the wall. 

These bits of damage aren’t extremely common, but they can happen. If a professional basement waterproofing expert comes to your home and causes damage to another piece of your basement, they’re liable for that damage. If you do it, you’re now liable for the original damage and for the new damage, which can be a very frustrating position to be in. 

Investing in a “Cheap Fix”  

The allure of a “cheap fix” is something that pulls in many people to DIY fixes. After all, if you can fix your basement water problem without spending a lot of money, why wouldn’t you want to try this fix instead of a much more expensive one from a professional? Of course, the problem with these cheap fixes is that they’re rarely cheap and they’re rarely fixes. 

Most often, these cheap fixes are more of a bandage. They help to stem the tide for a little while, but they don’t actually fix anything. Instead, they just put the problem off for anywhere from a few days to a few months. However, when they come back — and they definitely will — you’ll have to spend more money, time and energy to re-install a fix that was never a fix at all.