Basement Waterproofing Case Studies: Wet Basement Puts a Stop to Church Activities in Whitby, Ontario
Challenge
Churches are an important part of a community. They bring people together, give us a place to celebrate, and are sometimes a very historic place of worship. They also go beyond the realm of religion and act as a community centre, being rented out for groups and events.
When a church in Whitby, Ontario, had a flooding basement problem, they called in a contractor to fix the issue from the outside. Water was seeping in whenever there was rain or a thaw, covering the basement floor in a layer of water. Here at Clarke Basement Systems, we know that often basements need to be waterproofed from the inside out. They had recently rented out space to a Montessori school, but the water never stopped. The church and school were growing tired of the nuisance. Looking to fix the problem once and for all, they reached out to us for a solution.
Solution
After contacting us with the problem, System Design Specialist Chris Luke went to the church. He surveyed the area and developed a plan to turn their church basement from a shallow pool back into a dry, useable space. Jose Martinez and his team worked on the job, starting with the installation of a WaterGuard® French Drain System. WaterGuard® collects water along the base of the floor and drains it to a sump pump. To ensure the water was removed efficiently, we installed an UltraSump® sump pump with a Zoeller M53 motor. Since the water was seeping through wall joints, we also installed BrightWall® on all of the walls, encapsulating the large basement room. BrightWall® stops water from entering and directs it downward to the WaterGuard® drain while providing the space with a clean white look, similar to traditional drywall.
It took three days to finish the job, but the church basement is finally clean and dry. The Montessori school can adequately utilize the basement area now, and the church is free to rent the space to future tenants without worrying about any water issues. Halleluiah!