Leaky Basement Gets a Solution in Minnetonka, MN

Monday, October 28th, 2024 by Elena Druktainis

Challenge

A homeowner from Minnetonka, MN, was facing an issue with her basement. There was a small hole in her basement storage room paired with a musty smell throughout the space. The issues were occurring on the side of the home that naturally gets the most rainwater runoff, so she was concerned the issue was with water intrusion in her space. After taking to the internet to search for interior basement waterproofing near her, she found the American Waterworks website. She decided to sign up for her FREE estimate, and several weeks later, our Design Specialist, Dustin A, headed out to the home to see what could be done.

Solution

Dustin completed his inspection and then met with the homeowner to discuss her options and the next steps moving forward. Dustin informed her that he was recommending 4 of our products to address the water issue in the basement: our CleanSpace, WaterGuard, TripleSafe sump pump, and our AprilAire dehumidifier. Dustin explained that all of these products work hand in hand for the overall goal of keeping water from doing damage to the home. First, our CleanSpace gets applied directly to the basement walls. This 100% waterproof plastic barrier gets installed directly onto unfinished basement walls and works to catch water entering through the walls, directing it downward and into the WaterGuard. Our WaterGuard is a unique French drain that gets installed below the slab of the basement floor but atop the footing of the foundation. This placement allows the drain to be out of the "mud zone", the area where other drains of this nature tend to clog. It collects the water entering from the CleanSpace, as well as from small holes and cracks in the floor, giving it a channel to flow to the appropriate disposal site, which in this case, Dustin recommended to be our TripleSafe sump pump, the most reliable sump pump in our lineup, providing three levels of protection for your basement and your peace of mind. For normal functioning, the TripleSafe has a powerful, cast-iron Zoeller® ⅓ horsepower sump pump set at the lowest level. For heavy volumes of water or in case of primary pump failure, a second, more powerful Zoeller® ½ hp pump set a bit higher in the liner will take over. Finally, Dustin informed the homeowner that Even a basement with an effective waterproofing system can still develop moisture and mold problems and may feel damp. Concrete walls and floors continually absorb moisture from the soil and release it into the air in your basement, and store-bought dehumidifiers simply aren't strong enough to solve the problem. Dustin explained that the AprilAire E100 creates healthy air and can reduce the number of viable viruses in the air to less than 1% in two days' time when set to 50% relative humidity. The homeowner liked the sound of our products complementing each other and decided to schedule the installation for several weeks later.

On the day of the project, Arturo M, one of our Foremen, let his team through a seamless installation. When they had finished, they had installed 43ft of our WaterGuard, 1 TripleSafe sump pump, 43 ft of CleanSpace, and 1 AprilAire dehumidifier. Now, our customer can rest easy knowing her basement waterproofing issue has been solved!