Spring Flooding and Your Basement: Addressing Foundation Repair Needs

The Kansas City climate comes with a freeze-thaw cycle and wet seasons with dry periods interspersed. Over time, your home’s foundation suffers, and sometimes, you end up with a flooded basement in the spring. 

Resist the urge to give up and turn your basement into an indoor pool, because wet basements can be fixed! The right approach to basement waterproofing keeps your basement dry and protects your home’s foundation from sustaining further damage.

But why does your basement take on water? In our area, there are lots of reasons. Let’s explore them and find out how PierMagic can help you put an end to problematic standing water and moisture with our innovative home foundation repair solutions.

Water from Rain Saturates the Soil Around Your Home

Spring rain and late-winter precipitation can put excess moisture in the soil around your home’s foundation, eventually seeping into your house, either because it was inevitable, or because your foundation is starting to fail. 

Water may enter your basement because of any of the following reasons:

1. Short gutter downspouts drop water next to your foundation, or a broken downspout drops water from the roof straight to the ground around your house.
2. A faulty or frozen French drain could back up and retain water close to your foundation.
3. Your lawn doesn’t slope away from your home enough, so water from various areas of your yard flows straight back toward your house.

All this water pressured against your foundation will most certainly leak into your basement, especially if you already have cracks or other concrete or foundation-related issues. 

The Water Table Beneath Your Home is High

A water table refers to the water that naturally sits underground. If you are made aware of a high water table, it means the ground materials join the upper soil layer because of all the water built up beneath it. This happens when there’s heavy rain, or it can happen when the water from higher elevations flows downward into the soil around your home’s foundation.

High water tables can cause a wet basement and weaken your concrete foundation until it cracks, allowing even more water to permeate your home. A sump pump and other basement waterproofing solutions can keep your basement dry despite a high water table.

You Live in a Flood Zone

Rivers, creeks, and tributaries are common throughout prairie states, including Kansas and Missouri, especially at the confluence of our states’ major rivers. If you live in a flood zone, your basement is likely to take on water despite your best efforts. 

A combination of basement waterproofing techniques can help keep your home dry, but repeated flooding will continue to damage your foundation.

Your Foundation is Already Damaged

If your home’s foundation is already cracked or damaged, even the smallest amount of precipitation can lead to a wet basement. The importance of a healthy foundation goes beyond intact, cleared, and properly installed gutters and a perfectly graded lawn. 

Your home may also show other signs of foundation damage beyond water exposure, such as cracking drywall, excess insects indoors, or windows and doors that don’t close properly. In these instances, you may need post-and-pier foundation repair or concrete foundation repair to correct your problems.

Don’t worry; foundation problems are common for homeowners, and are typically not detrimental to your home’s overall health. Although it’s possible that some homes never experience structural issues, about 25 percent of all homes will, and within that group, about 5 percent experience major issues. The good news is that foundation problems are repairable, especially if you hire a reputable, professional foundation repair company.

Types of Foundation Repair in Kansas City

Depending on the cause of your foundation issues, a foundation repair expert can use a variety of repair solutions. 

When you call PierMagic for a free evaluation and estimate, our foundation specialists will determine the cause of your foundation issues and the severity of the issues to better understand the best possible solution. 

Our innovative tactics include:

• Foundation piering
• Basement waterproofing
• Bowed wall repair
• Wall anchoring
• Crack sealing
• Installing French drains and sump pumps
• Polyjacking
• Crawl space encapsulation
• And more 

How to Get Your Free Foundation Repair Estimate

If you suspect you need home foundation repair, you can get a free competitive estimate from PierMagic, based in Grandview, and serving the Overland Park, Prairie Village, and greater Kansas City areas. 

Choose from one of two ways to request your free quote. You can call us directly at (816) 765-4800, or you can complete our online contact form, and one of our specialists will get back to you to schedule a home visit.