Maybe the water will flow back onto your roof, looking for any tiny crack or crevice to sneak through. Now you have wet walls and, potentially, a seriously damaged roof.
Last winter, Allstate reported ice damming in Delaware, Washington, D. The insurance giant warned homeowners of the potential for water from ice dams to leak into homes. What is rising damp? Rising damp occurs when moisture is pulled upward through porous materials by capillary action. Building materials like plaster and drywall can act like that paper towel, bringing moisture into your walls from the ground. What is penetrating damp? Leaks can cause penetrating damp in some situations.
Areas like Virginia, where soil may expand, are more susceptible to bad drainage. Shifting soils create a lot of pressure on basement walls, causing them to bow, buckle or crack. These cracks, combined with wet soil around the foundation, are the perfect entry point for moisture and can easily create damp walls after heavy rain storms. The most common cause of both rising and penetrating damp is inadequate ground and surface drainage. Excess water from downspouts, runoff or saturated ground can easily penetrate even the tiniest cracks in your foundation, or wick through porous walls.
This moisture can make your walls feel wet as it is prone to causing damp patches on walls after heavy rain. You may even see water flowing onto the floor from the edge of the wall. Eventually, this moisture can seriously damage your walls or foundation. Mold may even begin to grow, causing a musty smell or — worse — health problems. The best ways to fix moisture from rising and penetrating damp is through improving surface water drainage, repairing damages, and ventilating the space.
Luckily, along with taking the steps needed to draw water away from your basement, there are steps you can take to protect your basement walls in case water does get through. But there is more you can do to these to help reduce the condensation in your basement, as well. Once you have the proper drainage set up within the ducts, the next thing to do is to seal all the joints and holes in the ductwork.
When you seal the ductwork, it should be done with duct mastic tape or metal duct tape. If you use regular duct tape, it will dry up quickly and easily peel off, which will cause you to need to replace the tape more often.
If there is an abundance of warm air getting into your basement and causing condensation on your walls, the best thing to do is to add insulation to those cold surfaces. The most effective areas you should air-seal are the mudsills and rim joists. The mudsills are the lowest sill of a structure, in or on the ground. Rim joists provide lateral support for the joists. Note: When insulating basement walls is that it should not be done if moisture is getting through the walls.
When you cover damp walls with insulation, you are at a higher risk of developing mold. You will need to discover why moisture is seeping through.
If you are noticing an increase of condensation in your basement, the easiest things you can do are:. It is common for homeowners to wrap insulation around their hot-water pipes to preserve the heat, but they ignore the cold-water pipes.
Putting insulation around the cold-water pipes will help control the condensation. For insulation around your pipes, you can purchase foam sleeves that slip over the pipes. These foam sleeves come with an adhesive strip that allows them to stay on. For even more protection, you can wrap the joints and gaps in a compatible tape. There are different sources of basement moisture that may be causing the walls to sweat. Knowing these may help you understand how and why basement walls sweat sometimes.
To correct a moisture problem within a basement, you should first understand how the moisture travels to the basement. There are different ways moisture can move through your basement. Understanding if moisture is coming from the outside or inside of your house will help you solve and prevent the problem from happening.
Moisture that is coming in from outside will be from melting snow or rain that is seeping its way to your walls. Moisture that is from the inside is caused by humidity. An easy way to figure out where the moisture is coming from is to tape a piece of foil to the wall of the basement for two to three days.
If there is high humidity in the basement, moisture will show up on the outside of the foil. If the moisture shows up behind the foil, it indicates that the moisture is coming through the walls. Once you have figured out where the moisture is coming from, you can take the steps that fix the specific problem.
Sweating basement walls is a sure sign that there is warm air coming in contact with the cold walls. Because this can cause mold and mildew to grow, it is an issue you want to take care of immediately to prevent any health problems, which frequently affect the respiratory system and cause sickness and allergies.
There are several causes of basement walls sweating, and luckily, they can be easily discovered and fixed. The most common causes of sweating basement walls are: Inadequate grading Problem with gutters and downspouts Improperly designed window wells Structural cracks Improper drainage with under slab ducts Poor drain tile or sump pit Home not adequately ventilated or insulated Interior water leak When you begin to notice your basement walls sweating, you should immediately fix the problem to prevent further damage, mold, and health conditions.
Why do Basement Walls Sweat? Basement wall sweat can also be caused by indoor and outside sources that cause an excess of moisture: Rain or groundwater that makes its way inside Dryers Humidifiers Showers Cooking appliances Letting outside, humid air into the basement Signs of Your Basement is Sweating There are different ways basement sweat can make itself present.
Other signs that your basement walls are sweating include: Standing water on the floor Humid air in the home Deterioration of wood or carpet Wall staining Ring of dampness on the wall Odor Why Your Basement Walls Sweat There are many reasons why your basement walls sweat. Inadequate Grading When there is unsatisfactory grading, rain and groundwater can easily make its way into your basement.
How to Fix The best thing to do to fix a grading problem is by creating a slope that goes away from the house. To do this, you will: Find the low and high points, — This will be where the water starts draining and where it ends up.
Figure out the rise and the run of your property, — The run is how far apart your high point and low point are. The rise is the inches or feet the ground slopes from the high point to the low point. Get some soil. Pour the soil at the lowest point to turn it into the highest point. Smooth the dirt. Pack the dirt. Plant new grass. Problem with Gutters and Downspouts Gutters and downspouts are designed to direct rainwater away from your house.
How to Fix To fix an issue with your downspouts or gutters, you can: Purchase a downspout with an extender. It is beneficial to have one downspout placed every 50 feet. Check for any leaks or damages in your gutters and downspouts. Clean the gutters and downspouts regularly. Buildup debris in your downspouts can make them ineffective at properly dispersing the water. How to Fix If you know your window well has a drain and is just now beginning to have leakage, then most likely, the drain is clogged.
You should: Unclog the drain to allow it to do its job correctly. Get a window well cover to help prevent future clogs. This will help with drainage and also help prevent frost in the winter.
Structural Cracks Concrete foundations eventually develop cracks for several reasons — foundation settlement, storms, extreme heat, too much moisture, and flooding are just some of them. How to Fix It is possible to drain water from the cracks, but the problem will reoccur and eventually get worse.
If hydrostatic pressure is the issue, then: The exterior drainage should be repaired You should have proper gutters, downspouts, and grading. You want the water to flow away from your house.
A concrete foundation can be filled with an injection of: An expanding urethane sealant Epoxy However, foundations made from stone or brick cannot be injected. Improper Drainage with Under Slab Ducts Under slab ducts are air ducts that are installed for heating and air conditioning. How to Fix It is essential to check any heating ducts that are placed beneath the basement floor. Poor Drain Tile and Sump Pit A drain tile is a system that makes sure groundwater does not enter your basement.
How to Fix If you believe the sump pump, or the lack of one, is the cause of your water problem, then this is most likely a situation you should hand over to a professional. Your Home is Not Adequately Ventilated or Insulated Because basement sweat occurs when warm air comes in contact with the cool walls, the issue is often caused by you and what you do in your home. What is paint sweating?
Why does it happen? This sweating phenomena can happen when: the surface and the air temperature is too cold; humidity levels are high; there is high moisture in the air; or condensation forms on the surfaces of walls. What can you do to avoid it? Inspect the surfaces before applying paint. Are any surfaces damp or cooler than usual? What is the temperature in the area that is going to be painted?
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