The Drying Company serving Ford, VA

This homeowner had a walkout basement in Ford, Virginia, that was experiencing moisture issues in a corner that was below the outside grade. One of our Home Performance Advisors was sent to inspect the issues and found efflorescence along the cinderblock foundation walls. This is a clear indicator of water infiltration. The water forces its way through the porous cinderblocks, bringing with it the inner sediments of the cinderblocks, creating a chalky, white substance along the surface of the walls. The way that we would combat these issues would be to create a trench around the inner perimeter of the basement. A drainage system, called WaterGuard XL, would be placed within this trench, and a 12-mil vapor barrier, called Wallie, would be placed along the foundation walls to help guide any intruding water to the WaterGuard XL system. A sump pump would collect any water from the drainage system and drain it from the hose via a hose line. With this type of system in place, the basement would be better protected from outside moisture.

A homeowner in Ford, VA contacted us because they found moisture was entering their basement. The home has a walk out basement, and only part of the basement is below the outside grade. On this side of the basement, the homeowner noticed moisture coming through the wall and wanted a solution to keep the moisture out. Water and moisture seep and leak into a basement through the porous block walls and can enter under or through the concrete slab as well.

Just treating the wall that is sub-grade and currently affected by water infiltration could cause future problems on currently unaffected walls. Water always follows the path of least resistance, therefore even if the subgrade wall is treated, it is possible that water will run down and find its way through the walls, near the floor. Because of this, we recommend the homeowner install the WaterGuard Drainage system along the entire perimeter of the basement.

To address the moisture concerns the first step would be to trench the perimeter of the basement. We would then install rock and the WaterGuard Drainage System on top of the footer. By installing the drainage track on top of the footer, we can keep the drainage system out of the mud zone, greatly reducing the probability of it clogging due to mud and create a drainage plain with the rock. A trench drain would be installed in front of the exterior door to collect any bulk water that may enter under the door.

We would then install the CleanSpace vapor barrier on the affected basement walls 6-8 inches above outside grade. This will direct any water that seeps through the walls down and into the WaterGuard System. We would then fill in the trench with concrete, allowing the homeowner to have full use of their basement. The WaterGuard system will feed the collected water to a SmartSump pump which will extract the water and discharge to a spot on the property designated by the homeowner.

This solution would help the homeowner be able to protect their basement from future water damage. The WaterGuard Drainage System allows the homeowners to finish their basement and make use of the extra square footage in their home, without concerns about their belongings being damaged.

This new Ford, VA home needed to have insulation installed in the attic. The home had decking installed over the sheetrock then the truss system for the roof was placed. The joints of the decking had already been sealed, so for this home, unlike many others, we did not need to air seal, it had already been done. To insulate the attic and keep the home comfortable, year-round, we proposed installing an R-38 of blown cellulose insulation. The cellulose produce we use is 85% recycled material, such as newspaper, and 19% new material. The product also contains a borate that deters pests. As part of insulating the attic, we would also install a dam around the attic access to prevent insulation from falling in and insulate the back of the access door to reduce heat transfer through the door.