Virginia Basement Waterproofing, Foundation and Basement Waterproofing in Virginia, Serving Northern, Northwestern and Southeastern VA | Waterproofing Articles

Snow, Ice and Rain

February 17, 2011

Winter weather in Virginia is usually a mixture of snow, ice, and rain depending on where you are located in the state and where the weather front passes through. Here in the DC Metro area we have seen all three in the past few weeks. With nearly 8” of precipitation during the last week of January and with what is expected to come this spring the ground is becoming over-saturated. Water from summer storms quickly run off into storm drains and some of it is soaked up into trees and bushes around the house. But now, trees and bushes are dormant and the slowly melting snow will act as a sponge. The water will soak directly into the soil around your home instead of draining away. Here at NVBWS, late winter and early spring are traditionally our busiest seasons because with water on the floor and in your walls, the dampness and cold are most noticeable. Mid-to-late spring and summer to early fall is when we receive calls about the musty smells and mold growing on the walls, furniture, boxes, and drapes in the basement and around the house.

Water not properly dispersed and kept out of your home is the most damaging element to your home after fire. Fire damage is obvious with the smoke, flames, and heat and is a sure sign your home is in need of repair. Water on the other hand can be much more difficult to detect.

We did a little research online and are appalled at the misinformation that is put out by laymen on this subject. First off, damage to your home is not just restricted to the concrete… but let’s begin there. Water will normally pass through most concrete. Basements are built to be like dams but... dams are very thick and built out of super dense, high-strength concrete. Basement walls, however, are not so thick and the amount of water and the speed of travel is much faster through standard concrete block than through specially built dams. One of the properties of water is that it will travel through porous materials from the wet to the dry side. Another is that water will follow gravity and will always flow downhill. If the ground outside your basement wall is saturated and you do not have a proper seal on your wall, even with proper grading and other drainage fixes, water can and will migrate into to your basement by any path available.

You are probably familiar with Air Wick scent bottles. Concrete will wick water the same way in which the scent dispensers wick the sweet-smelling liquid in the bottom of the bottle. And, water will evaporate the same way into your basement; you may never see a drop of water but your basement walls will feel moist, the air will feel damp, and the air will smell musty. What are the dampness, odor and musty smell telling you? You feel dampness because the humidity is high, caused by the evaporation into the air. The odor is from mold and mildew spores growing in cracks and crevices, on wood products and on other porous materials. Mold needs 3 things to grow: high humidity, an organic food source (materials in your home) and air. You cannot eliminate the house and the air but, depriving it of the high humidity will prevent mold growth.

The last item to discuss is the white powder seen on saturated concrete. This is known as efflorescence. Think of that powder as powdered glue used to make concrete. That isn’t the exact description of it, but it is one of the items that make concrete harden. As the water travels through the concrete, it picks up small amounts of calcium chloride, which it deposits on the outside of the concrete as the water evaporates. Does the appearance of white powder mean your wall is about to fail? No. The white powder is a symptom like a fever. Having a fever doesn’t mean you are going to die, but a bad enough fever might. White powder is a sign that your walls are losing strength and becoming brittle. A properly waterproofed wall can last almost indefinitely, so….

Look us up on the web at NVBWS.com, email us at info@NVBWS.com or call 703-866-0535 to learn about the exclusive Barrier Dual Drainage Waterproofing SystemTM with Barrier P Membrane,TM a product only available through licensees of DR Inc. of the US. NVBWS is the licensed distributor for these products from Winchester to Norfolk along the I-66 and I-95 corridors in VA. If you are outside that area, feel free to contact us to locate a distributor near you. If you are interested in becoming a distributor, we would be happy to tell you about our experiences and put you in contact with DR Inc. of the US.

Tags: basement foundation repair, Basement Waterproofing, Basement Waterproofing VA, Crawl Space Waterproofing, foundation leak, Foundation Waterproofing, home remodeling, home repairs, leaking basement, mold remediation, Northern Virginia, NoVa Barrier Waterproofing Systems, NVBWS, Richmond VA, VA Basement Waterproofing, water intrusion, water leak, water proofing, waterproof, wet basement, Winchester VA.

READ MORE ARTICLES ABOUT BASEMENT WATERPROOFING

Snow, Ice and Rain