The abundance of moisture makes waterproofing in Toronto and other surrounding areas an absolute necessity. As basements are built into the ground, most of them present a possibility of basement leaks that can turn what was once a dry basement into a wet basement which is a serious health hazard that can also affect the value of your home. In fact, basement moisture infiltration is a common problem for many homeowners.

Recently Tornado Plumbing team was engaged in a basement waterproofing project. One of the homeowners in Toronto wanted to fix his wet basement and he wanted to avoid digging up the outside of the house foundation because excavation work would damage the landscaping around the house. Besides, the homeowner wanted to save costs as the basement was unfinished.

Tornado Plumbing offers a wide range of basement waterproofing services to permanently remedy a wet basement but, in this particular case, it was decided to install an interior waterproofing drainage system to solve the foundation seepage issues.

Our goal was to remove existing moisture, install waterproof barriers from the inside of the foundation, and build a series of weeping tiles and drains that divert accumulated water.

We started by removing a section of basement floor about one foot wide along the perimeter of the basement where the drain tile was to go. After that, we made a trench along the foundation to a level even with the bottom of the foundation footing. We filled the bottom of the trench with washed gravel to serve as a porous space for water to move through. On the top of the gravel, we laid internal weeping tiles, connected them, and fitted to the basin of a sump pump. Then we poured more washed gravel on top to completely embed the pipe.

We also installed a vapor barrier on the walls to cover the seepage and help direct it to the new drain system.

Finally, we poured concrete over the trench to create a final waterproof layer.

After we’ve finished, the happy homeowner could start enjoying his new basement.