Keep Basement Exercise Equipment From Floating Away

The most common response to the possibility of basement flooding is to install a sump pump. While a quality sump pump is an important investment in flood prone areas, it should be the last line of defense instead of the first. To keep your proposed basement weight and exercise room from floating away, measures need to be taken to prevent the sump pump from being needed. The first step in protecting your basement from water damage is in the grading of the home site.

The grading of the trench is of primary importance. It should have a 1 or 2 percent grade. Add gravel up to within 5 or 6 inches of the surface. Top the gravel with a 3 or 4 inch layer of coarse sand and cover with a layer of sod or soil and grass seed. Some experts also recommend using a perforated drain pipe in the trench to carry overflow more easily.They were simple to install; andThese easy-to-install, easy-to-make-a-killing liners that come with a 20-50 year warranty (against factory defects only) are actually a meal down the road to a burrowing gopher, rat, mouse, ground squirrel, chipmunk or muskrat.This pump requires electrical power, the same as your washer and dryer, so it's important you take the time to make it is connected to an electrical outlet. To test the pump, pour buckets of water or running water from your laundry tub faucet into the hole at least once a year. If you don't do this annual testing, the consequences can be disastrous. If your pump does not turn on and begin pumping out the water you pour down that hole, call a plumber immediately.An interior drainage system can be used to channel leakage to the outside. This method involves breaking up the floor along the base of the basement walls, digging a trench, and installing drain tiles to carry the water to a sump pump or discharge point. This method does no damage to the room. The trench is then filled with coarse gravel and the floor replaced over the top.

Just as settling or erosion can cause foundation cracks, they can lead to cracks in basement walls. If this is the source of basement flooding, the only solution is to repair the cracks. Use a good quality caulking material. This should be followed by the application of waterproofing materials that seal the wall surface.

Author: Nick Messe