Wet Basements and Home Inspections

July 2nd, 2019

Buying a home can be an exciting adventure, whether you are a first time home buyer or a buyer looking for a change in size or location. Gently used homes or older homes can sometimes come with problems, particularly homes with wet basements. While you shouldn’t rule out buying a home with a wet basement in places like Barrie, Simcoe, Georgian Bay, Wasaga Beach, and Alliston, you do need to do some further investigation before going ahead with a purchase agreement.

If a home inspector discovers a potential problem, they may recommend a waterproofing contractor to give an assessment of the situation.
Sometimes the seller of the home may not even know of a leak. At other times, they may try and conceal them. At best you have a repair job ahead of you. At worst, you could be in a legal battle trying to recoup the cost of repairing your basement. If you suspect water problems in the basement, your safest bet is to have a waterproofing contractor inspect the basement before you buy the house. Wet basement waterproofing shouldn’t be too costly, but it’s important to consider in order to save you future costly repairs.

Things to look for when touring a home as a potential purchase:
• The characteristic musty smell of a damp basement. If there is a musty odour, then there is a strong possibility that there is moisture and may be in need of wet basement services in places like Barrie and Collingwood.
• Water staining anywhere on the ceiling, floor and walls.
• The white powder the experts call efflorescence. Water leaves this behind over a period of time after it evaporates.
• Plaster rendering coming away because of spalding happening inside the wall itself.
• Black, brown, green or yellow mould that needs a damp environment in which to take root and multiply.

Before you buy a home, ensure that your home inspector has the skills to assess water damage, and also consider hiring a waterproofing contractor to further assess any wet basement issues that have been identified. At the end of the day, it is always better to be safe than sorry. In other words, a small amount of money spent upfront may save you thousands in the future.

Home foundation waterproofing and wet solutions, leaky basement or cracks repair and crawlspace encapsulation services in Acton, Ajax, Ancaster, Alliston, Aurora, Angus, Arthur, Barrie, Beaverton, Beeton, Blue Mountain, Bobcaygeon, Bolton, Bracebridge, Brechin, Caledon East, Concord, Cambridge, Cannington, Coldwater, Collingwood, Dundalk, Dundas, East-West Gwillinbury, East York, Elora, Fergus, Georgetown, Georgina, Georgian Bay, Gravenhurst, Hanover, Haliburton, Holland Landing, Huntsville, Innisfil, Keswick, Kincardine, King City, Kitchener, Lake of Bays, Lindsay, Listowel, Midland, Milton, Minden, Muskoka, Muskoka Lakes, Newmarket, North York, Oakville, Orangeville, Oshawa, Parry Sound, Penetanguishene, Port Perry, Rexdale, Richmond Hill, Scarborough, Scugog, Shelburne, Simcoe, Stayner, Toronto, Thornhill, Thornbury, Tottenham, Wasaga Beach, Wellington, Whitchurch-Souffville, Whitby and Woodbridge.