It’s a homeowner’s nightmare to get to their house after a long day of work, open their basement door and see water slowly rising up the staircase. In extreme cases, their furniture, appliances and valuables will be drenched, and they will likely need to be thrown out and replaced. The cost of damages and the loss of personal items are not the only awful consequences they will have to deal with — if the water gets high enough to hit electronics or outlets, the situation could become dangerous. To avoid this scenario from playing out in your own basement, here are the precautions you can take.
Basement floods often happen during a severe storm when heavy rain pours into the lowest level of the house. Your property is supposed to withstand high levels of precipitation, but poor planning or cut-corners during the construction will make it vulnerable. One of the common causes for basement flooding is an inefficient drainage system where downspouts are not placed far enough from the house — this causes water to pool at the side of the exterior wall and leak into the basement.
Eavestroughs that are clogged with dead leaves, twigs and debris can overflow and pour water directly down the side of the house. Another possible reason for the flooding is an improper wall and floor sealing, which lets water seep through. You can fix these problems by investing in replacements and committing to routine maintenance. Extend your downspouts approximately two metres away from your house so that the water flows away from your property.
As an additional safeguard, place a splash block under the downspout to help direct the run-off onto the lawn. Clear out your eavestroughs, downspouts and gutters every season to keep them free of obstructions. You should also have professionals improve the seals of your walls and flooring to discourage leaks during rainfall.
After making these repairs and renovations, it’s still possible to suffer from a flooded basement — it can happen because of extreme weather, burst pipes and plumbing issues from inside the house. To feel confident that you are safe from this specific debacle, you should start looking for a professional plumber to see how they can guard your home against flooding and minimize the potential of permanent damage. A plumbing company will make improvements to the exterior of the property to keep water out and install devices to drain water that collects in the basement.
Here at Morrison Plumbing and Mechanical, we offer a number of measures to protect owners from basement floodings like sump pump installation, backwater valves and external waterproofing. A sump pump is a device that goes in the lowest part of your basement where water is most likely to pool — when the sump pit begins to fill with water, the machine pumps it out and keeps the house dry.
A backwater valve allows for sewage to flow away from the property, without letting sewage from the city to advance into your pipes. You can get a subsidy of up to $1750 from the city of Toronto for the sump pump installation and $1250 for the backwater valve. Exterior waterproofing involves applying a waterproofing agent and installing a membrane along the exterior walls of the house. According to the International Building Code, this is the best method for protecting against structural damage from water intrusion.
You should also start looking for a drain contractor in Toronto to confirm whether your house’s plumbing is in good condition because clogged drains and burst pipes can cause a lot of destruction. It’s important to check the drains on every single floor of the house for any warning signs since the water can still flow into the basement. Look for red flags like sputtering toilets, gurgling pipes, strong sewage-like odours or slow-draining sinks, bathtubs and showers. Have the plumbing service come over to clean the drains and replace old toilets and faucets that are too worn down to be reliable. Be prepared to take preventative measures to stop any pipes from bursting when the weather gets bitterly cold.
When it is freezing outside, ice can get into the pipes and expand so that it blocks the line. The blockage creates a lot of pressure on the system and can break a pipe, which will release a lot of water. To circumvent the damages of a burst water pipe, you should cover them with foam insulation. Don’t turn your heating down when the temperatures outside dip below zero, even if you want to save on energy — the costs of a broken pipe will be colossal in comparison to a slightly higher hydro bill. Explore the official website to learn more about our company and to see what other helpful services we can offer to secure your property from flooding, like water leak detection, pipe severance and capping.
There are other important steps that you should take to prepare yourself and your house for flooding. Take valuable and sentimental items out of the basement as a precaution or store them in water-tight containers above the floor. Talk to your provider about the possibilities of flooding insurance as a safety net in case a natural disaster hits and somehow surpass your backup plans — be aware that overland flood insurance is a relatively new addition for Canadian insurance companies, so your provider may not even offer coverage for it. Finally, inform yourself on what to do if your basement floods so you know exactly what steps to take to stay safe, to take care of the damages and to get your life back to normal as soon as possible.
A flooded basement can be a difficult setback that ruins the foundation of your house, wrecks your furniture, fills your walls with mould and destroys your things. Even if you can manage the payments for such a problem, the water can reach special items that you can’t replace like old photo albums, handwritten letters and artwork. Taking the time to safeguard your home from such a circumstance will make sure that you don’t experience such a great financial and personal loss.
