Do It Yourself Basement Waterproofing

Do it yourself basement waterproofing is not that big of a deal. The job begins outside of your house where you should look for any type of entry for water if it should rain or flood.  The places that you want to reinforce, fill in or protect would be those places at the side of your house where water pools and collects.  This is because when water gathers in these places a force called hydrostatic pressure can force the water into your basement. 

If this happens you can get a baseboard type trench that fits to the base of your floor. When the water pressure builds up behind your basement wall it is instead collected into the trench and then filtered to your drain.  A popular brand of this type of do it yourself basement waterproofing is SquidGee which has been around since 1984. 

You can also prevent your basement from becoming a damp musty place by following a few constructing rules when building or refinishing it.  For instance you should never drive nails into your floor while building the masonry for your basement. They should be driven vertically into the masonry. 

Yet another tip for those who want to try do it yourself basement waterproofing is to attach handy vertical two by two lumber to the wall in the same manner. They should run vertically down from the wall to meet the horizontal base plate to train any water to run towards your center drain in case of a flood. 

Even better, installing a baseboard type trench beneath the two by fours and making sure that everything is secured and reinforced by a strong adhesive sealant can definitely keep your basement floor dry.

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