Crack Repair and Foundation Repair: Slight obsession

So the past few days have been all about crack repair for me. Foundation repair, piering, wall anchoring, epoxy, hydorphobics, hydrophillics..etc.

Needless to say there have been many posts coming into the forums that have some aspect of crack repair. This time of year many people are experiencing problems with random temp changes which switch the ground to “thaw mode”. Wet Basements persist and I’m online trying to help people make important choices on having their basement’s properly inspected.

http://www.pioneerbasement.com/forum/blog.php?b=26

Backfill and the history of Basement Flooding in the Bunker Hill area of Boston, MA

Basement waterproofing in the Bunker Hill area of Boston is on the rise. Much of this is due to the way that the land was moved and created in Bunker Hill during the population growth through the 1800s and 1900s.

 

The actual Bunker Hill that was spoken about in the revolutionary war was broken down, bit-by-bit, and used to form land in places that were, up till then, marsh or bay.  One Sixth of the land in Boston has been formed this way to accommodate the in flow of new families industry and commerce.

 

With homes sitting on man made land basement waterproofing in Boston has become a growing concern in the Bunker Hill area. Loose back fill, or loose soil, used to make these large plots of land from the original Bunker Hill, is still in the process of compacting. Settling and shifting have occurred and houses have paid for it as water has found its way into their basements and cellars. Mix this together with stone foundations and you have a recipe for wet basements in Boston.

 

“Homes in this area of Boston are sitting in more water than normal. Because the soil around the foundations is still loose, water easily sits and gathers in these areas close to the bay.” Steve Andras, President of Pioneer Basement, “We get a lot of calls in this area because of the poor basement drainage.  People don’t have the proper protection for their basements in this area.”

Loose soil invites the water to settle around home foundations. In this back fill, especially in places with high water table such as near the shoreline, have a harder time removing the water away from homes.

 

“With this added amount of water it takes only a small amount of rain fall to force people to have wet basements. Basement Waterproofing is especially needed in areas like these. Mold and mildew are just the tip of the iceberg when dealing with a constantly wet basement. It is important to realize that there are solutions out there to help you control the water and not let the water control you.

 

Interested in getting an inspection done of your basement: Call Pioneer Basement at

1-800-649-6140 or visit them online at www.pioneerbasement.com

Is living in the basement healthy?

That’s a pretty standard question for people to have when looking at converted basement spaces. The non-biased answer is “it can be healthy.”

The all important counter question is “has the basement been prepared for basement finishing?”

What does this mean?

Having your basement prepared prior to conversion into any apartment is a very simple process that can be done by a company that specializes in basement waterproofing. Pioneer Basement has been helping to prepare spaces in water rich areas like Boston, Fall River and Wakefield Rhode Island for over 25 years.

Basements all have the same possibility to get wet because of the ways that basements are designed and constructed. Moisture control, air circulation and filtration and mold resistant materials used to build the space are all necessary parts to having a healthy basement converted apartment.

Moisture control

is essential for maintaining a standard, livable, and comfortable amount of humidity in the basement. It also is designed for ultimate leak, flooding, and seepage protection for the basement. Without moisture control you’re automatically forcing everything in your basement to come into contact with moisture as vapor and as liquid through leaks, seepage, flooding or other infiltration.

Air circulation and filtration

can be taken care of with a professionally installed Santa Fe Dehumidifier system. It forces warm air into the space to stir and filter air to reinstitute it into the basement space. It’ll leave you with better smelling air, relative humidity control, moisture control, forced air circulation and air stabilization. Not having healthy air to breath is the second major problem that then helps to lower your defenses to other elements facilitated by not having moisture control. With a weaker immune system your body is more susceptible to effects of mold, mildew, and other air born bi-products of hazards that come with standing water and excess moisture.

The last major part

of a successful of a properly converted basement space is the materials that are used to build the walls and the fixtures installed in the space. If they are designed to resist mold and mildew, sagging, and rotting, you defend further against the negative implications of moisture build up.

Once the air circulation and filtration, moisture and water control are both installed you might ask yourself “why should I worry about mold at this point?” You’re right to ask yourself this. Other things can cause leaks, basement water, or excess moisture in your basement. A common occurrence is pipe bursting in the ceiling or on a floor above yours. By having walls, ceilings and floors that are all designed to resist water damage makes not only the clean up easier but it also ensures that the aftermath of such events isn’t followed with rotting joists, moldy dry wall, or water-logged floor boards.