Waterproofing a Hudsonville, MI Home that had Iron Ochre

Tuesday, April 19th, 2016 by Amanda Waldmann

Challenge

Rick called when water started seeping through the basement floor of his newly purchased home. The seller hadn’t disclosed anything regarding water issues and Michigan was quickly approaching the rainy season so he called us to check out the problem quickly.

We discovered what can be considered one of the least desirable scenarios when dealing with basement water problems: iron ochre. Iron ochre is a bacteria that shows up in the form of a rust-colored sludge and is notorious for gumming up waterproofing systems. The previous owner of the home hadn’t disclosed this, either, so the good news was that their insurance would pay for the work that needed to be done.

Solution

We started by installing a full perimeter of WaterGuard below-floor drain system in the basement. This track was tied into a SuperSump sump pump in order to proactively remove the water from the basement rather than relying on floor drains and gravity to drain it (since this wasn’t working, and rarely does).

Since the basement had multiple low points that could complicate the water drainage even with WaterGuard installed, we put in Cross Tile drainage that connected two sides of the system and created a sort of expressway for the water to reach the sump pump. We also installed a TrenchDrain system and drain tile outside to divert the water before it could enter the basement.

Finally, we installed IceGuard on the discharge lines, as well as a LawnScape outlet. These two products help ensure consistent water discharge by preventing winter-frozen lines from backing up, and giving the water an easy outlet into the lawn, respectively.

Iron Ochre isn’t something to mess with, but it doesn’t have to be an unending headache, either. As long as you’re aware of the problem and keep up on annual maintenance (like flushing the system to clear the bacteria build-up), the WaterGuard system will take care of the rest.

The water issues forced the removal of the bottom section of the wall and the flooring, as well as moving everything into piles away from the most affected spots. This isn't ideal if you actually want to use your basement.

Iron ochre is a treat for all of the senses. While harmless, it does cause a metallic taste in water and also creates this lovely sludge.

The edges of the floor were drilled out in order install the WaterGuard system.

We installed cross tile drainage to give the water a quicker route to the sump pump since the basement was both large and had multiple low points.

We installed long discharge lines to pump the water far away from the home before releasing it. This prevents it from just soaking right back into the ground and causing an endless cycle of flooding.