How to fix a Wet Basement Westfield, NJ 07090

Westfield, NJ is a beautiful town in Union County, New Jersey that boasts a historical past and a vibrant present. Westfield was first settled in 1720 and has grown into a thriving residential community with a bustling downtown area. In 2004, Westfield won the Great American Main Street Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Of the 10,000+ houses in Westfield, most were built prior to 1973 giving them the types of problems, like wet basements, associated with homes that are 40 or more years old. If the first homes built in 1720 had basements we know exactly how long there have been wet basements in Westfield.

Basements in Westfield, NJ leak because of three factors

1. A high water table.
2. The basement is made of porous concrete.
3. The basement is located below the frost line.

A High Water Table
Most people know that the water table has something to do with ground water. The word table provides an image of a flat surface, like the surface of a tabletop. It may be visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials (sediment, gravel and clay) that are saturated with groundwater in a given geographical area. There is also a general understanding that in times of drought, water table levels may drop.

The water table lies underground and is the level at which the soil and gravel are completely saturated with water. There is often some seasonal change in the water table, due to rain or drought. A high water table is especially common in areas where the soil is not well drained due to high levels of clay.

Water tables can become elevated when they receive more water than they drain off. This can be from unusually high amounts of rain, or excess water from higher elevations. High water tables are often above the level of basement floors or crawlspaces. This almost always causes flooding in these areas.

Concrete is Porous

Most wet basements in Westfield, NJ are made of concrete. Concrete is a composite construction material composed primarily of aggregate, cement, and water. Concrete is porous. Water is a primary ingredient of concrete from the beginning. As the concrete cures the evaporable water, water that can evaporate away, does so and is lost. As the water evaporates it leaves the pores in the concrete that were saturated with water empty. These empty pores make the concrete porous.

The Basement is Below the Frost Line
Snow melts, rain falls. Much of this moisture is pulled deeper into the frost line by gravity. The frost line is the depth in the ground in which the water NEVER freezes. This is important in a building’s construction because if a footing and foundation wall are built above the frost line, the chances of that basement heaving will occur go up. Heaving occurs when the soil expands and contracts due to freezing and thawing. Because this seepage is constantly moving beneath the frost line, you should expect water related problems year round. Times of extreme seepage occur usually in early spring and late fall. Of course a catastrophic event like a Nor’easter or a Hurricane can happen at any time.

Should I get my Basement Inspected?
A-1 Basement Solutions gives free basement health inspections to New Jersey homeowners. Contact A-1 Basement Solutions at 908-322-1313, or info@A-1Basements.com for a free in-home inspection and detailed quote.