Dry Up Wet Basement Floors

Dry Up Wet Basement Floors FARM HOME Building Techniques 9-1-3 If you've had trouble with water seepage in your basement, you'll be interested in a low-cost, do-it-yourself "home cure" that solved the problem for Alice and Robert Tupper, of Canton, So. Dak. They installed a channel system along the inside basement walls which intercepts seepage water and directs it to a sump drain, leaving the basement floor "high and dry." Total cost for "water-proofing" their basement? Only $30. What's more, they didn't have to tear up any concrete, blocks or carpeting to install the problem-solving system. Here's how they did it: They bought two 10 ft. lengths of black 4 in. plastic pipe at a local hardware store. Using their circular bench saw, they cut it lengthwise into four equal-width strips, making the cuts at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock. "If you don't have a circle saw, a sabre saw can be used to follow cutting lines hand drawn onto the pipe," says Robert. First, the Tuppers scrubbed the junction where the inside walls and basement floor meet with a stiff wire brush to remove loose dirt. They then vacuumed the area and caulked the pipe sections into place, using silicon caulking which securely binds to concrete. The water channel system was mitered and caulked at the corners to ensure a water-tight seal all the way around. The Tuppers ran the water channel along three sides of the basement (there was no water seepage along the fourth side). Water seeping in through the walls is intercepted by the channel which directs it to a sump-pump floor drain. "If you don't have a sump, the open end of the channel can be made to drain directly into a floor drain," Robert points out. Several hours after they'd finished caulking, the Tuppers checked the system for leaks by pouring water into a small "test" hole drilled in the pipe channel at the corner farthest from the outlet. "We haven't had any basement water problems whatsoever since we installed this system," Alice told FARM SHOW. "Before, we'd get an inch deep lake of water over the entire basement every spring, and after every heavy rain during the summer. Our cost for 70 ft. of channel figured out to only 43 cents per foot." Alice notes that the water channel resembles baseboard and doesn't detract from the basement's appearance. "If your basement is carpeted, just peel back the carpet and pad along the edges, install the water channel, then flip the carpet back into place," suggests Alice. "It'll cover the bottom caulking seal and should rest up against the plastic pipe without even having to be trimmed back. For more information, call or write (send a stamped, self-addressed envelope): FARM SHOW Followup, Alice and Robert Tupper, 608 East Elder, Canton, So. Dak. 57013 (ph 605 987-5666).

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