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Waterproofing Your Home in Clay Soil

Waterproofing the crawl space or basement in clay soil can be difficult. Clay is an expansive soil that can even damage the foundation. It is estimated that clay expansive soil is responsible for damaging the foundation of 1 in 4 homes. The problem is clay soil is everywhere. There is no getting away from it. In this article, we will discuss clay as an expansive soil. Why it causes flooding problems for homeowners. How to waterproof your home effectively in clay.

Clay is an Expansive Soil

Expansive clay causes more damage to homes, offices, bridges and other structures in total dollar value than all other geohazards put together. This includes earthquakes, landslides, and sinkholes. The estimated insurance cost of expansive clay damage is $12,000,000,000.00 annually according to Andrew of Tansar1 YouTube Channel.

Why is Clay a Problem When Building?

The problem is, clay shrinks when it dries and expends when it gets wet. This shrinking and swelling is what causes so much damage. When clay shrinks, it creates craters that allow water to flow unrestricted. When water is given a direct path to your foundation, flooding is inevitable.

Clay Holds More Water

Soil with higher amounts of clay have more small pores. This allows clay to absorb more water. Sandy soil has larger pores and absorbs less water. Clay can hold surface water, but also absorbs and holds water for extended periods of time.

How To Protect Your Foundation from Water

When your foundation is surrounded by a material that holds lots of water for a long time, it can fall prey to the path of least resistance. Block and concrete walls are not waterproof. Many of the waterproof materials applied to foundation walls are not waterproof. Typically, a thick rubberized membrane is the best defense from outside water entering your basement or crawl space. Unfortunately, even the best waterproofing barrier cannot stop water when an inferior drain system is installed.

Create a Water Channel

Since water likes to take the past of least resistance, you must give it one. Many waterproofing products fail to allow water to enter. This causes the water to sit around the pipe or drain tile. When that happens, the aggregate becomes the path of least resistance. Assuming the waterproofing company installed an aggregate. FYI, most don't.

Imagine having 50 gallons of water surrounding a pipe with slits so small light can barely enter. How is that pipe going to move water when the water cannot enter.

Hydraway Creates a Path for Water

The Hydraway Drain System was designed to move water, and lots of it. It works great in all soil types, including clay. The Hydraway drain tile was designed to have a higher inflow rate. The more water can get in, the more water can be moved away from your foundation. Hydraway is clog resistant and removes water 70% faster than other products on the market.

Don't be fooled by cheap knockoffs. Hydraway is built with fusion bonding to ensure the polypropylene filtration will not separate. As of today, Hydraway Drain System has experienced no known failures worldwide. To have Hydraway installed in your basement, crawl space or exterior drain system, contact Crawl Space Ninja today.

Contact Crawl Space Ninja for Basement Waterproofing and Encapsulation

Please contact us to schedule your assessment to fix your crawl space, basement issue. 

 

Do you need help with mold removal, crawl space encapsulation, crawl space insulation, vapor barrier, waterproofing, foundation repair, basement waterproofing, or controlling humidity in your crawl space?

If you live in Georgia, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Kentucky, Crawl Space Ninja can help!

 

Also, let us know in the comments below if you have an idea for a new blog topic.

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About Michael Church

Michael Church has been involved with indoor air quality since 2005 and feels the unhealthy crawl space is one of the major problems causing poor indoor air quality.

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