How to Stop the Leaks From Coming | Fix Wet Basements | Wet Basement Solutions

At Buyer’s Edge in the Nation’s Capital, our Exclusive Buyer’s Agents regularly show homes for sale with leaking basements and moldy conditions. Homebuyers are naturally afraid of these issues as they represent not only a significant expense to remediate but also health and environmental concerns.

Following is an interesting example of an old farmhouse in Bethesda, MD that was originally built on just a crawl space. At different times over its 120 years plus history, various owners have dug out underneath the house to create basement storage, underpinned the original stone wall foundations, and even added whole new additions to the house – All without ever addressing the water issues.

This video with Stephen Carpenter-Israel, President/Broker of Buyer’s Edge Buyer Broker, shows homebuyers one of the common systems used to remediate wet basement problems. These systems are often warranted to last many years and make for a much safer, secure space when completed.

In this case, the wet basement solution was to cut the concrete floor and dig a trench around the perimeter. Then the entire perimeter of the basement wall was covered with woven waterproof plastic material. At that point, a 4” perforated pipe (drain tile) was placed in the trench and connected to two sump pumps in different parts of the basement. The plastic waterproof sheeting was tucked into the trench, and rigid plastic or aluminum edging material was installed at the bottom of the wall to hold the plastic against the wall and allow water to make its way down into the trench. The trench was then re-cemented to allow for a finished floor to be installed.

The waterproof sheeting captures any water seeping through the wall and delivers it into the trench to be ejected from the house via the two sump pumps. Any water that would have been rising up from under the house would also be captured by the trench and ejected.

Homeowners could now build a wall inside of the system and close up the drywall or other material without fear of water continuing to create mold conditions behind them.

This system by BDry as listed in Buyer’s Edge Recommended Residential Services and Contractor List costs $20,000 to install. There were approximately 135 linear feet of trench cut and walls covered. The work was completed in early February 2021, and since that time the Washington, DC Metro Area has had extensive rain and snowmelt saturating the grounds around this beautiful, old house - without any sign of water inside!

Video: Tips for Fixing a Leaky Basement with Stephen Carpenter-Israel

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Updated From: March 2022