3 Ways to Prevent Your Basement from Flooding

Life is going swell, then all of a sudden you go into the basement to find all of your belongings wet and ruined.  What a disaster! This all-too-common inconvenience doesn’t discriminate - new and old homes can be vulnerable.  Luckily, there are some preventive actions you can take to avoid getting an unwanted indoor pool. 

1.  If your house has no interior or exterior drain tile, one of these options should be installed.  This prevents excess rain water from seeping into the basement.  Interior drain tile involves a system of perforated pipes installed along the foundation under the slab/concrete that redirects water to the sump pump and from there it gets discharged.  Exterior drain tile, more common during new construction or remodeling (because it involves excavation), surrounds the outside of the foundation to collect water and redirect it to the sump pump. 

In addition, a good sump pump system is highly recommended. Sump pump and ejector pump systems, complete with battery backup and high-water alarm options, are an essential element in protecting your home from potential damage due to flooding or other water overflow problems.

2.  Standing water in the yard is another big culprit to basement flooding. It results from poor yard drain setups and/or downspouts dumping water next to the house foundation which then seeps into the basement.  The solution is to install a yard drain system and connect downspouts to this new system, or to create a separate system for them in order to carry rain water away from the house. 

3. Another flooding problem we see with older homes is a result of sewer backup.  The preferred fix is to install an overhead sewer conversion, a process that is done from inside the house. The process involves disconnecting all plumbing fixtures from the gravity sewer and rerouting them to a new ejector pit with pump.  The other solution is a control system that intercepts the sewer line from outside the house called Flood Control.

One or all of these steps will ensure your basement stays clean and dry. Master Trade is equipped and experienced in various specialized solutions for keeping water from flooding basements and yards. Contact us to discuss what service we can provide that best suits your plumbing needs.