Multi-Phase Project Waterproofs and Stabilizes a Mason, MI Basement

Challenge

When Dennis called, his family was fighting battles on multiple fronts. The basement walls of their home were cracked and bowing. Also, the area around the windows had a concentration of cracking and was a major source of water leaks. The leaks, by the way, were coming in through the walls and floor and had been a problem for as long as they’d lived in the house - 40 years. Such prolonged water issues had caused mold to grow throughout the basement and they’d had to tear finishings out a few times after they were ruined by water.

Given the breadth of issues in this basement, we needed to address and solve the problems in phases. System design specialist Greg Carey drew up a multi stage plan that would result in a dry, stable basement and a safe home.

Solution

First, we needed to stabilize the cracked and bowing foundation walls. To do this, we installed Geo Lock channel wall anchors. The anchor system is corrosion-resistant galvanized steel and anchor plates inside the home attached to earth anchors in the stable soil outside, preventing further bowing. Over time, the anchors can be tightened to hopefully straighten the walls.

With the walls stabilized, it was time to handle the water. The basement had a sump pump, but it was old and not very effective, and the open top of the pump left it vulnerable to damage and debris clogging. We upgraded it to a TripleSafe sump pump system. The TripleSafe has three powerful motors including a battery backup for continued protection if the power goes out.

A new sump pump is great, but the water also needs a way to get to the pump; our WaterGuard below-floor drain does just that. We installed the drain system around the perimeter of the basement to ensure that no matter where water entered the basement, it would be collected and shuttled to the sump pump and out through the discharge lines, which we outfitted with IceGuard to prevent backups in winter-frozen lines, and a Lawnscape outlet to allow easy release of water with the line buried.

With the waterproofing system in place, we installed Brightwall on the walls to give a finished look with increased waterproofing protection. Brightwall is inorganic, which means it won’t allow mold to grow and can be tied right into the WaterGuard system to keep incoming water heading to the sump pump. To complete the finished look, we also installed Mill Creek flooring, which gives the look of a hardwood floor in a waterproof finish. With everything installed, a SaniDry dehumidifier was placed in the basement to protect against ambient moisture in the future.

This family had dealt with problems from their basement for 40 years, but it wasn’t until the structure itself was threatened that they realized how solving all of the basement’s problems would make their home safer, more comfortable and their lives easier.