Owning a home is as very personal thing; you see your home every day, get to know all it’s quirks and characteristics, and fix it up when it needs a little TLC. When it comes to your basement, however, many homeowners tend to pay much less attention to it. As a matter of fact, there are some things I bet you didn’t know about your basement. We’ve listen three things you (probably) didn’t know about your basement or crawl space foundation below:
- Your Foundation Was Built to Leak
This one gets most people. Most assume that it’s all poured in one shot. Well, as it turns out, the poured concrete is poured in 3 separate sections, and each section is allowed to dry before the next is poured. This is important because a concrete-concrete seam is not water-resistant. Essentially, YOUR FOUNDATION WAS MADE TO EVENTUALLY LEAK. This is not a secret, as most home builders nowadays will install some sort of basic drain tile system around the home to try to delay the intrusion of water into the home. - Cracks May Occur More Frequently During Winter Months
Many homeowners experience hairline foundation cracking in their foundation all year ’round. But due to a phenomenon called frost-heave, this cracking may occur during, and immediately following the freezing winter months. Generally, frost heave happens when sections of water-saturated soil around your home freeze; and because water expands when it freezes, it squeezes the soil against your foundation. The inward pressure causes your foundation to move and shift slightly. When the ice melts, the soil relaxes and your foundation settles back into place, causing the concrete to crack. - Excess Moisture Inside Your Foundation Can Produce Mold in as Little as Two Days!
Preventing toxic black mold growth is probably the best reason to do everything you can to ensure there isn’t excess moisture in your basement. Excess moisture is typically defined as consistent relative humidity of 60% or higher. Under these conditions, mold spores can begin to colonize in as little as 48 hours! Now think about how long it’s been since you decided to leave your wet basement alone. Weeks? Months? Years? …Decades?
Consult your local basement waterproofing professional for more information or a free foundation inspection.