Underground gutter extensions can save a little space in your yard. You can pay a landscaper to dig a trench and safely install the pipe for you.
Fixing foundation cracks is inexpensive and easy to do independently. Just clean off the wall before you apply the caulk, scrubbing away loose concrete and paint before filling in the cracks.
Don’t use ordinary duct tape on your dryer vent. Its adhesive isn’t meant to withstand high temperatures from the dryer, and the tape could even catch fire in the long run.
Don’t spread the waterproofing too thin! Your goal is to fill in all the cracks and pinholes to make a cohesive layer of protection. Wait for the first coat of waterproofing paint to dry and then add a second one to ensure your basement walls are thoroughly covered.
If you don’t have window wells, installing them can prevent water and soil from getting inside any ground-level basement windows.
“Grading” is the process of adjusting the slope and soil elevation around your house to direct water flow as it drains through the soil. You can build the slope easily with a shovel and dirt or pay a landscaper to address the problem for you. A little landscaping can go a long way to prevent water from seeping down your foundation walls.
When heavy rain falls, swales (the shallow ditch) direct it down into the soil rather than towards your house. Berms (the raised barrier) are like shields, stopping the water flow to your house and diverting it into the soil. Berms are tougher for big projects because you’d have to truck in a lot of extra soil to make them, whereas you can make a swale by digging. You can also hire a landscaping contractor to build a berm, usually for a few hundred dollars.
You can tell that you have a footing drain clog if water leaks into your basement at the seam where the wall meets the floor. If you’re unsure whether you have a footing drain, search the perimeter of your basement for a circular metal drain set into the floor. That’s a footing drain (also known as a fountain drain)!
The pump and materials can be expensive. You can install it yourself for less, but paying a contractor can cost a few thousand dollars. Though it’s expensive, a sump pump drainage system is worth the trouble because it’ll keep your basement from flooding!
If you’d rather not tear up a finished basement floor, a French drain might be your best bet! Plus, interior drainage systems (like sump pumps) remove water but don’t prevent it from getting in. Like sump pumps, French drains can be expensive to install because it involves excavating around the house, but it pays off in the end by protecting the house’s foundation long-term.
