Clarke Basement Systems Case Studies: Waterproofing to Make Home Basement Healthy, Toronto, ON
Challenge
A home in Toronto, Ontario, had a problem in the basement. The homeowner had high humidity and mold. The homeowner never noticed water, the carpet was damp at times. An inspection revealed that there was high water content in the finished wall materials and carpeting. Mold in a basement can be unhealthy to the home and the people living in it. The homeowner was always trying to clean the mold. They were very concerned about the health of their children and themselves. They wanted this problem fixed before it got worse.
Solution
The customer called Clarke Basement Systems and talked to Ron Monk, who identified where the problem was located and how to fix it. Jose Martinez and the team came in and installed Waterguard sub-floor perimeter drainage system, Waterguard port, Thermaldry wall system, Triplesafe sump system, Iceguard discharge and MoistureLoc basement air and dehumidification system. Waterguard is designed to capture water at the footing wall joint and drain the water to the Triplesafe sump system and keep the basement dry all the time. The Thermaldry walls helps to reduce relative humidity and ensure wall leaks are drained to the Waterguard installed in the floor. ThermalDry also protects the finished walls installed in front of it and acts as a radiant barrier preventing heat loss into the cold mass of the concrete walls. The Triplesafe sump system is a 3 level pump system with redundancy built in to protect against primary pump failure, large volumes of water and power loss to the home. It will ensure the basement stays dry all the time. It is installed with the Iceguard fitting that protects the system if the discharge line becomes blocked or frozen. The MoistureLoc dehumidifier was installed to reduce the relative humidity of the basement air to prevent mold and odors.
The finished basement walls and flooring were removed to expose the bare concrete. The Thermaldry wall system was installed on the basement walls with mechanical fasteners so it will never come off. The concrete floor was opened up around the full perimeter of the basement and the Waterguard was carefully set in place and back filled with stone. Waterguard ports were installed to allow for inspection or service of the system and convenient dehumidifier drain points. The basement floor was then restored flush. The Triplesafe sump system was installed and connected to the Waterguard allowing the water to be pumped outside of the home through the Iceguard discharge line. The MoistureLoc was installed and set to a level thereby reducing the relative humidity and prevent mold and reduce odors usually associated with damp basement air.
The customer was satisfied because they were able to refinish the basement with the confidence that the whole basement was going to stay dry and the fear of mold growing and affecting the family’s health was no longer an issue. The homeowner was thrilled with Basement Systems 25 year dry basement warranty against groundwater seepage and was satisfied that it is nationally backed through the Basement Systems dealer network, transferable if the home is ever sold.