Egress windows are a type of window that provides an emergency exit from a basement living space.  These windows provide another escape from the basement during an emergency situation other than the stairway to the upstairs.

Where are Egress Windows Required?
Most building codes require homeowners to install an egress window only if the basement or part of it will be used as a bedroom, while others will demand an egress window if you plan to use your basement as additional living space.  No matter what kind of room you are plan build, it is always better to be safe and have an alternate escape should a fire erupt on the first floor.

Benefits
Egress windows not only provide safety to you and your family when spending time in your basement, but also provide natural light. This natural light can make your basement feel less like a cave and more like any other living space in the house.

Our dealer network installs egress windows throughout the US, from Burbank ,  California, Omaha, Nebraska to Connecticut.

by Francine Maglione

Who wouldn’t love a warmer, cozier house in the winter? Freezing homes are very unpleasant. Cold floors and surfaces force homeowners to wrap themselves in blankets and sweatshirts to stay warm, but there is something you can do that you may not have thought of before: basement insulation and finishing.

The air in your house moves one way: up. It enters through the bottom of your home and makes its way up to the top, so doesn’t it make sense to infer that if the air entering your home is cold then it will travel upward and make your entire house cold? Your kitchen floors feel cold because the space below them is cold. Finishing a basement can help ensure that the air traveling through your house is drier and warmer.

There are a number of factors to remember when finishing a basement:

• The basement environment is different from other living spaces because it is generally damp and musty.
•  Basement finishing systems must be resistant to water and mold growth.
• Choose a finishing system with adequate insulation rated at R-13 or higher.
• Rigid foam insulation is your best bet, as it won’t be damaged by moisture and is mold resistant.

There are many different types of insulation out there to use. Fiberglass batt insulation is probably the most common form you’ll find in a basement, but it’s also the worst kind for that environment. If fiberglass gets wet it sags, compresses or falls down leaving it useless. It also supports mold and mildew growth. And if mold grows in your basement, the mold spores will travel up through the rest of your house.

Closed-cell rigid foam insulation is the most efficient way to insulate a basement. It is rated at R-13 for insulation and will reflect 99.987% of heat back into a basement. It is also made of inorganic material so mold will not grow on it and it won’t be affected by water.

When looking for a basement finishing system make sure you find one that’s entirely inorganic. A sturdy wall panel made with concrete and vinyl with rigid foam backing is the best choice, especially if you decide to turn your basement into an entertainment room and would like to hang a flat-screen television from the wall. You certainly cannot do that with drywall.

To keep a basement properly insulated you must also look for a system that can be installed continuously across the perimeter of the basement. Any openings will allow cold air to pour in and will make the insulation essentially obsolete. Also, metals studs in most basement wall systems allow cold spots. However, once you insulate the perimeter with a quality foam insulation system you will not need to insulate any rooms, closets or partition walls you decide to put in the basement.

Finishing a basement with an efficient insulation and high-quality products can help keep your whole house warmer in the winter. Once you’ve found the perfect basement finishing system for your home you will be able to enjoy a large part of the house you may have thought was just for storage. Your toes will be less cold walking through your main living areas if your basement is insulated properly.

by Jacques Bouchard

Homeowners can go years without using their battery backup sump pump system. But, as is being discovered in the Northeast these past few months, when you DO need a battery backup — you really need it!

Between Hurricane Irene last August and the freak snowstorm that knocked out power for more than three million homes this week, residents from Maryland to Maine have seen firsthand just how easily a major storm can shut down the power for hours, days, or more.

Once your sump pump system loses power, there is nothing protecting your basement from groundwater flooding. It’s not impossible to have several feet of water in your basement in several hours’ time — which can destroy furniture, damage utilities, and damage personal belongings.

Protecting Your Sump Pump System From Power Outages

To protect your home from flooding during power outages, homeowners have several options:

• Generator-Powered Sump Pumps: Many homeowners will count on their portable generator to power their sump pump, lights, refrigerator, and more. And this works — provided that the homeowner is home (and awake) when the time comes, and you can bring it outside in the rain and fire it up.
• Automatic Generator-Powered Sump Pumps: For about $9,000-$10,000, a homeowner can opt to install an automatic generator — one that turns on automatically during a power outage. This will keep your sump pump system running during the power outage, which is great. But even with this system, we find that basements can still flood when a fuse is blown, or a sump pump is accidentally unplugged when the outlet is needed. If you want your basement protected all the time, even this is not the option for you!
• Battery Backup Sump Pumps: Alternatively, a homeowner will choose a battery backup sump pump for their home. This is a secondary battery powered system that is designed to kick on when water levels rise too high in the sump pit, such as during a power outage.

Other Uses For A Battery Backup Sump Pump

Along with protecting your home during a power outage, a battery backup sump pump can be useful in many other situations:

1. Your Primary Sump Pump Fails: Sump pumps are made of mechanical, moving parts — and like other systems that use moving parts, they will eventually break down and fail. Whether they clog, overheat, or experience some other kind of failure, the results are the same — a wet basement. However, if your system includes a battery backup, it will kick in, sounding off to let you know something is wrong and managing the flooding for you.
2. Your Primary Sump Pump Is Overwhelmed: During unusually heavy rain events, a primary sump pump may be overwhelmed by heavy water volumes. In this scenario, your battery backup system will also turn on, adding to your system’s pumping power.

In both these situations, the primary sump pump fails, and a generator solution will not solve the issue.

How Long Do They Last?

The lifespan of a battery backup sump pump is measured in gallons pumped — not by the hours operating. This is because of the fact that only in the rarest of cases will a sump pump system run continually for hours on end. Instead, it will typically turn on as the sump pit fills, then shut itself off afterwards. The frequency of the on/off cycles will determine its operation time, meaning that a system can run for hours, or days, depending.

That being said, a reliable battery backup system can pump out more than 10,000 gallons of water on a single charge — about the size of a small swimming pool, and usually more than you need.

We Install Battery Backup Sump Pumps!

Our TripleSafe Sump Pump system can pump out just over 12,000 gallons. If additional power is desired, multiple batteries can be connected to a single pump. As an added feature, our system can be connected to many home alarm systems — so you receive a phone call if your system fails.

Don’t wait to protect your home! For more information about installing our battery backup sump pump system in your home, contact us!

What to look for when you are shopping for a new Sump Pump? Learn from the expert!

This homeowner tried to make his home more comfortable by applying fiberglass insulation between the floor joists, in his vented crawl space

What Happens To A Vented Crawl Space In The Winter?
Crawl space vents are designed to pull outside air into your home, creating a continuous supply of outside air that moves through the crawl space at all times.

While many would debate the usefulness of ventilating a crawl space at any time of the year, contractors can certainly agree that during cold weather, these vents should be firmly closed. However, the truth of the matter is that few homeowners actually perform this yearly task.

How A Vented Crawl Space Affects Your Home’s Energy Efficiency
The purpose of your crawl space is to house the utilities in your home, including utilities that use energy to create heat, such as your home’s furnace and air duct system, as well as your hot water heater and pipes.

Housing these utilities in the crawl space during the cold winter season means that they will have to continually work harder and use more energy to do their daily task. This has a major impact on your home’s utility bills!

Issues With Comfort & Your Quality Of Life
Any homeowner who has been in their attic during the summer (or has seen snow melting unevenly on a home with a poorly insulated attic in the winter) knows that heat rises upwards in a home, leaving the building through the attic and/or upper levels.

To replace the air leaving your home through the upper levels, new air is sucked upwards from the basement, crawl space, and lower levels of your home. This is true even if your crawl space has floor joists insulated with fiberglass, as fiberglass is a porous material that does not inhibit air movement.

Cold winter air moving upwards through your crawl space leads to cold floors underfoot and a drafty environment in your home. If your air ducts are also cold, then the drafty feeling of your home is increased.

Pest & Rodent Infestations
Rodents and other pests will seek the warmest, safest place they can in order to survive the winter. If your crawl space has open vents, they will provide an open pathway for these insects and animals to enter in to your home.

Mice and rats are particularly attracted to the crawl space environment, which is significantly warmer than the environment outside. Once inside your home, they will be more than happy to nest in any fiberglass insulation in the space and live, breed, create waste, and die there. Rodents are also known to chew on wires, which presents a very real and dangerous fire hazard to homeowners.

Advantages To Sealing Your Crawl Space
By sealing your crawl space and installing a vapor barrier on the walls and floors of the crawl space, you can hold back cold winter air, prevent drafts, and create a physical barrier to deter mice and pests from entering your home.

Many crawl space insulation products,such as rigid foam insulation and spray foam, are able to do double duty in your crawl space, providing additional energy efficiency while also offering all of the benefits of home insulation.

As an additional benefit, sealing and insulating your crawl space will protect the space from outside sourced of moisture, such as summer humidity which will condensate on surfaces in the cool, underground environment of the crawl space. This moisture has been proven many times to create an environment that is ideal for mold and rot, which can lead to structural damage to wood floor joists and girders.

Basement Systems pioneered the crawl space encapsulation industry with the CleanSpace System, designed to create a healthier, more energy efficient, and more valuable space in your crawl space. We offer free, on-site estimates and inspections for your home.  Contact us today for more information and to locate a dealer in your area.

Larry with Sen. Richard Blumenthal and 2011 CT Business Hall of Fame Inductees

Basement Systems, Inc. ® has had a busy spring season full of awards and honors. Company founder and president Lawrence Janesky now has another distinction to add to his credentials. Janesky has recently been selected as a finalist for Executive of the Year in the 2011 American Business Awards®.

The American Business Awards^SM, also known as the  Stevie® Awards, honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and businesspeople worldwide. Janesky is one of five finalists for Executive of the Year for companies between 100 and 2,500 employees.

This year’s Stevie® Award winners will be announced during the annual gala on Monday, June 20, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. More than six hundred executives from across the U.S.A. are expected to attend. The event will benefit Camfed (camfed.org), which fights poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa by educating girls and empowering women to become leaders of change. The ceremonies will be broadcast on radio nationwide by the Business TalkRadio Network.

Basement Systems has also recently been honored by the Valley United Way with a number of awards for the company’s outstanding service and support to the Greater Valley community. At the United Way’s awards dinner last month, Basement Systems received the Campaign Underwriter award for Outstanding Community Support, the Top Dollars Raised 2010-2011 award, the Gold Corporate Giving award, the Silver Employee Giving award, and the Silver Employee Participation award. Janesky also received the CEO Leadership award for Philanthropic Leadership and Support.

Janesky’s book, The Highest Calling, has been recognized by the Indie Excellence Book Awards as the best business/motivational book. One of his other books, Saving Energy and Money at Home, has been chosen as the runner up in the Green Book Festival.

“All of these awards show just how committed Basement Systems is to being the best,” Janesky said. “It makes me proud to see organizations honoring the hard work and dedication of my team.”

These recent honors follow the heels of Basement Systems being selected for induction into the Connecticut Business Hall of Fame, an organization honoring companies that have demonstrated an exceptional role as a business entity in the state. That induction ceremony took place on May 20 at the Connecticut Laborers’ Offices in Hartford. Senator Richard Blumenthal and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman were speakers.

Basement Systems is an international network of basement waterproofing, crawl space repair and basement finishing contractors. The international headquarters, based in Seymour, Connecticut, also provides sales and service throughout Connecticut and Westchester County, NY. Larry Janesky’s Basement Systems has been helping homeowners increase their usable living space for over 20 years across the United States, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

They have 27 patented basement and crawl space products, designed to help homeowners get more out of their basements and increase their home’s value.

Very few take into consideration that Mother Nature is absolutely not the only one that can cause a basement flood. Truth is that there is no such a thing as a flood safe basement.

Think about it. Your basement is box buried below grade. Any water that gets into it can only get out if pumped upwards.  You can’t rely on gravity to get rid of it.

Pipes run through the basement, and it usually houses water heater tanks and cold water tanks,  as well as washing machines. All of which have the potential to leak and malfunction, putting your basement underwater.

And let’s not forget running toilettes, overflowing sinks, backed up drains and all the small accidents that can happen upstairs and cause water to pour into the basement.

It is not a matter of if, but when your unprotected basement is going to flood.

There are however, a few steps you can take to prevent major disasters.

1- Sump pump system with drain.

Our sump pumps systems are installed within an airtight container with a drain on the lid. Any water that gets into your basement, regardless of the source will run to the sump drain and the sump pump will get it out of the basement.

2 -Water Alarms

The sooner you know about a water problem, the quicker you can respond to it and prevent disaster. Water alarms are included in our sump pump systems, but in bigger basements or basement with many rooms, we can install additional WaterWatch Floor Alarms to warn you of possible floods.

3- FloodRing for Water Heater Tanks

These tanks are automatically programmed to refill themselves when the water level gets too low, so as they leak, water will continuously poor into the basement, until someone manually shuts down the valve that feeds the tank. The FloodRing, by Basement Systems, will contain the water and divert it to the sump pump, before it floods the basement.

4- FloodCheck Hoses for washing machines

Unless you are turning off the valves every time you finish your laundry, your washing machine hose is pretty much a ticking time bomb. When the machine is not being used, the hose is being continuously subjected to a water pressure of 50psi. Regular hoses are not made to withstand this pressure for too long. So one day, all of a sudden, they burst. And when they do, you can count of 500 galons of water pouring into your basement, per hour.

We actually once serviced a family who came back from a weekend getaway to a basement with water up to the windows! FloodCheck Hoses, are industrial-grade, triple-ply with machined brass end connections. A 20-year warranty ensures your peace of mind for years to come.

After 20 years in the basement waterproofing business we’ve seen pretty much every type of basement flood and all the worst case scenarios you can think of. We are continuously using that experience to develop and provide products that will effectively address and prevent basement flood.

Our goal is to keep basements dry, no matter where the water comes from, and that is what we’ve been doing successfully for the past two decades

Experience the Basement Systems difference. Give us a call and let us amaze you with outstanding service and the best products in the world!

Sump pump failure, on the other hand, is the cause of many basement floods.

Sump pumps are mechanical devices, therefore prone to malfunction, and they need a source of power to work.

They can also be improperly installed, which can interfere with the way they function and, since there are so many types, brands, models and capacities, it is hard for a homeowner without the proper knowledge, to  pick the right pump for the job.

Below are the most common types of sump pump failure, and what you need to do to prevent them.

1 – Overwhelmed Sump Pump

Sometimes a single sump pump just isn’t enough to handle the job. Sometimes the pump is simply not powerful or reliable enough.
Plastic, cheap sump pumps for example, often can’t keep up with the high volume of water that pours in, especially during heavy rains. It will burn out or fail to pump water as quickly as needed.<

At Basement Systems we only recommend and install high capacity, cast iron, Zoeller brand pumps as the primary pumps for all our systems. We’ve tested many other pumps and they were proven to be the most reliable and powerful in the industry.

Upgrading your sump pump and adding a battery backup sump pump to the system, usually solves this problem. In some rare cases you might need more than one sump pump and back up system, installed in different corners of the basement.

2- Pump works but there is no water coming into the sump pit..

This is a classic sign of improperly installed sump pump. Many contractors install a sump pump in the basement but do not link it to a drainage system.

A sump pump only works properly if there is a drain tile installed externally or internally, along the internal perimeter of the basement. The drain tile collects all the ground water from around the foundation, and relies on gravity to channel and discharge it into the sump pump. If the drain tile is clogged, collapsed, inexistent, or just not installed with the proper pitch, it won’t divert the water to the pit, and the best sump pump in the world will not keep your basement dry.

3- Clogged Sump Pumps and Switches

Sump pits that do not have a lid can easily fill with dirt and debris which can cause a sump pump to clog. Likewise, if you have a sump pump that sits straight against the bottom of a dirty sump pit its mechanical parts are liable to clog with dirt and debris. If this interferes with the pump’s operation, the system will slow or stop.

These same debris can cause the “float switch”, which causes the pump to turn on and off as the water level in the pit changes, to clog or jam as well.

If these switches clog, become jammed, or (in the case of cheap sump pump models) become tangled in the rest of the system, the sump pump switch will either stop working entirely or be stuck in the “on” position, meaning that it will run nonstop.

Our sump pump systems include a sump container with an air tight sealed lid that will not only prevent debris from falling in it; it will also keep small children and pets safe and the water from the pit from evaporating back into your basement. The system also includes a pedestal that keeps the sump from coming in contact with the bottom of the container, which is where the silt accumulates.

4 – Frozen or Clogged Discharge Lines

If the discharge lines are frozen or clogged, the system can’t get rid of the water being pumped.

The discharge line needs to be kept clear and it is a good idea to protect the end of the discharge line with a cover, like the Basement Systems’ LawnScape Outlet. This product keeps debris and small animals from getting into the discharge line.

To deal with frozen discharge lines we offer an attachment called IceGuard.  Installed at the beginning of the line, as it exits the basement, it will keep the water flowing out of the pipe if the line is frozen.

5 – Power Lost to the Sump Pump

TripleSafe has not one, but two backup pumps, and one of them is battery operated

When the pump stops working it is a good idea to check if it has power. In these cases, the sump might be working properly, but has no electricity to power it on. Often, the sump is unplugged – accidentally or someone forgot to plug it back in. Check the circuit breaker, it might have tripped and need to be reset.

There are of course, the cases in which the pump is down because of a power outage. The storms and torrential downpours that have the potential to flood a basement are often the same ones that knock down the power lines.

At Basement Systems we highly recommend that you have a high capacity battery operated backup sump pump to keep your basement protected when power is lost for any of the above reason.

Our sump pump systems, often include an alarm to let you know when a backup pump kicks in. For the ultimate protection, consider installing a TripleSafe System, which has not one, but two backup sump pumps, one of which is battery operated. The TripleSafe reduced the odds of a basement flood to statistical insignificance.

6 – Sump Pump Running Non-Stop.

Sump pumps that run continuously, non-stop, or way too often, regardless of the weather conditions or season, may be a sign of different problems, all of which need to be addressed immediately, before the overworked pump burns out. Here’s the most common causes:

• Stuck sump pump switches.
  The float switch becomes clogged, jammed, or (in cheap sump models) the switch becomes tangled in the system. In some cases, the vibrations of the sump pump as it runs can cause it to begin to lean on the edge of the sump pit or liner, disabling the sump pump switch.
• The Sump Pump Liner and/or the Liner is Too small or Too Big.
  In some cases the sump pump is just not big enough to handle the job, so it runs continuously to keep up. In other instances, the pump may be powerful enough, but the sump pit is so small, and fills up so quickly that it triggers the sump pump to work more often than it should. In the industry we call it a short cycling sump pump.
• The check valve is missing or broken.
  Because the sump pump is installed below grade, the discharge line go upwards until it can exit the basement at some point above grade, when the pipe is then pitched downhill, relying on gravity to discharge the water. The check valve, installed in the discharge line, prevents the water from coming back into the pit before it reaches the point in which it begins to roll downhill. A broken or missing check valve will cause 1/3 to 2/3 of that water to flow right back into the pit, overworking the pump.
• Continually flooding sump pit.
  In very rare cases, there is just a continuous flow of water into the sump pit due to a high water table or an underground spring. If the water table is too high, raising the sump pit a bit might help. Upgrading the system or adding an extra sump pump on another corner of the basement might help.

If the sump pump is running non-stop under normal conditions, there is a chance that it will fail when you need it most: during a heavy rain. Get a technician to look at it before bad weather strikes, because that is when the technicians will most likely be extremely busy, and you might not be able to schedule service until it is too late.

If your sump pump is not running properly or needs and upgrade, contact us for a free Sump Pump evaluation.

The international basement waterproofing company, based in Seymour, was selected to be a part of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010.

This year’s induction ceremony will take place on May 20 at the Connecticut Laborers’ Offices in Hartford from 8 to 10 a.m.

Each year, the Connecticut Business Hall of Fame recognizes business leaders throughout the state that have demonstrated a long record of successful management, expertise and business skills along with notable achievements.

Several Connecticut-based companies are also inducted that have demonstrated an exceptional role as a business entity in the state. The qualifications for companies to be inducted into the Business Hall of Fame include operations for 10 or more years, community involvement, and being a proven industry leader.

“This is a humbling award that our great company is honored to receive, and I can tell you we have only just begun,” said Larry Janesky, founder and owner of Basement Systems. “We truly have something special going on here at Team Basement Systems.”

Basement Systems is an international network of basement waterproofing, crawl space repair and basement finishing contractors. The international headquarters, based in Seymour, Connecticut, also provides sales and service throughout Connecticut and Westchester County, NY.

Larry Janesky’s Basement Systems has been helping homeowners increase their usable living space for over 20 years across the United States, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. They have 27 patented basement and crawl space products, designed to help homeowners get more out of their basements and increase their home’s value.

First, make sure that the soil around the foundation is properly graded. It should slope away from the walls.

If you have concrete sidewalks, a driveway make sure they too are diverting the water away and not towards the house.

Keep in mind that that soil, which was once dug out in order for the basement to be built, is not as compact as the undisturbed portion of the terrain surrounding the area, and tends to settle overtime and might need to be re-graded. It also soaks up more water than the surrounding soil, creating a false water table. In the industry, we call it the “clay bowl effect”, which is the main cause of most basement leaks.

This is why it is very important to keep that area as dry as possible, by providing adequate foundation drainage and properly managing the rain water.

Flowerbeds should not cause the water to pool close to the wall, and plants that need regular watering should be avoided, sprinklers should never be too close, and

Downspout extensions keep gutters from discharging water too close to the foundation walls.

If you have a basement, not having any gutters is a very bad idea. They need to be installed, and kept clean, free of debris and in good working condition.

Likewise, having gutters to capture all the water and snow melt falling from the roof, only to have them pour all that water next to your basement walls is not exactly a good idea if you want a dry basement.

Although we specialize in foundation drainage, we also provide yard drainage solutions, such as downspout extensions and discharge outlets as part of our set of comprehensive solutions to keep your basement dry all the time!

Contact us for a free in-home estimate and ask our home representative for information in all the yard drainage options we offer.