Do you know how many leaking Nashville basements I have dealt with in my life? Me neither, but I know it's a lot. And when I deal with basement leaks, I constantly run into two common misconceptions. The first is that most folk think it is “no big deal” that it is “out of sight and out of mind.” The second is that it will cost major bucks to solve the problem. Well, I can say first hand that both beliefs could not be further from the truth.
First of all, there are several safety issues that we run into pretty regularly with leaky, neglected basements and crawlspaces. The most concerning is mold. Leaks in dark, poorly lit areas lead to mold. Mold and other fungi have been associated with chronic coughing, asthma, and other allergy related issues. We have had many clients call us in the weeks and months after fixing their leaky basement or crawlspace to say that not only can they tell a huge improvement in their indoor air quality, but more importantly they feel so much better. I can say first hand that, after we dealt with my leaky basement, what I believed to be my chronic “allergy related” coughing, improved dramatically!
Another common safety issue that we see when dealing with crawlspace leaks, is structural. Over time, neglected leaks will start to undermine the foundation and the structural piers under a house. We see cracks in exterior walls as well as interior doors that begin to stick, all caused by water running underneath a neglected crawlspace. Left un-checked, these issues lead to major structural repairs. In a couple of extreme cases, we have literally had to completely shore up the back of a house and pour new footings and a foundation to deal with the damage. Another scarier case involved a chimney. When our men were surveying the situation and trying to figure out the extent of the damage, the chimney fell out in the yard, literally. That’s right, the chimney fell off the side of the house! Now it turns out that it was poorly built to begin with, but the biggest oversight was the drainage issue. Water had been undermining the footings since the day it was built. I was just glad no one was hurt.
Now it's not all doom and gloom, which brings me to the second most common misconception about leaky basements and crawlspaces -- “This is going to cost a fortune to fix!” That’s just not the case. However, not dealing with the leaks will ensure that you have to spend “new car” money on solving the problem. Think about it, almost every house starts out with a functioning foundation drainage system. And while there can be exceptions, typically the initial cause of leaks can be from one small change to landscaping, neglected gutters, or something very simple that has thrown the drainage system out of whack. We have solved many leaky basements by just getting our clients to clean their gutters on a regular basis or by reworking the mulch in a bed.
The best part about dealing with these smaller issues in a timely manner is that it will cost pennies on the dollar, compared to fixing it after it has caused structural damage, mold, etc… This is great, because it will leave that “new car” money in your wallet to spend on an actual new car or, better yet, that new master bath you were promised years ago. Oh wait, no one would ever promise their spouse that they would re-do their master “next year….” I’ll have more on that later.
Wendell Harmer and The Wills Company work with people who have issues with their house. Their clients are the type of people who maintain their homes beautifully and really care about architectural design. They want to know their costs up front, rather than being blindsided along the way; and they want a professional to manage the whole process for them, from design to remodel to ongoing maintenance.
A native Nashvillian, Wendell graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Organizational Development. Wendell and his wife Wiff, are the proud parents of two boys.
Recent Comments