Oriole Basement Waterproofing Inc. recently had a customer that was curious how we approach and resolve waterproofing issues.
The customer lives in Baltimore, Maryland and had heard of the interior and exterior work our waterproofers have done in the Baltimore area in the past. So they called us and asked questions along the way as we performed their free consultation.
(If you need a free consultation for your water issues, call us at 410-879-3360 right now!)
As you see in photo #1, moisture is seeping through a section about 6-10 ft in length behind the finished wainscot wall (now replaced).
Possible seepage at corner of house was occurring as well (3 ft length is my guess). The foundation wall with water seepage is about 45 feet long.
If you look at photo #2 it explains why the basement in Baltimore has waterproofing issues and is taking on so much water. Gravel fill sets against foundation wall – but drainage from yard slope will always allow water movement in the direction of the foundation.
In this case an exterior solution would not be recommended by our expert Baltimore waterproofers.
Photo #3 clearly shows green mold at foundation – soil line in area where, at lower level, seepage is occurring.
Photo #4 is showing where leakage in corner is suspect – there is crack in the exterior stucco/topping of the cement on the exterior side of foundation wall. As you can see the foundation is cinder block with a cement-type coating on exterior side of it roughly 1/3 of interior foundation wall is exposed and visible in utility room.
Other 2/3 of the basement is covered with painted wainscot and wallboard – some just replaced in basement bathroom after the leak was found.
Our solution: The direction that we decided to take was an interior solution (much to our customer’s dismay because they thought her foundation walls would be ripped down and a lot of demoing would be going on.)
That is not what we do!
We essentially make it look like we were never there. A lot of other waterproofers and customers would think that unless you address exterior water source/flow/migration, you will have unabated water and pressure only addressed after the penetration and then inside capture.
Our idea and waterproofing business model is that we know water will almost always penetrate – the goal is to effectively route and remove the water! They call us Waterproofers but we are in reality water redirectors.
The idea is to protect the inside finishes and belongings of the home and the structure itself – exterior work will not do that as it is clear from the photos.
The end result? We are proud to say we made a wet basement become dry. Our client in Baltimore was happy about our work and approach to waterproofing issues and we were on to the next job!
