Basement Waterproofing Case Studies: Waterproofing to Make Use of Basement Space, Toronto, ON
Challenge
A home in Toronto, Ontario, had a problem in located in the basement. The homeowner wanted to finish the unfinished basement, however, the basement walls and floor were always damp. Having lived in the home for 3 years they did not have any groundwater seepage. The customer also wanted to install a heated floor and gain headroom. The homeowner wasn’t confident in refinishing the basement because it was always damp, and they wanted to be sure that their investment was going to be protected. Having an unfinished basement that is always damp affects the customer because it doesn't allow them to use the basement as living space. The basement had many obstacles and objects that needed to be moved out of the way to have the project completed.
Solution
The customer called Clarke Basement Systems and spoke to Ron Monk who explained the solution we had for the home. Don Clarke and the team came in and installed Waterguard sub-floor perimeter drainage system, Waterguard port, Thermaldry wall system, SuperSump and UltraSump sump system and Iceguard discharge.
Waterguard is designed to capture water at the footing wall joint and drain the water to the SuperSump/UltraSump sump system. The Thermaldry walls help 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 SuperSump and UltraSump is a 2 pump sump system. It will protect against primary pump failure and power loss to the home. It is installed with the Iceguard fitting that protects the system if the discharge line becomes blocked or frozen.
The homeowner's belongings were removed from the basement and the concrete floor was removed. Approximately 4 inches of extra soil was removed for the installation of in-floor heating and to gain 2 inches of extra headroom. The Thermaldry wall system was installed on the basement walls with mechanical fasteners so it will never come off. At this point, the homeowner had a plumber upgrade and move the sub-floor plumbing. Once the plumbing was completed, we installed a gravel bed for drainage under the floor and insulation on top of it. The Waterguard was carefully set in place around the full perimeter of the basement. The homeowner then had the heated flooring installed over the gravel bed on top of the insulation. The concrete floor was opened up around the full perimeter of the basement and the Waterguard was carefully set in place and backfilled 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. A SuperSump and UltraSump 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 customer was satisfied because they were able to refinish the basement with the confidence that the whole basement was going to stay dry and stay dry all the time without fear of mold growing and affecting the family’s health. They were happy that we were able to gain extra headroom. The homeowner was also very confident 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.