Before You Finish Your Basement...
Protect Your New Investment from Moisture Damage In Saskatchewan
Flooding In A Finished Basement
Few things can destroy a newly finished basement like groundwater flooding or a plumbing failure.
Taking a few precautions before a flood occurs can prevent this issue and protect your home. This includes eliminating all existing and potential sources of flooding, and addressing any issues with humidity in the space.
If you have a one-story home with a full basement, then that basement represents a major portion of its usable space.
The best way to make use of this space is to finish the basement into a new, comfortable living space. But like all home improvements, a little preparation beforehand can go a long way to protecting your investment.
Finishing The Basement
An unfinished basement is a prime candidate for creating new living space in your home. Before any construction begins, it already comes with outer walls preconstructed, and many pipes and utility lines already in place.
Additionally, the earth around the basement makes it cooler than the outside air in the summer, and warmer in the winter. Making this space comfortable requires a little extra work from your HVAC system.
The Challenge Of Basement Finishing
Homeowners who have a wet basement are often reluctant to invest in finishing, worrying that water damage will ruin their new space.
However with a little preparation (including a warrantied basement waterproofing system), your basement can be permanently protected from any moisture damage to drywall, insulation, or property.
To schedule a free basement upgrade quote, contact us by phone or e-mail today! Our experts serve throughout the Saskatchewan area, including Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw and nearby.
Steps To Take Before Finishing
At Basement Systems Saskatchewan, we've seen just about everything that can happen to a finished basement, and we've been called in to waterproof them daily. Once the basement is finished, repairing and waterproofing the space is much more expensive.
If you're planning to finish the basement, this is what we recommend to prepare it beforehand. If your basement is already finished, many of these precautions may still be made.
Install A Complete Sump Pump System
Installing a sump pump system ensures that you can discharge large volumes of water from your home in the case of heavy rains of a plumbing failure. If you've installed a drainage system, you should definitely install a sump system as well.
The best sump pumps are ready for anything -- including power outages and sump pump failure. This means that your system should include both a battery backup sump pump and a secondary sump system that can kick on if your primary pump fails.
The systems we install at Basement Systems Saskatchewan also include an alarm system that sounds off in the unlikely event of a pump failure -- so you can respond right away.
Guard Against Frozen Discharge Lines
If you have a sump pump system, it will generally discharge water outside of your home, sending it downhill so it does not pool around your foundation.
One of the most common causes of sump pump failure occurs when these discharge lines become clogged with ice or debris. Once the water has no way out of the home, the sump system backs up, and a flood occurs in your finished basement.
To protect against this issue, your drainage system should include an open discharge line extension such as our IceGuard™ System, which gives water a secondary way out of your home.
Install A Warm, Dry Floor
Like the basement walls, moisture can also make its way upwards through a concrete floor.
If you're planning on installing anything on your floor that can be damaged by mold or moisture (carpeting, wood, chipboard, glue, etc.), then it's vital that you install a vapor barrier beneath it to protect your floor finishing.
Our ThermalDry® Sub Floor™ is the ideal choice. Along with providing a durable sub floor, it also lifts your flooring off the cold concrete for a warmer surface underfoot.
We also have many different options for finished basement flooring, including synthetic wood and tiled designs in parquet, carpet, and stone tiles.
Perform Basic Exterior Maintenance
For a typical home, a 1" rainfall adds up to about 500 gallons of water on your roof. Unless your exterior is properly designed to handle this water volume, this can mean a lot of water in the soils around your basement.
Keeping your gutters clean of leaves and debris is an important part of properly maintaining your home (and will help prevent damaging ice dams in the winter). Your basement window wells should also be carefully cleaned of leaves, debris, and weeds about twice a year.
To make sure that water is running away from your home, it's also vital to check the grading. If necessary, regrade this soil so it's pitched away from the foundation.
Let Us Help You Prepare Your Basement For Finishing!
We can dry your basement and prepare the walls, floors, windows, and home plumbing for a finishing system. Protecting your basement from moisture will ensure that your remodeling work stays valuable and looking great for many decades to come.
It costs you nothing to meet with us for a free basement quote! Our specialist can stop by to measure your basement, make recommendations, and answer any questions you may have. While we're there, we'll create a customized plan for your basement, including a written cost quote.
Our experts proudly provide free quotes to the Saskatchewan area, including Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Saskatoon, the surrounding areas of Lloydminster, North Battleford, Swift Current, Warman, Humboldt, Martensville, Meadow Lake, and nearby.
Looking for a price? Get a no cost, no obligation free estimate.