Cornered

Last fall when we had so much rain and I decided to do my impression of Saint Nicholas by climbing on my roof to clean my chimney, I had to move several things in my basement to retrieve my ladders. As I removed them from a corner storage spot, I noticed that the wall behind them and the floor beneath was wet, and placed a call to a dry basement company. I paid to have my basement waterproofed several years ago.

The field representative came out to evaluate and indeed I was having water seep into that corner from outside due to the heavy and frequent downpours that we had. He made a date to have it fixed, but because of the heavy rains, their schedule was so full, the first available workday for them was in March. So, yesterday was the day, the work crew came out to make the repairs. They arrived at 8:30 and began to carry in supplies and tools. Soon Willow, my cat was almost panic stricken when the jack hammer began its rat-tat-tat breaking up the concrete floor. The section that needed to be removed was approximately i8 inches by 24 inches between the cinderblock wall and the raised concrete pad for the hot water tank.

After shoveling out the debris, they connected the newly laid pipe to the original drainage system, then placed a layer of rounded, smooth small river rocks in the bottom of the hole to surround the pipe. Some things I saw while I tossed some wood into the wood burner and some the men told me.

They placed aluminum flashing along the lower part of the wall to channel the dampness into the rock catch basin, then redirect it into the drainage system. He shared that a large amount of water drained out of the wall before he poured the concrete to top the opening and match the basement floor. Once the cement dries, my cellar should stay dry.

Before company waterproofed my house, a prolonged downpour would inundate my basement and I would have to wade in ankle-deep water. I’d have to break out sump pumps and hoses to drain the accumulated water. If the power went out, I was at the mercy of nature.

The original drainage system that the company installed has 2 collection wells and 2 sump pumps attached to batteries. If the electric goes out now, the system will keep my basement dry in all 4 corners.