How to Repair a Basement Leak
Learning how to fix a leak in your basement can save you a great deal of money in the long haul. The threat of a basement leak can be one of the most worrisome aspects of owning a home. Basement leaks can happen when there are cracks in your basement’s concrete or from a new house setting. If you have found a leak in your basement, you might be thinking about calling in a contractor to fix it, which can cost you thousands of dollars, and can be easily avoided by fixing the leak yourself. If you don’t repair the leak, it could get bigger and bring even more water into your basement. Getting to the root of the problem early is the best way to keep your home secure and keep the water at bay.
Start by actually finding the leak in your basement. When you walk into your basement you should be able to see where the water is coming from. It may be coming from the concrete wall lining your basement or from the cement floor. Get a mop and mop up all of the water on your floor. Use a towel to dry the floor or the concrete wall that is leaking. It’s essential to have a dry surface during the repair so you might want to use a hair dryer to get the area dry.
Use a calking gun to fill in the smaller cracks. Smaller cracks could be hairline cracks or as wide as a pencil. For these cracks, a small amount of liquid polyurethane should do the trick. Wait for the liquid polyurethane to dry. This could take anywhere from an hour to 12 hours depending on the brand that you have purchased and the amount of the compound that you have used.
If you have a larger crack in your basement, you will need to seal with a concrete compound. Concrete compounds can be found at your local hardware or home improvement stores. Quikcrete is the best for smaller jobs like fixing a basement leak because it mixes well and doesn’t require anything other than water. Mix our concrete compound in a bucket and then use a filling tool to fill the cracks. Wait for the first coat to dry. This could take up 6 hours depending on the size of the job. Refill the crack with more of the compound as needed to get the crack filled.
After you have filled the crack on your floor or your concrete wall, you will need to reseal it. Resealing the crack is not very difficult and can be done with a coat sealant found at your local hardware shop. Fill a paint tray with the sealant and then dip a paint roller into the tray. Roll the roller around in the tray until it has saturated. Roll the sealant along the crack to seal it from moisture. This will keep mildew and mold from growing around the crack if the calk or concrete mixture fails.
Allow the sealant to dry for about 3 hours and then apply another coat to the cracks. Using multiple coats is the best way to keep your crack sealed. After you have applied the sealant, it won’t matter if water comes through. The surrounding floor and walls will be protected until you can refill the crack.
