When is a basement issue a foundation issue as well?

We often visit customers whose homes have a water intrusion problem and a foundation problem.  Some ask "isn’t water in a basement a foundation problem too"?  Well yes it is, but most experts refer to settling foundations, bowed, or buckling foundations as foundation problems and water in the basement as wet basements.  Some customers are unfortunate enough to experience both.  So the question is what repair comes first?  Like the chicken or the egg. 

Each home is very unique and the problems are often different case by case and have to be looked at as such.   If a home’s foundation is so severely damaged that a repair is in the best interest and safety of all it’s a no brainer what gets done immediately.  Most homes are not this way.  What’s most common is some settlement or a bowed wall and water in the basement in a steady rain.  So what do we tackle first?

Well we have to look at the whole problem.  How much water are you getting in your basement?  What’s at stake each time the water enters the basement?  Are you going to lose a furnace, is the basement finished, are all of your family photos going to be lost?  Your foundation issue depends on the severity of it and could make your home unsafe for living.  This is where our system design specialists can help you determine what’s the cost for each of these repairs and help you decide on a plan of action with our payment options. 

Many customers have told us that when they experience all of these concerns at once they have felt overwhelmed with fears and concerns.  We understand how they could feel this way.  Your home is often your largest investment.  What we have found is that most customers will use our payment options to make the best possible plan of action.  No one wants to finance anything in these uncertain times.  This is most understandable.  However, protecting your investment is also important.  Our customers have the option of taking straight financing, using our 6 months 0% financing or using a combination of partial payment and partial finance. 

What do recommend is to make the quickest possible decision you can make.  The faster you take corrective action the less your problem spirals out of control right under you.