ASHWORTH DRAINAGE BLOG
The sump pump is an important part of a home’s drainage system. Sitting at the lowest part of the foundation, the sump pump gets rid of excess water that can flow around your foundation and basement flooring through the French or perimeter drains. It’s often the final step in stopping water from leaching into your basement!
This means that when it fails, your whole defense could fail, too. There are a few common reasons why they fail, because like any other mechanical device in a home, they are susceptible to wear and tear over time. Keeping a close eye on it and performing regular maintenance are how you can catch any potential problems before they get too far.
Many people find themselves facing backyard drainage issues. Do you have to deal with unwanted water during rainy weather? Pools of standing water on the lawn make many yards virtually unusable every year, and it’s not desirable when the weather actually improves and you want to enjoy it. These puddles can also do serious damage to the grass, while also forming perfect breeding grounds for pests like mosquitoes.
Don’t try and power through these problems year after year – do something about it by improving your backyard drainage!
The window well is an important part of the drainage system that protects your basement from moisture leakage. It’s especially important because windows are a common weak point for foundations, and the barrier around them can wear down over time.
On many, typically older homes, these window wells are defined by a metal or plastic barrier around the window, and that’s about it. However, more and more often you’ll also see gravel or rocks at used at the base of a larger window well. Is this necessary?
Standing water in your yard is a sign of poor drainage, but before you can correct the problem, you need to get that water out of there. You should try to pump any standing water as soon as possible, because leaving it will ruin your lawn, attract mosquitoes, and even affect your foundation if the pool is close enough to your home.
Don’t worry, trying to pump standing water away from your yard isn’t hard, and it doesn’t even require an expensive pump or electricity. You just need to start with a hose!
Repairing vertical or horizontal cracks in your foundation walls, whether they’re inside your basement or on the outer wall, requires a material that is resistant to sagging and designed to hold up against pressure. It has to have excellent adhesion not just to the concrete, but all kinds of masonry, and even wood and metal. There are two suitable materials with which to repair concrete foundations: epoxy crack filler and polyurethane injection. Which is best? (more…)
When a bathroom isn’t properly waterproofed, showers can cause a number of household problems: mold growth, damage to the walls and flooring of the bathroom, and even damage to the structure of the home itself. Good waterproofing prevents all the unavoidable bathroom moisture from getting absorbed into the construction material and damaging it.
Whether you’re installing a new bathroom or retrofitting an older one, there are three main types of bathroom waterproofing materials: liquid waterproofing membranes, foam backer boards, and sheet membranes.
Fixing external cracks in your foundation is absolutely essential. Many cracks cannot be fixed by epoxy or polyurethane injection from the inside, and require outside repairs to prevent them from getting worse. Small cracks can become major structural problems, causing the concrete to heave, contract, and crumble.
If you notice a crack, have it repaired as soon as possible! Repairing any exterior foundation weaknesses as soon as they appear ensures that cracks do not degrade even further and that your basement stays waterproof. Here is how the process works. (more…)
A backyard can be hard to drain as completely as many property owners would like. Whether it’s flat or sloped, a lot of us have to fight against unwanted pools of water turning their lawns into miniature swamps. Things get even messier when these property owners put in a wanted pool of water.
Spring runoff is a frustrating yet always reliable presence for a home located at the base of a slope. It’s not just the surface water you should be concerned with, though that can bring a lot of unwanted soil and plant matter, too; the subsurface water, that moisture flowing beneath the ground, can wreak havoc on your foundation and basement.
Living at the bottom of a hill you have no control over doesn’t mean you have to suffer through these water problems. There are several options you have to reroute both surface and subsurface runoff from your foundation! (more…)
Spring might be the favourite season for many people, but it’s definitely not the best for their home’s foundation. Melting snow and ice combined with rain means your foundation has to stand up to a lot of water pressure, but even one weakness can cause a lot of interior damage. The best way to prevent spring thawing leaks is to make sure there are no cracks or weaknesses in the concrete!