For Homeowners
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Basement Humidity
A damp basement is commonly caused by moisture migrating through a concrete foundation. There may not be a sign of any leak or standing water, but the moisture evaporates, increasing indoor humidity. Sealing air leaks and sealing duct air leaks can help to prevent high humidity levels in your home. During hot humid months, using a dehumidifier in the basement can reduce condensation on the walls. This may work better after you’ve sealed air and duct leaks to reduce the amount of humid outdoor air you are bringing into the basement.
Too much moisture in a home can lead to mold, mildew, and other biological growth. This in
turn can lead to a variety of health effects ranging from more common allergic reactions to asthma attacks. Excess moisture can be in the form of high relative humidity, including humidity generated by people and their activities such as showers, cooking, or drying clothes. Moisture can travel with infiltrating outdoor air through the building shell, including the foundation. It is best to keep all basement windows and vents closed during the humid summer months and run a dehumidifier as well as a fan to circulate the air within. Many homes leave the basement windows open during the summer months to vent the basement of musty odors. The fact is that musty odors become more noticeable during the summer months due to the rise in relative humidity. Allowing humid air to circulate in the basement of newer homes constructed with today’s energy-efficient windows, doors and insulation R-values poses a huge threat to the structural integrity. When the outside temperatures rise and the climate control systems are used to cool the indoor living environment, moisture is drawn up through the sub-floor and floor coverings. This can lead to cupping of the wood floors and the insulation becoming saturated as it collects water vapor as it passes through. Many homes can be set up with a simple system to maintain a constant relative humidity level in the basement that will provide a trouble-free healthy environment under your home.
Please contact us to schedule an appointment to review your specific needs so that we may provide
you with some simple solutions that will turn your basement into a useable area.
CMU Block Walls
CMU block walls were the preferred method of foundation construction on the east end through the late 60’s and early 70’s. CMU block construction is still used today on many homes, although poured concrete foundations have dominated the market not only because of the cost savings but time savings as well. Because CMU block walls are constructed in layers with mortar between each block, they can prove to be challenging at times to waterproof properly. The two illustrations below show examples of CMU block walls and improper waterproofing. Many of the products used to waterproof CMU block walls decades ago were asphalt or tar-based compounds. Although it is still widely practiced today, the process of tarring a foundation serves nothing more than damp-proofing. The problem with asphalt or tarbased compounds is that they become rigid and brittle over a short period of time and can allow water to seep into the joints of the CMU block walls.
Because block foundations are more susceptible to movement from temperature differences between the seasons and moisture content, the waterproofing on block foundation walls should be flexible. Many of the membranes used today adapt well to block foundations with crack bridging and elongation properties. We offer many different coatings for both poured and CMU block foundation walls.
Damproofing that doesn't extend above the finished
grade elevation combined with heavy unclassified backfill.
CMU block foundation deterioation due to an absence of waterproofing and freeze/thaw cycles.
High Groundwater
Flying Point Road
In the past 30 years, many homes have been built here on the east end. There are cases where a foundation is placed two feet or less above groundwater at the time of construction and then several years later standing water is witnessed on the basement floor slab. In some cases, there may only be one house on the entire street that has a full basement because it was constructed during a dry period that may have lasted several years. Soil conditions and the proximity to bodies of water, tidal or otherwise, can play a significant role in how groundwater tables relate to water accumulating on a foundation floor slab. Many homeowners here in the Hamptons who have owned their homes for more than 20 years claim that we are experiencing the effects of global warming because they never had these problems, even in the wettest of seasons in years past.
In Sag Harbor for example, many of the areas oldest homes exist and some basements never dry out; there is a constant state of standing water in the basement. These homes date back to colonial times and have foundations created from ships’ ballast. Whaling ships carried these stones here from overseas and returned with whale oil. These stone foundations are hundreds of years old and there are certain indicators to where the original floor once existed and now it is underwater. Certainly, no one ever considered placing furniture, clothing and other valuable articles in these areas back in those days. Today however, it is the growing trend to max-out the square footage of a new home by improving the basement area of the home and using it for such things as family rooms, recreation areas and home theaters, just to mention a few.
We areexperienced in determining groundwater impacts on the east end. Perhaps you already have a
home that you suspect has groundwater issues or are planning to construct a new home in an
area that has a history of groundwater problems. Call us to schedule an appointment to review
your property and put our local background knowledge to work for you.