Dampness Detection Part 2 – On the House

Dampness Detection Part 2

By on July 25, 2014
water damage

Got a moist or wet basement wall? If it’s coming from outside what’s your best call? In dampness detection II, you’ll learn how to give yourself a “good grade.”

In part one we helped you determine the moisture source — whether it was condensation from inside or seepage from outside. If the results of your investigation reveal the latter, the seepage might be caused by faulty grading (meaning the slope of the ground around your home that drains water away from the foundation).

To find out if yours is OK and works as it should, tape a large sheet of plastic film on the outside wall just a few feet up from the ground above where the moisture (and suspect leak) occurs. Then slope it away from the house (and foundation) and secure the far edge at ground level with bricks. Wait for the next big rain. If the basement stays dry then regrade the ground around the foundation so that it slopes away more sharply. Case solved.

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