Buying a new house is not the same as buying an existing one, and the older the house, the more there is to consider. You won’t be surprised, then, to learn that buying an ancestral home presents specific challenges and considerations because of its age, of course, but also because of its heritage character. Read our article to see what you need to think about when buying an ancestral home.

1. Identify source(s) of water infiltration
The first step in solving a basement water infiltration problem is to identify the source(s). To do this, you need the services of a building expert. As you know, a building expert’s job is to get to the source of the problem, identify its causes and propose lasting, realistic solutions.

To achieve this, the expert will assess the slope of the property, and the condition of gutters and downspouts to make sure they are not contributing to the problem. Next, he will carry out a visual and instrumented inspection of the foundation walls to identify the location of any cracks allowing water to enter the basement.

Once this is done, the customer will turn to a trusted excavation company for remedial work.

2. Excavating and of foundation walls repairs
For them, the first step is to excavate and expose the foundation wall in order to identify the problem. We then high-pressure wash the foundation to remove any dirt or mud deposits.

Depending on the source of the problem, we then proceed with the repair. Whether it’s a crack, a lack of vibration in the concrete exposing the aggregate, or the installation of a French drain, it’s at this stage that we carefully repair the source of the water infiltration.

3. Backfilling and landscaping
Once the repair has been completed, it’s time to backfill the trench. We must carefully replace the soil previously set aside, or crushed stone as required by the customer. Our crews know that backfilling is a crucial step, because backfilling too quickly and with too large rocks can cause damage to our repair.

We then follow up with a good rake, some finishing soil and the site is ready for landscaping!

If you’re facing a water infiltration situation, don’t hesitate to contact us. Our building experts and excavating partners are here to help you resolve the situation quickly and efficiently, so you can get back to enjoying your home as soon as possible.

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