Damage to the basement caused by floods has caused many people to lose expensive furniture, precious family heirlooms, and other priceless possessions. When Mother Nature sets her path, homeowners, particularly those families with basements, will always be concerned about significant floods and unexpectedly high water levels.
It would be best if you did not have a damp basement because of constant rain. If this is a concern for you, there are steps you can take to keep your man storage space, gym, man cave, or home theatre safe from the elements. Doing your research and planning ahead of time can help you avoid costly mistakes that will cost you time, money, and problems down the road. With that said, here are some things you can do to protect your basement:
Window Well Covers Are a Smart Purchase
Reinforced holes in the earth called window wells protect below ground or partly below ground basement windows. A window well’s purpose is to keep the soil away from the windows, which allows the user to open window wells for lighting and ventilation. Designed to fit over window wells are window well covers, keeping humans and animals from falling in window wells. While window wells come in different materials, one popular variation are steel grate window well covers. These types provide more robust protection while still maintaining ventilation in window wells. Additionally, manufacturers design window wells to divert rain and snow away from windows so they don’t accumulate in window wells.
Make Sure You Grade Your Grass Correctly First
Basement flooding is more likely if the ground surrounding your home grades or problematic slopes toward the house rather than outward. It’s a given that rainwater will eventually have to find a home someplace—in this case, a well-designed lawn that slopes down from your precious walls and toward the city’s accessible streets and gutters. The good news is that there are numerous landscaping alternatives available if you take a stroll around the exterior of your house and observe that the grass slopes toward your walls.
As long as your solution matches your design aesthetic while reducing your flood risk, you have plenty of options. Consider the following landscaping ideas:
- Changing the direction of rain spouts
- Putting up a rainwater collection system
- Adding a better green roof to your home
- Constructing a swale
- Using more mulch on your lawn
Leave Ample Space Between the Mulch
You should maintain six inches of space between your landscaped yard and your home’s outside walls while mulching in flower beds and other places. When it comes to siding and other construction materials, this is particularly important since brick is far more water-resistant than these different materials.
Expand Your Gutters and Turn Them Away from Your House
The water will flow farther away from the outer perimeter if you add additional material to the downspout. Do this instead of attaching it to your footer drain or stopping it just above ground surrounding your house.
Direct the water away from your house to grassy areas graded away from it so that it does not just run back and sit there. The water that accumulates during heavy rains will soak the earth and flood the basement when this happens.
Regular Gutter Cleaning
Gutter Cleaning should be done twice a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn. Leaves and twigs in your gutters pile up quickly. You put your house in danger of flooding if you don’t clean them out regularly.
When it’s raining hard, clogged gutters can’t correctly drain, which means water ends straight on your home’s foundation.
Add a Sump Pump to Prevent Flooding
You can avoid basement flooding by installing an automated sump pump in your basement after a rainstorm. Sump pumps work like a giant floor drain, taking water from your basement and the surrounding foundation and diverting it somewhere else where it won’t cause damage. If the primary sump pump fails, the backups will take over.
Call Expert Help
However, even if you follow the previous suggestions to the letter, you can’t eliminate the danger of flooding in your basement. If your basement floods due to a strong storm and causes substantial water damage to your house, contact professionals or experts as soon as possible to have your home or property cleaned and dried. Certified experts are equipped with the knowledge and equipment to restore your house to its pre-loss state.
You can avoid flooding in your basement by following the tips in this guide. Even as simple as getting decent window well covers, proper landscaping, and cleaning your gutters can make a world of difference between a dry basement and wet mementos.
