Waterproofing your basement or crawl space is a very effective way of preventing water from seeping through these areas to the inside of your home. Water in basements can lead to health hazards like black mold and can cause extensive damage to finished basement areas. It is always a good idea to prevent this unwanted water from entering your home. Our company does both whole home and partial home waterproofing.
Waterproofing is not always the correct solution in preventing water and moisture in basements or crawl spaces. Having an expert in this industry to meet with the customer at the job is the best first step in diagnosing the problem. If you are considering having our company waterproof your basement we would be happy to review the project with you to see if waterproofing is the best solution.
The first main choice that needs to be made is deciding to waterproof the outside or inside of the foundation wall or crawlspace. If the customer has a finished basement the choice is usually to waterproof from the outside of the house. If the customer has an unfinished basement or does not want to disturb the landscape outside usually the choice is to waterproof from the inside.
Exterior Waterproofing
The process of exterior waterproofing a basement or crawl space usually starts with excavating the soil around the outside part of the foundation wall. The excavation should go all the way down to the top part of your footer and should be about 3 -4 foot wide so a person can access this area. The excavation will be done by machine or by hand depending on the layout of the land and by underground utilities.
After excavation there is always a small amount of dirt that is still stuck to the foundation wall. Our company uses electric metal scrapers and hand scrapers to remove this dirt to achieve a clean foundation wall that the waterproofing will stick to. Applying waterproofing to a dirty wall is not advisable and can lead to sub par results.
Once the foundation wall is clean we check for and patch any cracks, holes and or unsealed utility penetrations. These "gaps" in your foundation wall are a leading contributor of water in basements and crawl spaces. Small cracks and holes are injected with a polyurethane sealer. The polyurethane injection seals and waterproofs the internal and external part of the crack or small hole. After the injection has had significant time to cure waterproofing foundation coating should be painted over the polyurethane. Larger holes and unsealed utility penetrations should be treated with a very liberal amount of hydraulic cement that is pushed into the hole. Waterproofing should be applied after the hydraulic cement has set up.
A clean wall has been established and all cracks and holes are sealed up, its now time to waterproof your foundation wall. Waterproofing is much like a very thick paint that is applied with large brushes. This coating should be applied at all points from the top of the footer to just a little bit above grade. Adding a liberal amount of waterproofing coating in the area where the foundation wall meets the footer is a good idea because it is common for this "cold joint" to be an area of water seepage. The waterproofing foundation coating acts as a barrier between moisture in the ground and your homes porous foundation wall.
Once the waterproofing is completely dry it is time to backfill the area around the foundation wall, hand tamping in tandem. The foundation wall should be backfilled so the soil closest to the wall is higher than the surrounding soils. This "positive drainage" helps move surface water away from your home during heavy rains.
Call Trey to set up an appointment 703 919 5291
Waterproofing and Foundation Repair
E&S Enterprise
Manassas, Virginia 20109
703 919 5291
esenterprisellc@gmail.com
For payment, we accept cash, check or credit card
E&S Enterprise offers waterproofing and foundation repair services to all areas of Northern Virginia like Prince William County, Fairfax County, Stafford County, Fauqier County, Culpeper County, and Potomac Maryland. Here is a list of some of the cities we serve: Marshall, Midland, The Plains, Upperville, Warrenton, Aldie, Arcola, Ashburn, Leesburg, Lovettsville, Middleburg, Purcellville, Round Hill, Sterling, Bristow, Catharpin, Dale City, Dumfries, Gainesville, Haymarket, Manassas Park, Montclair, Nokesville, Triangle, Woodbridge, Amissville, Brandy Station, Locust Grove, Alexandria, Annandale, Arlington, Burke, Centreville, Chantilly, Clifton, Fairfax Station, Falls Church, Great Falls, Herndon, Lorton, Mclean, Merrifield, Newington, Oak Hill, Oakton, Reston, Springfield, Vienna, Bealton, Catlett, Delaplane.
Interior Waterproofing
Interior waterproofing starts with exposing the poured concrete or block walls in your basement or crawlspace. Any cracks found in the wall/floor need to be injected with a polyurethane sealer to prevent water from seeping through. After the crack injection has had time to cure we apply a unique waterproofing sealant called Pene Seal Crete to the concrete wall/floor. This solution is applied to the foundation wall with a sprayer and once on the surface will penetrate into the concrete itself. The Pene Seal Crete reacts with the concrete, forming an expanded crystalline structure beneath the surface, preventing moisture and vapors (like poisonous radon gas) from reaching the interior of your home. Reducing moisture reduces the chance of growing mold. Pene Seal Crete is colorless and odor less and can be painted over after installation.
Interested in having your home waterproofed? Call Trey for a free estimate 703 919 5291
