Problem Signs
Keeping your basement dry not only prevents water intrusion but also protects your home against mold growth and keeps unwanted varmints away.
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Moldy Basements
Your house can be a cesspool for mold growth if any moisture issues are left untreated.
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Bugs in Crawl Space
Keep pests out of your basement or crawl space.
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Flooded Stairs
Floods from Basement Stairways in Georgia. Prevent flooding through basement stairways and hatchway doors.
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Musty Smell in Basement
How to get rid of the smell and waterproof your basement.
Causes
The following are a few of the top causes of basement water problems that can be addressed through our repair methods, drainage systems, or waterproofing solutions.
Sump pumps are vital to protecting your basement from flooding—they capture water before it penetrates your basement and directs it away from the home. Whether due to a power outage, capacity overload, mechanical issue, or poor maintenance, a sump pump failure can lead to basement flooding.
When a plumbing or water line ruptures, it often leads to basement flooding. This can happen due to old plumbing and equipment, frozen pipes, sewage backup, or construction damage. The best way to catch a plumbing flood before it happens is to pay close attention to water pressure and your water bills—if you notice a drop in pressure or increase in utility cost, it may be due to a plumbing clog or leak.
When water pools around your foundation, the soil surrounding your home can become oversaturated. When soil becomes oversaturated, it will allow water to funnel through like a sieve. The soil turns to mud, gets extremely heavy, and starts to place thousands of pounds of excess pressure on your foundation walls. This phenomenon is called “hydrostatic pressure.” To alleviate the pressure, water will find the path of least resistance and will force its way through the smallest of openings in your foundation, whether that be hairline cracks or floor joints. This can eventually lead to basement leaks, floods, and if not addressed, structural foundation damage.
The slope of your yard should help groundwater naturally drain away from your foundation. However, some houses are built on sites that rest at the bottom of a hill, meaning that groundwater actually flows towards the home. This is called negative sloping and can be detrimental to the home’s structure, as it causes water to pool around your foundation. Eventually, the soil will oversaturate, and if your exterior drainage system clogs (which can happen at any time), all that rainwater will funnel down towards and beneath your home. If enough hydrostatic pressure is placed on the wall, or if the penetrating rainwater finds a crack or seam in your foundation wall, your walls can crack and your basement can leak or flood. Many of these issues start as hairline cracks, but they’ll worsen over time, so it’s important to address wet basement issues due to negative sloping sooner than later.
Did you know that the leading cause of foundation waterproofing damage is improperly channeled roof water? Without adequate protection, your gutters are susceptible to clogging or pulling away from your house. This causes your gutters to overflow, fail at capturing water, and allow rainwater to sheet right over your gutters or through the fascia boards and siding behind them.. If your gutter downspouts and drainage system don’t divert water away efficiently, water will pool up around your foundation walls and can eventually find its way into your home’s foundation. Learn more about how the importance of gutters and proper water management by visiting our gutters site.
Foundation floor and wall cracks provide an opportunity for water to seep into your basement. Hydrostatic pressure from oversaturated soils surrounding your foundation can force water through floor and wall cracks, causing leaks and puddles of water.
Solutions
Our waterproofing solutions can address each of the causes of basement water problems mentioned above.
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Vapor Barrier
Transform your basement into a clean, dry, mold-free storage and living space with the AquaStop WallSeal™ Vapor Barrier system.
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BasementGutter™
Our AquaStop BasementGutter™ Atlanta French drain installations provide innovative solutions for basement waterproofing, but unlike traditional French drains, it takes away the possibility of clogging.
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Our Sump Pump Systems
Avoid flooding and water damage with sump pumps for your basement or crawl space. AquaGuard installs a variety of sump pump systems in homes throughout greater Atlanta.
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Dehumidifier
The AquaGuard™ Efficient Dehumidification System.
FAQS
At AquaGuard, we use a combination of waterproofing solutions, offering the most complete basement waterproofing system. Basement drains, vapor barriers, dehumidifiers, and sump pumps work together to ensure you home is protected against every cause of basement water problems. Our patented BasementGutter system has waterproofed more linear feet of homeowners’ basements than any other residential waterproofing product in the world.
Although it is not always indicative of structural failure, the most tell-tale sign of structural damage due to basement water penetration is foundation wall cracks. Wall cracks can occur in multiple ways and often tell a definitive story about why and how they cracked. For instance, stair-step or vertical wall cracks often occur as a result of differential settlement. Differential settlement typically results from rainwater funneling underneath your foundation walls, washing out, and eroding the soil below, leaving voids. Void-laden soil simply cannot support the heavy foundation walls that sit atop it, and thus the walls will start to crack and shift or settle down into the void. Another common cause of foundation wall cracks is hydrostatic pressure. Hydrostatic pressure can push against your foundation walls, resulting in horizontal or diagonal wall cracks. Over time, these cracks will widen, and your walls may start to buckle, bow or shear. This is a major structural issue, as total wall collapse can occur if your walls are left untreated.
Unfortunately, basement waterproofing issues will only worsen over time. If your external drainage system has already clogged, there’s no guarantee if or when that issue will become more severe due to heavy or extended rains. Therefore, if you spot any of the common signs or symptoms associated with basement moisture penetration, it’s definitely beneficial to schedule a free evaluation sooner than later. Your issue may be minor and therefore be less expensive to repair than major issues. We hope it is. You may have no issue at all, or it may just be a plumbing leak. If that’s the case, we’ll tell you that, too. No matter what, if you’re experiencing any kind of basement water problem, at least invite a professional out to take a look. Don’t wait for your issue to get worse to find out the problem is serious!
Our system design specialists do a thorough inspection of the inside and outside of your home to assess the source of your water intrusion issue. We can quickly determine if you’re dealing with a plumbing leak or water penetrating from the outside. The specific entry point can always be determined, though the source is sometimes harder to identify. This is because concrete is porous (so the walls can allow water in) and water will inevitably enter your basement through the point of least resistance (cracks, floor/footing joint, etc). Regardless, waterproofing issues are always caused by either oversaturated soil or a high false water table. Because water can always spread and create a new entry point, it’s important to address, at a minimum, the entire wall that’s allowing water into your basement, rather than a singular entry point.
Our basement waterproofing system utilizes a 20-mil thick, 7-layer polyethylene material reinforced with polyester cord. This 100% waterproof, inorganic vapor barrier resists the growth of mold and mildew. Its mold-resistance is also reinforced by an anti-microbial protection additive called UltraFresh.
