I Need My Wet Basement in Marlborough Dryied and Protected After a Storm, What Can SERVPRO Do for Us?

5/9/2020 (Permalink)

If your basement suffers from a major or minor flooding event, pick up the phone and call SERVPRO for successful drying services.

Our Technicians Will Investigate ALL of the Causes of Your Wet Basement After a Storm, Before Commencing With the Remediation Process.

Marlborough and our part of Massachusetts went through an incredible amount of extreme weather this year, and the upcoming winter is not expected to be any milder right now. Problems and damage not completed repaired or restored can resurface after the first heavy rain.

Many homeowners found themselves with a wet basement in Marlborough after a storm last year. If the water level was low, many of them used a water-vac to remove it and then let everything air dry as best as possible. At SERVPRO, we understand that this does not solve the problem, only push it back for more water intrusion later.

With the next storm, more water finds its way into the basement. After one of our restoration teams arrive, they start with two tasks, remove the water and determine how it entered the basement.

They start removal with a commercial grade pump to remove any water higher than ankle-deep. Depending on the area of the basement, this can take a few hours to a day or two. If there are any carpets on the floor, team members next use extraction wands to draw out the water and then remove the carpets to dry outside. If there is a pad underneath them, they dispose of it immediately.

With the water gone, a SERVPRO inspector carefully checks the walls and floor for cracks and seepage points. Some of these can be as small as the tip of a pencil, so the inspection takes a long time. In some cases, a seep does not show until enough water comes through to reveal a damp patch.

Technicians fill any cracks and seep with hydraulic cement to seal them off. Next, they coat the walls and the floor if needed with a layer of masonry cement. It adheres tightly to concrete and forms an excellent barrier against further water intrusion.

If there are a large number of cracks inside the basement, then there are usually larger cracks in the outside walls. To protect the basement and the foundation, we recommend allowing our team to dig out around the foundation, expose the walls, and cover them with a thick, liquid rubber compound. It seals the entire concrete surface and does not leak unless there is physical damage that separates the blocks.

Flooding, Water Extraction, and Drying--Call SERVPRO

Marlborough has had fewer storms this year, but it is not over yet. Winter weather can tear into a home from top to bottom, causing storm damage issues at every level.

 After a storm, a Marlborough wet basement usually means there is more damage than just floodwater. There was a pathway for enough of it to get in and leave more water than a mop and a shop-vac can handle. SERVPRO technicians are trained to remove the water, find out how it got in, and lower the risk of a flood happening again.

If the water level is more than ankle high, we bring in a commercial grade pump to remove it. Even in a larger home, we can clear the excessive in a single morning or afternoon. For lower levels of water, we bring in water extraction wands and other suctioning devices. These devices are designed to draw water off of floors and out of carpets without harming the surface or tearing up the nape. Contaminated water always plays a role in salvaging materials.

As SERVPRO technicians remove the water, one of our inspectors determines how it got in. Since the problem appeared after a storm, the inspector looks at the foundation walls which make up the basement for seepage points and cracks. Cracks are easy to spot, but a seepage point often looks like any other patch of rough surface on the exposed cinder blocks.

To seal and cover the damage, we use hydraulic cement to fill in the cracks and seepage points. When we complete that, we cover the entire wall surfaces with masonry cement. It is a thin coating that adheres to the surface and forms a waterproof barrier.

The water should be stopped before it gets into the foundation though. Once we have the inside taken care of, the inspector moves outside the home. Our recommendation is to allow us to dig out around the home and expose the foundation walls where we perform the same inspection as we did inside. We seal any cracks and seepage points with the hydraulic cement, but we cover the outside walls with a liquid rubber compound. The only way water gets past these barriers afterward, is if there is enough damage to shift the house even partially off of its foundation walls and pad.

A wet basement is usually a minor problem, but it can become an expensive one if not dried and repaired properly. SERVPRO of Marlboro / Concord is here to help you protect your home from this and other effects of severe storms. Call us today at (978) 486-9868 for more information and to set up an inspection.

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