Basement Waterproofing has advanced from the first attempts to drain ground water from under a foundation floor. No doubt the first sub-floor drainage systems were nothing more than crushed stone installed under a slab. Some of the earliest storm water management systems were nothing more than moots that would direct water into some type of underground cistern for the purpose of collecting and saving valuable drinking water especially in drier climates where rainfall may have been scarce. The first Basement Waterproofing contractors would probably have learned various techniques by trial and error. At some point one foot clay pipe sections were placed side by side in a trench around the perimeter of the foundation. This pipe would be placed about one inch apart and the contractor would install a small piece of tar paper over these spaces so that the holes wouldn't be blocked when the contractor would re-concrete the floor. Actually this system worked fairly well and was a major improvement over previous drainage systems built with just stone. Basement waterproofing contractors (as these pioneers became known as) realized that water seeks the path of least resistance and by installing these sections of clay pipe they could move ground water faster from under the floor. Well, before electrical sump pumps became a standard feature in drainage systems, most drainage systems would have to be a gravity system. The basement waterproofing contractor would have to rely on a drainage system directing water to land which was lower than the floor. That was great if your home was built on a hill. As the population grew, choice building sites on hillsides would be taken up. People started building houses on more level lots. This posed a problem until electrical sump pumps were invented. These pumps could now pump the ground water up and out to a place away from the foundation. Sump pumps changed the way basements were waterproofed. Actually even though our industry calls us "Basement Waterproofing Companies" we really are water control contractors. Why is it that basement waterproofing contractors don't try to totally seal water from ever coming into basements? The truth of the matter is it is not cost effective to "waterproof" by sealing water out and, even if the contractor succeeds by using an epoxy sealer at 40 lbs per square inch, concrete will crack and therefore water will come in through that new crack. So contractors learned that it is easier to relieve the hydrostatic pressure by directing the ground water to a sump collection basin (pit, liner, etc), where once it filled the sump basin to a certain point, an automated sump pump would turn on and pump the water down to a certain level. The contractor knew that if he could keep the ground water pressure below the floor then the area could be kept relatively dry. Read More More Information Available at the BasementDepot Basement Waterproofing | Finishing | Remodeling | Concrete Repair | Finished Basements | Foundation Repair | Mold Removal | Mold Remediation | Sump Pumps

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