It's exciting watching your new home take shape from the basement up. But each year, thousands of U.S. homeowners are faced with basement walls that begin to look like this -- or worse. The problem is often that the walls haven't been watersealed from the outside during construction -- and once moisture from the earth begins to seep in -- its a difficult and expensive problem to remedy.

Just like the rest of your home, your basement is constructed of many parts, and anywhere those parts come together, there's a gap of some sort.

The result is an opportunity for moisture to enter. Water can seep in through cracks in the concrete, building ties that hold the basement frame together, and along the seam where the walls rest on concrete footings.

The best thing you can do is make sure you have a top-notch basement contractor with a good reputation in your area and a history of few problems. But there are also several watersealing methods available. A less effective, but less expensive method -- called damp-proofing -- will provide some protection, but a much higher quality treatment -- called waterproofing -- is now available. The difference is that waterproofing is able to span cracks that eventually occur in any concrete structure.

The flexible waterproofing material should be about 40 mils thick when your contractor is finished, and it's a good idea to have special fiberglass insulation applied on top of the waterproofing to help channel water away from the basement walls.

Waterproofing may be expensive, but it's usually no more than about one-percent of the total cost of your home. I'm Michael Holigan, About The House.

NOTE: The contractor and the manufacturer will usually work together to guarantee your waterproofing for about 10 years. And most guarantees are transferable if you should ever sell your home.

Contact Information:
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