Why Does My Basement Leak When It Rains?
If the basement of your Atlanta, Georgia, home starts to leak every time it rains, the rainwater is most likely finding a way in through the soil structures that surround your foundation. As rainwater seeps into the earth, the soil becomes saturated and hydrostatic pressure builds up. Once pressurized, the water begins to move in the path of least resistance, which, unfortunately for many homeowners, is into their basements through small cracks in the foundation. These cracks are often minuscule and are several feet underground, so homeowners don’t even know they’re there until their basement begins to leak.
Even if your foundation walls don’t have any cracks, your basement can still leak when it rains. Concrete has many qualities that make it an ideal building material — namely its durability, affordability, and the fact that it can be easily molded into practically any shape. However, concrete is also inherently porous, which works to its detriment when it comes to preventing groundwater from seeping into your basement. While there are sealants that can be applied to the surface of concrete during molding to reduce its absorbency, this offers little consolation to homeowners whose leaky concrete blocks are out of reach.
The most effective way to stop water from leaking into your basement is to prevent it from seeping into the soil directly around your home. To accomplish this, make sure your gutter system is in good working order and channels rainwater safely away from your home. If possible, grading the soil so that it slopes downward away from your home will help to carry rainwater further away from your foundation.
Finding a Lasting Solution with ESOG
While the above information provides a general overview of how rainwater typically seeps into basements, in order to determine with any certainty why your basement leaks when it rains, a professional evaluation is needed. The geotechnical specialists at Engineered Solutions of Georgia have been serving homeowners in the Atlanta area for more than a decade, providing thorough consultations, expert advice, and a variety of basement waterproofing services. By evaluating your basement and the surrounding soil structures, we can determine the root cause of your leaky basement and devise a lasting solution to your particular situation, whether that entails installing a channel drain, sump pump, vapor barrier, or another waterproofing system.
For more information, contact Engineered Solutions of Georgia today. We proudly serve homeowners throughout Atlanta and surrounding areas.
