Leaky Foundation Silver Spring

A wet basement can be more than a little trouble. Excess moisture in any part of your home is an open invitation for mold and insects, and that includes both the basement and the bathroom. But while most homeowners clean their bathrooms on a regular basis, it’s all too easy to ignore the various nooks and crannies in the basement where moisture builds up and where mold colonies follow.

Often enough, moisture can build up in the basement without anything breaking. An uninsulated pipe carrying cold water on a hot day will create a layer of condensation, condensation which mold and insects can thrive on. Even the humidity of a Maryland summer day can carry enough moisture for the most tenacious organisms. That’s why waterproofing companies such as ours recommend keeping a dehumidifier in the basement as standard equipment.

Face The Inevitable

Despite how it feels, the ground never stands still. If you haven’t dealt with a leaky foundation in Silver Spring (or any other part of the DC Metro), then you either don’t own any property or you haven’t owned it for long enough yet. Foundation cracks and leaks are a fact of life, and the only variables are when they happen and when you notice them.

Leaks are harder to find in some basements and crawlspaces than in others. A finished basement, for instance, usually covers up the bare concrete walls with drywall and often insulation, so if the concrete is leaking it’s impossible to see. Still, a leak will sometimes reach the drywall, making it obvious, and mold growth eventually gives off an unmistakable musty odor. Thus, if you see a stain on your wall or you start smelling mold without knowing the source, it may be time to remove the drywall panels and see what you’re up against.

Do Something About It

Once you discover that you have a leaky foundation in Silver Spring or another part of Maryland, you have to decide what to do about the problem. Depending on how big the leak is and how handy you are at home improvement, you might be able to solve the problem on your own – for a few years, at least.

The best way to repair a crack in the foundation or the basement walls is to fix it from the outside, but doing so involves using a backhoe very carefully to dig out the side of the basement, applying the fix, and then burying everything again at the end.

Something else that might help stop a basement from leaking is installing (or upgrading) the sump pump. If your home’s basement overlaps with the water table, whether all year round or just during the heavy rains of spring, you should certainly consider getting one. Although most homes have a clever drainage system along the sides and the base of the foundation slab, a high water table can completely overwhelm this system and cause a leaky foundation in Silver Spring or any other place that’s near a river.

Prepare For The Worst

A high water table is a very real possibility. In 2014, Silver Spring and the rest of the Chesapeake Bay Area were hit by one heavy storm after another. The storms caused floods all across the area thanks to rivers throughout Maryland spilling out of their banks and poor drainage areas becoming temporary ponds and swamps.

Not every flood leads to ankle-deep water everywhere and cars getting picked up and moved down the street, either. Sometimes floodwaters will saturate the soil and nothing more, at least in your neighborhood, but even that much can cause flood damage if you aren’t prepared. Getting a sump pump strong enough to take on the flood and win is one important step, but another one is to make sure you stay on top of any leaks, cracks, or other breaks so that all the water pressure won’t find any weaknesses to exploit.

If you have a leaky basement in Silver Spring, a wet crawlspace in Frederick, or a clogged stairwell drain in Linthicum Heights, you should contact AA Action Waterproofing and get yourself a free inspection and cost estimate. While you may be able to repair some leaks yourself, there’s no shame in calling in the experts when the problem goes beyond your knowledge, and there’s no obligation to use our services until after you know how much they’ll cost. So if you live in or near the state of Maryland, give us a call before your problems grow bigger.