Vented Crawl Space Winter Woes

Posted by cynthia in Crawl Space Insulation, Crawl Space Repair, Crawl Space Sealing, Crawl Space Vapor Barrier, Featured | 0 comments

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!

6 Common Sump Pump Problems and What to Do About Them

Posted by cynthia in Basement Flood, Basement Leaks, Basement Waterproofing, Drainage, Featured, Sump Pumps, Uncategorized, Wet Basement Repair | 0 comments

A good sump pump, tied to a properly installed, working foundation drainage system is a homeowner’s first line of defense against basement flood.

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.

Yard Drainage Solutions

Posted by cynthia in Basement Flood, Basement Leaks, Basement Waterproofing, Drainage, Uncategorized, Wet Basement Repair | 0 comments

Many basement leak problems can be prevented or, at least helped, with simple and inexpensive measures.

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.

Foundation Water Damage: What to Do When It’s More Than Just a Basement Leak.

Posted by cynthia in Basement Wall Cracks, Basement Waterproofing, Drainage, Foundation Repair, Foundation Settlement, Foundation Underpining, Structural Damages, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Water on expanding soil caused this basement wall to bow.

Bill Loden, a seasoned home inspector from Madison, AL tells Consumer Reports: “If there are 10 things that can go wrong with a house, 15 of them have to do with water.”

Having dealt with water intrusion problems for the past 20 years we know that he is not exaggerating.

Water can be especially hard on foundations because, being entirely or partially buried in wet soil, they are the areas of the house that are in constant contact with water. Rain water, if not properly controlled and diverted, can inflict an enormous amount of damage in a home’s foundation, sometimes compromising its structural integrity.

Water affects foundation in three main ways:

Hydrostatic Pressure:

It can cause more than just basement leaks. When the soil around the foundation is over saturated with water, the resulting hydrostatic pressure can push the walls inward, causing them to crack and bow. This can happen all of a sudden, during a period of heavy rains, or overtime.

Basement Systems Hosts Employee Appreciation with Luncheon

Posted by cynthia in Basement Systems Inc., Company News | 0 comments

Seymour, CT – CleanSpace division employees honored by their peers