Is waterproofing your basement important? That is a question that we get asked by people buying a home fairly often. And in short, the answer is yes – sometimes.
It really all depends on the situation. There is no need to waterproof a “dry” basement, but most basements do have a measure of moisture in them. But moisture typically comes from outside the home. So before you spend time, money, and effort moistureproofing the basement, consider the outside of your home first.
The most common water damage to your basement floors and walls will come from runoff water off your house, then soak into the soil, then into the basement. How can you protect yourself from that? Here are a few fixes in order to keep your basement waterproof.
To stop the flow of runoff water from your roof, you could install a gutter system in order to divert the flow of the rainwater, and change its path away from the basement and far enough out onto the ground where the water won’t affect the basement at all. This means a couple of things. First, you need high-quality gutters – preferably seamless gutters if possible. Second, the gutters do no good unless the leaders bring the water far from the home. And third, the grading around your house should lead the water away from your home and not back toward it.
Also, by digging shallow ditches and funneling them out away from the house, all the water can be diverted away from the house, and therefore not only protect your basement but your entire house. These are just a few simple things you can do in order to waterproof your basement and your house.
So in conclusion, waterproofing your basement is completely necessary in order to protect the rest of your house as well.