Wet basement is like a boat in the ground What you have is a fight between the ground the way it has been for the last 10,000 years and the way it is after your house was stuck in it. Nature designed the ground to be a spongy mass that can move nutrients to the roots of plants. Whenever we put something in the soil (like a basement), the water in the soil will try to retake that space. Builders are pretty smart to trick the ground, which has been doing things its own way for millions of years, but they aren’t perfect. After a rain, gravity pulls the surface water down hill until it soaks in the ground or reaches the ocean. Ground water continues to drop until something like rocks or a layer of clay gets in the way, then it moves sideways until it can drop some more. This water seeks its own level and your foundation is in the way. The ground water surrounding a foundation behaves the same way as water surrounding a boat or a can. Poke a hole in the bottom of the boat and water spurts up, like a crack in the middle of the basement floor. Poke a hole in the edge where the side of can meets the bottom and in seeps the water, like where the floor meets the wall. Poke a hole in the side and the water leaks through, like a crack or weak spot in your wall. Water builds pressure the deeper you go. And pushes against the walls like against a boat. Your foundation walls hold back tons of soil and water in that soil. That water puts an enormous amount of pressure against your walls. Water puts pressure against every surface with which it is in contact. The deeper the water, the greater the pressure. And, the weakest point of your basement, the wall-floor joint, is at the deepest level and is exposed to the greatest hydrostatic pressure. Water holds to soil particles and roots even in the areas of good drainage. This causes considerable moisture near the surface. Since soil is normally against the foundation walls, any cracks or porous areas will let dampness into your basement. Water gets into your basement by any combination of seepage, leakage, or condensation. Seepage and leakage are from the pressure caused by the boat effect on your home. As always, I wish you good fortune and success solving your waterproofing problems. Take a deep breath and try not to get discouraged if things don’t go quickly and easily, as is often the case. Don’t take it personally. Remember, nearly every solution which now exist was acquired by trial and error by someone who was frustrated before you. Persevere, you’ll get the job done and feel very good about it.
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