Water in Princeton Junction, NJ Basement

Friday, April 17th, 2015 by Cassandra Santiago

Challenge

The basement in this home was completely finished and being used as a game room, bar, and entertainment area. The homeowners had noticed a musty smell for some time. They then started noticing that one corner of the basement was always wet. Eventually as the water in the basement became a more permanent fixture, the couple called Quality 1st Basement Systems. The inspector noticed that the musty smell was due to water ruining the carpet and rotting the sheetrock. The wet basement was caused by hydrostatic pressure around the outside of the home, and the water was coming in through the walls and floors.

Solution

Quality 1st Basement Systems installed a full perimeter WaterGuard basement waterproofing system around the basement. WaterGuard is specially designed not to clog and stops any water from coming into the basement. One important aspect of the WaterGuard system is that it has an opening to accept the water that was coming in from the walls, keeping the basement dry. The walls were so damaged that the installation crew had to remove the bottom portion of the wall since they were rotted and susceptible to mold growth. WaterGuard also has a gap along the edge of the floor which will catch any potential future leaks.

The WaterGuard system drains to a SuperSump sump pump. The SuperSump sump pump has a sturdy liner with holes in it so that it can accept water directly from the ground. The SuperSump sump pump also has an airtight lid which will prevent water from evaporating out of the sump hole into the basement. The sump pump pumps out to an extended drainage system which makes sure that the water drains away from the home so that it will not put additional pressure on the foundation. The crew also installed an IceGuard which will ensure that the discharge line will not freeze during cold months. This basement is now dry and comfortable!