Winter Rain and Your Flooding Basement

December was, in a word, cold. In more than a word, it was really really oh for the love of I can’t feel my toes cold. But because Michigan think it’s funny, we’re set to not only stay above freezing for the rest of the month, but also it’s supposed to rain every other day.

Rain is enough of a headache on its own when you have a wet basement, but it becomes a much bigger problem in the winter. This is, of course, due to the ground freezing, but today we’re going to take a closer look at what that means and what you can do about it.

First off, it’s not technically the ground freezing - it’s the moisture in the ground. And given how much rain we got in the fall, there’s a lot of moisture frozen down there.

Secondly, the area immediately surrounding your basement is not likely to be frozen. Heat emanating from the basement will keep the immediate surrounding ground thawed. Which is where our problem lies.

It’s been raining, and is going to continue to rain, a lot. And as the rain falls, it needs to go somewhere, right? But much of the ground is still frozen, and anything that isn’t frozen likely reached its saturation point days ago. This was the view outside of my house yesterday - all of this water with nowhere to go.

So where does it go? Probably into your basement.

If you have cracks in your foundation walls or floor, water is going to come in as it seeks out the path of least resistance. This will also be the time that you discover any previously invisible hairline cracks in your walls.

So what can you do? We have products that seal wall cracks, collect and discharge leaking water, and prevent damage from ambient moisture in your basement. While it’s often difficult to prevent water coming in entirely, our System Design Specialists can come up with a process for expediting the discharge process to make sure any incoming water goes directly into our system instead of pooling in your basement.

It’s shaping up to be a wet winter and spring, with temperature fluctuations wreaking havoc on the ground and your home. You can’t stop the rain, and you can’t make the ground more absorbent, but the situation isn’t hopeless. Any action you take will have to be within your own home, and it all starts with calling us for a free inspection.