You don’t need to be in a flood zone to have water intrusion affect your foundation

Here in the soggy NW, real estate brokers have to deal with wet basements pretty regularly as part of a transaction. There are a variety of ways that water can intrude so it’s worth it to get an expert in to help determine the best course of action. If you live in a high water table area, the water may be coming up from underneath so it’s important to know this info and to handle it appropriately. In this instance, it’s possible a sump pump may be the solution.

If your home is in a sloped area, which is a lot of the NW, then you also have potential underground streams (I’ve seen these completely wreak havoc on foundations), and there is also the typical clogged gutters and downspouts – or the downspouts that go directly into ground instead of a french drain system. Landscaping is also an important part of the equation as you need to keep a slope away from the house so that water isn’t coming back toward the foundation.

Most people forget that concrete is a pourous substance and if it is repeatedly subjected to water it will eventually wear or crack and allow water to infiltrate.

Definitely don’t make your own assumptions when it comes to something this important as you may not fully fix the problem on your own.

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