Basement Waterproofing in Montclair, NJ

Friday, February 5th, 2021 by Casie Novak

Challenge

A resident in Montclair, New Jersey was experiencing water leaking and puddling in their basement during heavy rainfall. The homeowner reported having a musty and damp smell in their basement. This can happen because of loose soil that was used to fill the hole around the foundation. Over time, this soil settles and becomes saturated during heavy rainfall. This saturated soil puts weight on the foundation walls, causing hydrostatic pressure, and ultimately letting water in through the walls and floors. During dry weather, the soil shrinks away from the foundation, which leaves voids for the next rainfall to flow down into the basement. A wet basement can have many other negative effects such as smelly damp carpets, mold, and increased heating and cooling bills.

Solution

The homeowner contacted Quality 1st Basement Systems after seeing an ad on the internet. Our System Design Specialist, Stephen Ventriglio, was able to come up with a plan for this issue and provided an inspection of the home. He suggested they remove the damaged bottom half of their basement wall, install a sump pump system, along with a French drain system. Our foreman, Wilver Cardoza, installed the TripleSafe Sump Pump System which has three pumps in one pump liner. The third pump is a battery-operated pump that kicks in if the power goes out. This sump pump will effectively pump water out of the basement and also has an airtight enclosed lid, to ensure moisture stays out of the basement. Next, the foreman installed the WaterGuard Drainage System along the perimeter of the basement floor. This system sits under the concrete slab, and on top of the foundation footing to keep it from clogging. WaterGuard will drain water away and to the sump pump system to keep the basement dry.