Waterproofing a Flooded Basement in a Newfield, NJ Bank

Friday, December 9th, 2022 by Makayla Pratta

Challenge

A Bank in Newfield, NJ had a flooding issue in their basement so severe that the entirety of the space was flooded with up to 6 inches of water. The water would regularly seep in from every area of the basement, mostly coming in from under the walls. This problem had been present for months, and the owner needed it fixed.

When our Service Coordinator, Chris, visited the location during the basement inspection, he was met with a surprise. "Every square inch was covered in 4-6 inches of water." In addition, up to 12 frogs were counted swimming away in the water. The water was leaking in from the wall/floor joints, caused by the "clay bowl effect" outside the walls. This effect occurs when soil is loose around the foundation of a building, mostly caused by when the building's foundation was dug. This loose soil is porous and absorbent in comparison to the hard soil surrounding it. When it rains, the water absorbed in that loose soil is heavily saturated, and needs an outlet, causing seepage to occur into the building's basement or crawl space. Water was also seeping through the block walls, which were saturated over time due to hydrostatic pressure.

Solution

Upon inspection, Chris wrote a proposal for a full perimeter of our Water Guard drainage system, as well as a full perimeter of our Clean Space Wall System, which is a vapor barrier to direct wall seepage to the Water Guard. Additionally, the owner was proposed 2 Triple Safe Sump Systems.

Our Foreman, Anthoni, and his crew were the assigned installers, and did a "phenomenal job!" This was a huge project, but this crew "worked hard and effectively to get it done in a timely fashion." As the icing on the cake, the team installed a SaniDry Sedona Dehumidifier to control and regulate the humidity within the basement, as well as an Aspen air purification system to prevent the damp and musty smells that make their way upstairs. This Aspen will control these odors to help customers and employees with asthma or allergies that are in the building daily.