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Typically,
the damage from water seeping in from the outside or backing up from
the sewer is not covered by standard homeowner policies so it is
important to take action at the first sign of trouble before serious
and costly damage occurs.
Surface water running down next to the foundation walls is one of
the four primary causes of wet basements.
Basement water problems are often unpredictable. A home may have
had a dry basement for years, but start to have water seepage problems
during a wet spring, even though the wet weather is not the worst
that the house has seen in the past. Area development may cause groundwater
levels to rise, may increase storm water runoff and overload storm
sewer systems, or affect underground springs. The waterproofing on
the exterior side of the basement walls may have developed cracks
due to house settlement. Tree roots may have damaged and blocked
the underground drain tile. Or, it could be as simple as forgetting
to clean out the gutters.
When homeowners experience wet basements for the first time, it
is imperative to determine if the water problems are going to reoccur
or was it a one-time event. Essential to solving this question is
determining where the water is coming from.
If this is the first time
for basement water problems, the first thing to check for is the
possibility that large quantities of surface water are draining
down next to the foundations. Water coming in at one location and
only at the exterior foundation wall are typical indications of surface
water problems.
Finding the water source and controlling surface water
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