With the unpredictable New Jersey weather, it is important to be constantly thinking about ways to prevent or remedy any water and moisture problems in your basement or crawlspace. There are several things you can do in order to prevent your basement from receiving water damage before it happens.
Popular ways of preventing water damage include correcting ground slopes, keeping gutters clean and installing
water pumps. But, what if the problem isn’t anything your doing wrong? What if your wet basement problem is due to foundation damage that was caused by the inevitable changes in nature?
Not only is the climate constantly changing, the world is also constantly moving. Unfortunately for homeowners the ever-shifting earth can cause foundation movement, leading to serious foundation damages that cause flooding.
It’s Natures Fault
- Climate Change: Rapid climate change can severely damage your home’s foundation. While the day is warm water accumulates in the backfill, then night comes and temperature drops below freezing causing the water to freeze and expand. This frozen water expansion causes large lateral pressure, much greater than even hydrostatic pressure.
- Erosion: The changing seasons cause a constant, ice, and wind, water cycle that can break down and remove solids in the soil that is actually under your home. This causes a sinking/rising effect of the ground underneath the foundation, the uneven soil and constant change cause cracks in foundation.
- Hydrostatic Pressure: When soil around the building becomes saturated with rain and groundwater, the weight of this water pushes against the walls of the building as the water level rises. Consistent pressure will cause walls to bow and crack.
- Clay Soil Changes: Changes in moisture content causes clay soils around your foundation to change in volume. When expansive clays are placed against basement walls, the swelling of these soils can induce lateral pressures. Shrink and swell can also reduce the shear strength of the backfill, and thus increase the pressure.
If the problem isn’t with your foundation, but your basement is flooding because of a damaged
water pump or
water tank, contact Ackerson Pump Company. At Ackerson Pump Company we provide
water well inspections, water pump replacement and
water tank installation in the
Sussex, New Jersey. Call us today at
973-827-6088 and we’ll be happy to answer any of your
water pump or
water tank related questions.
