Crawl Space Overflows into Finished Florissant Basement
During heavy rain, the crawl space would overflow into the basement. The crawl space access is located roughly one foot behind a finished wall. The water damaged wood framing, drywall, and finished carpet as it flooded the basement.
Signs of Basement Flooding
Watermarks run about one foot high on this and other wooden posts—evidence that this basement previously flooded and may have even had standing water for some time.
Open Sump Pit Filled with Mud
Sump pits extend below the basement floor. Naturally, mud can wash into the bottom of a sump liner. Sump pumps should be placed on stands inside the liner—unlike this muddy sump pump—to prevent the pump from caking with mud or clogging. Without an air-tight lid on this sump pit, moisture and musty odors were allowed to vent back into the basement.
The Little Dehumidifier That Couldn't
Mold needs moisture to thrive. One way to prevent mold and reduce odors in your home is to dehumidify the basement air. To accomplish this, the relative humidity needs to be kept below 55%. This little dehumidifier was no match for the amount of moisture plaguing this basement. Displaying a consistent 65% relative humidity, this little guy helped run up the power bill and failed to do the very thing it was designed to do.
Baseboard Drainage System Fails in Florissant, MO
Regardless of whether this baseboard drainage system was poorly designed or poorly installed (or both), the fact remains that it failed to keep the whole basement dry. For example, this baseboard system was only installed on two of the four basement walls. To make matters worse, no drainage system was installed along the basement wall where the overflowing crawl space was located.
Water Damage to Basement Cabinetry
Opening the cabinet doors, water-damaged cabinetry shows signs of groundwater seepage and mold growth.
Baseboard Waterproofing System Failure
A baseboard drainage system is only as good as the bond between the adhesive and the basement floor. If the bond is not strong enough or the seal is broken, then there is nothing standing between you and a wet basement.