Despite how rewarding it is to have your own property, being a homeowner is still demanding. Much like taking care of yourself, maintaining a house requires a lot of effort, money, and time. In exchange, your home ensures you have a secure shelter. In this piece, we’ll take a look at seven valuable benefits of basement waterproofing.
7 Benefits of Basement Waterproofing
With how much care you put into your property, you’re bound to receive what you sow in the long run. But keeping track of everything could be overwhelming. So, why not start at the lowest level of the house?
Although it might seem unimportant compared to insulated walls or weather-proof roofs, your basement plays a crucial role in keeping the structure standing. Therefore, as a homeowner, basement waterproofing should be one of your top priorities for many reasons, such as the following.
1. Prevents Mold Infestation
Is there a weird smell in the air every time you go down the basement? Does it smell damp? Once you smell it, does it get harder to breathe the longer you’re down there? If you said ‘yes’ to all of those, then you might have a mold infestation right under your nose.
Mold is a type of fungus that thrives in dark, damp environments. So, you can probably see now why having a wet basement plays a part in this. However, since it’s a fungus, mold could reproduce by releasing spores. Thus, causing it to spread across any wet surface, which appears as dark stains along the wall and floor.
However, other than leaving behind stained surfaces, some types of mold can also cause severe health problems, especially if you already have breathing issues beforehand. On one end, mold allergies might cause mucus to clog up your nose and lungs. On the other end, the worst that could happen after getting in contact with mold spores is death.
One of the strongest benefits of basement waterproofing is the prevention of mold. Keeping moisture outside will always lower the possibility for mold to come inside.
2. Discourages Pests
Pests are the bane of a homeowner’s life. Because, much like mold, these bugs aren’t there to be a nuisance. Stagnant water is the birthplace of pests, mainly mosquitoes. Because of them, you won’t be promised a moment of peace when you have these bloodsuckers bothering you wherever you go.
As for cockroaches, they lay their eggs where there’s a food source nearby. Even though the water in your basement didn’t come from sewage, standing water could attract all sorts of bugs, and smaller insects could pose as a buffet for roaches to feast on.
As you can see, no amount of pesticide could keep pests at bay. And vacuuming or sweeping wet surfaces to spook them would be a waste of time and effort when they can still go back once you leave. Only by getting rid of the source could you see a significant drop in the pest population. So, waterproof the basement to prevent water from collecting in the first place.
3. Broadens Space
Some might argue that having additional finished square footage is first on the list of the benefits of basement waterproofing. Having an extra space below the house means you have more room to do whatever you want. You could therefore undertake one of many possible basement renovations and redesign your empty basement into something else, such as the following:
- Playroom
- Personal gym
- Den
- Storage room
- Panic room, and more
Depending on what you want to do with it, your basement doesn’t have to be empty as long as you put your effort into changing it. Thus, waterproofing the area first will help bring your vision to life. Finishing empty basement space will always be one of the top home improvement projects to increase your home’s value.
4. Lowers Energy Consumption
Installing smart technology in the house ensures its owner an energy-efficient experience the entire time. Because of its learning processes, it knows when to adjust the heating system for everyone’s comfort.
However, this feature can easily stab you in the back once you’ve realized how much energy it’s consuming to keep the house within comfortable temperatures, especially if there’s a crack somewhere in your basement. By sealing up these cracks and waterproofing them, your heating system will ensure your comfort in any weather without hurting your pocket.
5. Retains Home Foundation
The basement is your home foundation. Once damaged, it might bring the house down eventually. Although it doesn’t look like it, water can cause lasting damage to many materials, particularly wood.
Water is wood’s worst enemy. Without any roots for the water to go through, wood structures could rot over time, making it the perfect breeding ground for mold. As soon as these happen, the rest of your foundation will come tumbling down without wood supporting it.
Waterproofing the basement keeps away any moisture from any critical structures. Therefore, lessening the risk of your foundation getting compromised.
6. Protects Sump Pump
Sump pumps are installed to flush out excess water from flooding. However, too much water can still overwhelm it easily. By including other waterproofing strategies on top of your sump pump, you can prolong this tool’s lifetime to its fullest before it eventually gives out.
7. Adds Resale Value
Revamping your basement can add value to your home in the long run. Most real estate agents recommend this as it offers an increase in the sale value of the house. Moreover, it would be best to dispose of the boxes, household items, and old furniture hidden in the basement and transform it into a multipurpose space, as mentioned above. Thus, there’s much benefit in waterproofing the basement because it protects the area once it’s been revamped.
Takeaway
The basement tends to get neglected because it’s ‘out of the way.’ As you probably guessed, this part is just as significant as your roof or walls. But did you know that there were this many benefits of basement waterproofing? Hopefully, you get it now.
