Basement Waterproofing Photo Album: Grading Issues Lead To Wet Petoskey, MI Basement

The yard between Elaine's home and her neighbors was severely sloped towards her house which led to flooding in her basement. WaterGuard installed along the perimeter walls of the basement is able to capture that incoming moisture and directi it safely to the sump pump for removal from the home. WaterGuard is a french drain system installed beneath the concrete that inconspicuously moves moisture through it without cutting into valuable usable space in your basement.

Grading Issues To Blame

Grading issues are definitely a huge contributor to the basement's water issues. The neighbor's yard is graded steeply toward this house.

Water Entering At Cover Joint

Water seemed to be entering at the cove joint where the walls meet the floor. Large amounts of water were still puddled in this basement when we conducted our initial inspection.

WaterGuard Installation Begins

The installation of the WaterGuard system begins with a trench being dug out along the perimeter walls of the basement exposing the home's footing.

WaterGuard Set Along The Footing

Once the trench is fully dug out, the WaterGuard drain is set in place along the footing of the home.

Drainage Stone Added

Once the WaterGuard drain is in place, drainage stone is filled in around the drain and is leveled off with the top of it before concrete is replaced over top.

WaterGuard Protects The Whole Basement

The base of the stairs was temporarily removed so that WaterGuard could be installed along the entirety of the affected area leaving no gaps.

WaterGuard Filters Into Sump Pump

The moisture that will be captured by the WaterGuard system will be directed to the sump pump for safe removal from the home. The sump pump is set in the low point of the basement.

Concrete Replaced

Once the WaterGuard system is in place and the drainage stone is leveled off around it, concrete is replaced over top. The concrete is seamless and the drain goes unnoticed aside from the small gap created along the base of the wall to gather moisture into the drain. An inspection port makes service easy in the years to come.

Sump Pump Discharge Lines Dug Out

The sump pump discharge lines will carry water to a safe place in the yard where water is unlikely to filter back into the basement. The dirt is placed on plastic or in buckets to create minimal damage to the lawn. Once replaced, its a quick recovery for the lawn and you would never know we had just buried the pvc discharges.