Basement Drain Keeps Family Safe in Bellmawr, NJ

Friday, February 19th, 2016 by Sarah Gozick

Challenge

A family in Bellmawr, NJ called in for an inspection because they were experiencing water coming up into the basement from between the floor and wall. The paint on the foundation wall was chipping off towards the bottom courses of cinderblock. Basement specialist Collin Peare walked down into the homeowner's basement and inspected the foundation walls. All of the walls had Drylock applied from top to bottom. Drylock was used in an attempt to stop water from making its way to the inside of the home. However, cinderblock is hollow, porous and is meant to breathe. Applying a coat of Drylock to cinderblock foundation clogs the pours and flakes right off. Water was also making its way through the foundation wall via the floor and wall joint, which is the most common way basements get wet. The homeowners were very passionate about finishing their basement because they wanted somewhere for their children to play without fear of their basement flooring.

Solution

Quality 1st Basement Systems installed a WaterGuard basement drain. WaterGuard is a patented sub-floor drainage system specifically designed and engineered for permanent basement waterproofing. WaterGuard's unique design and placement allows water to be captured at the floor wall joint, or the path of least resistance without the worry of clogging from silt, sediment, or debris. The neat, clean wall flange allows water that may seep through the foundation wall to enter through the back of the system so the homeowners are able to re-finish their basement at a later date. By having the perimeter of the basement treated, the homeowner has a life-time, fully transferrable warranty against ground water seepage.

Being able to drain water from the floor and wall joint is a huge step that is taken by the homeowner to stop their basement from flooding every time it rains. The second step is to now collect that water and get it out of the basement. Collin Peare recommended the TripleSafe sump pump to the homeowner and they loved the system and had it installed. The TripleSafe is the most advanced sump system on the market and is for homeowners who do not want to see water on their basement floor ever again. The sump liner's patented figure-8 formation allows for three pumps to be installed inside the sump liner with a two piece, air tight lid. The first pump is a Zoeller M-53 cast iron pump which sits the lowest in the pit. The pump works under normal circumstances and handles the lion's share of the pumping. The second pump, which sits a bit higher, is the Zoeller M-98, which is a 1/2 horse power pump and will work if the M-53 has completely failed or if the M-53 cannot keep up with the amount of water that is getting into the pit. If both the M-53 and the M-98 need to pump together, they have the ability of pumping out 6,200 gallons per hour. The third pump that is included in the TripleSafe is the Ultra Sump III battery back-up pump. This sits the highest in the pit and works off of a 120-amp, gel sealed, maintenance free battery which has the capability of pumping 12,000 gallons of water. The installation of this project was completed in one day because Quality 1st Basement Systems does not use sub-contractors or day labors. This is beneficial to the homeowner for a few reasons: they know that the job is installed by trained professionals, who install this type of work every single day and they do not have to take more days off of work than necessary. At the end of the job, the foreman is required to do a full job inspection with the homeowners so that everything is done to the highest standard. Through the high volumes of rain that we have experienced over the past few weeks, the homeowner is enjoying a fully waterproofed basement where their children can play without worry of their basement flooding ever again.