What’s the most vulnerable part of your home? Most Victoria homeowners think it’s their roof. Wrong. The feature that carries the heaviest burden and takes the biggest pounding is your foundation. Unfortunately, it’s also the most ignored aspect of your home, because it’s largely underground, hidden from view. But when the water starts to leak in — which will occur in most basements at one point or another — the foundation suddenly gets all of the attention.

In Victoria, this problem is made even worse by our rainy weather, dense clay soils and high seismic activity. Lots of water, poor drainage and frequent earth movement put a lot of stress on concrete foundations – and even more on masonry block walls. Contrary to what most people think, concrete actually absorbs water. As rainfall increases, the water table around the outside of your house rises, putting pressure against your foundation, which could eventually crack, leading to leaks.

You can prevent this by not only regularly cleaning your perimeter drains, but also properly waterproofing your foundation. Most older homes in Victoria have been damp-proofed with a liquid asphalt applied to the outside of the foundation – a big difference from waterproofing. Damp-proofing is a minimum code application that is cheap to apply. It inhibits water penetration, but does not prevent it. Over time, this coating starts to flake away and as hairline cracks appear on the foundation, the tar doesn’t stretch to fill them, allowing moisture to seep in. The common musty smell in basements is often a symptom of this problem.

If you want to do it right – and eliminate musty odors, mold, mildew and water leaks permanently – waterproof your basement from the exterior. Every reputable contractor recommends this approach because it’s proven. Using waterproof paints, sealers or interior trench/sump pump systems may help – but they are all half-measures that won’t permanently fix a leaking foundation. Nor will they get rid of damp basement side-effects like mold. Excavating around the exterior of your house and applying an elastometric emulsive membrane seals the wall, provides a drainage plane for water, and stretches over future cracks to provide an unbeatable triple layer of basement waterproofing protection.

Chalky white stains on the basement walls are called efflorescence – a sign that you may have a moisture issue. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a crisis, but this a good opportunity to do an exterior wall inspection. Doing this before the wall begins to leak and potentially damage your flooring and furniture could save you a lot of money and headaches down the road.

After years of restoring older homes in Victoria, we can’t count how many times we’ve seen improper grading, poor drainage, and substandard waterproofing lead to a chronically leaky foundation. Our wet climate, clay soils and high seismic activity further conspire against these most vulnerable parts of our homes. To combat this, we have sourced the best waterproofing system on the market. This polypropylene membrane provides unmatched resistance to abrasion, twisting and compression, preventing water from entering your home, even if the wall cracks.

We start every job on the assumption that the more information you have, the more control you will feel over the outcome. That’s why we follow a basic process:

1) Investigate the symptoms – We thoroughly examine the state of affairs both inside and outside your home.

2) Diagnose the cause – Some companies will skip straight from the symptoms (say a leaking wall-floor joint) to recommending a solution. Our preferred method is to excavate small test holes down to the footing to inspect the condition of the foundation and drain tiles. This ensures a more precise diagnosis and repair strategy and is usually the first time the home owner sees the most important part of their home.

3) Solve the problem – Prior to commencing work, we discuss steps, timeline and materials used, as well as the unique process we follow. As we progress, we give you regular status updates and happily answer any questions you may have.