Basement flooding usually has a cause you can name, and most of those causes are fixable. Here are the seven we see most in Connecticut homes, and what to do about each one. Do you know why your basement flooded, or only that it did?
1. Heavy rain and poor drainage
When the ground is saturated, water finds the easiest way in: through cracks in the foundation, or out of gutters and downspouts that are dumping it against the house. Keep gutters and downspouts clear, and point downspouts at least five to ten feet away from the foundation. A French drain or a sump pump handles the rest.
2. Foundation cracks
Soil movement and settling open cracks over time, and water needs only a hairline. Inspect the foundation regularly and seal cracks as soon as you find them. Waterproofing the walls and foundation adds another layer.
3. A sump pump that fails
The pump is your first line of defense, and it fails at the worst moment: badly installed, faulty switch, or dead in a power outage, which is exactly when you needed it. Test it regularly, especially before the rainy season, and fit a battery backup. If it is old or unreliable, replace it.
4. Sewer backups
A blockage in the sewer line pushes wastewater back into the basement, which is as unpleasant and as hazardous as it sounds. A backwater valve stops it, and regular inspection of the sewer lines catches problems before they flood anything.
5. Grading that runs the wrong way
If the land slopes toward the house rather than away, every storm delivers water to the foundation. Make sure the yard falls away from the building. Water pooling near the house after rain means the grade needs correcting or the landscaping needs to divert it.
6. Clogged or broken gutters
Leaves and debris turn gutters into a reservoir that overflows against your foundation. Clean them regularly, most of all in the fall, and confirm the downspouts are actually running water away from the house.
7. Hydrostatic pressure
Saturated ground presses water through even the smallest cracks in basement walls and floors. Waterproofing manages it, and an interior drainage system such as a French drain relieves the pressure by taking the water away.
If you have already had water in there
We assess where a basement is vulnerable and fix the water where it is coming in, then handle the restoration of anything the water reached. Emergency service is on 877-576-2484, 24 hours a day.
Where to go from here
If this is happening in your house right now, these are the pages Connecticut homeowners reach for, each one saying what the work involves and how to get a crew rolling: water damage restoration. Water extraction, drying, then the rebuild. fire damage restoration. Soot, smoke odour, and putting the rooms back. mold remediation. Finding it, containing it, and removing it properly. storm damage restoration. Wind damage, fallen trees, emergency tarping. burst pipe repair. Stopping the leak, then repairing what it reached. 24/7 emergency restoration. A person on the phone, any hour of the night.
Also from the blog: What to Do in the First Hour After Your Basement Floods and More on basement.