Musty Odor Removal and Basement Waterproofing in Edison, NJ

Friday, February 5th, 2016 by Sarah Gozick

Challenge

An Edison, NJ couple just purchased a new home three months prior. During their walk through of the basement, the husband noticed some water seepage on his foundation wall and also coming through the Bilco door entrance at the back of the house. They called in to Quality 1st Basement Systems for help and met with home inspector Collin Peare. The first thing Collin noticed was that the foundation walls were painted white with Dry-Lock, and that the foundation walls were comprised of 8 inch cinder block. As the homeowner walked Collin over to the problem areas, Collin noticed one common feature. The paint was peeling off of the foundation walls about two blocks up from the slab floor. As a design specialist, he knew that meant the cinder block foundation walls were filling up with water due to hydrostatic pressure. Two things Collin knew about cinder block foundation walls are that they are hollow and the concrete is porous, giving the cinderblock room to breathe. By applying paint over top of the cinderblock, it clogs the pores of the concrete and makes the paint chip off of the wall when water attempts to penetrate through. The homeowners told Collin that the basement flooded during Hurricane Sandy and nothing was done in an attempt to waterproof the basement other than cleaning out the immediate water and drying the basement out. This left a peculiar, musty odor in the basement that the couple could smell on the main floor of the home.

Solution

The homeowners wanted to finish their basement in the near future so their children could play in it. They wanted it to be cozy and beautiful, but first they needed it waterproof and safe. Collin had a solution. Quality 1st Basement Systems installed a subfloor drainage system specifically designed and engineered to be a permanent waterproofing solution for basements. Basements are imperfect concrete structures built on soils that vary. What separates the WaterGuard basement drain from other options is its location. WaterGuard is engineered to sit on top of the footing, out of the dirt so it will never clog from dirt and debris getting inside. The special wall flange creates a neat space between the floor and wall to drain seepage. The WaterGuard system is applicable for all types of foundation including cinderblock. WaterGuard also comes with a life-time, fully transferrable warranty when and if the homeowner ever decide to sell the house.

The TripleSafe sump pump is the most advanced sump pump on the market with three pumps inside of one sump liner. The first pump, a Zoeller, 1/3 horse, cast iron pump sits the lowest in the sump liner and works under normal circumstances. The second pump is a Zoeller, 1/2 horse, cast iron pump that will work if the first pump cannot keep up with the amount of water entering the pit, or if the first pump has failed. If both the primary pumps and the secondary pump had to run at the same time, they have the capability of pumping out 6,200 gallons of water per hour. The final pump inside the TripleSafe is the Ultra Sump III Battery backup pump. This is a DC powered (direct current) battery that has the ability to pump 12,000 gallons of water out of the liner with one 120-amp, maintenance free, gel-sealed battery. There are 96 1/2 inch holes mechanically drilled into the liner itself to allow for ground water seepage to enter the pit. The two-piece air tight lid keeps the sump systems quiet and does not allow damp, musty, smelly air to enter the basement. Then Quality 1st Basement Systems installed CleanSpace walling system, a 12-mil thick reinforced plastic liner that is installed with permanent drilled-in fasteners. It is a fast, economical way to cover ugly walls, stop water vapor from permeating the walls, and drain wall leaks. The white color really brightens up the basement with the available lighting. There is also a 25-year transferrable warranty against rips, tears and punctures. The SaniDry XP basement air system is a powerful and effective dehumidifier that covers up to 2,500 square feet and removes up to 110 pints of water a day while operating at the same energy of a standard 40-pint unit. The control module located on the side of the unit allows the homeowner full control over the system, being able to set the unit to a desired relative humidity based on the season. The four wheels allow the unit to be moved from one section to another with ease, while the ducting system allows the unit to be stored in an unfinished section of the basement while dehumidifying a finished section of the basement. The SaniDry XP comes with a 30-month warranty and is fully serviceable.

The homeowners were very surprised that waterproofing their entire basement only took two days to complete. Quality 1st Basement Systems does not use sub-contractors or day laborers, which means that all of our work is installed in house, by trained professionals. Over the snow melts and rains, the homeowners are now enjoying a completely waterproofed basement with the best protection on the market.