Girdletree, Maryland - Basement that leaked all the time, with or without heavy rains
Challenge
This homeowner called DryZone stating that he was tired of sucking up water with his shop vac. It seemed that every time he went to the basement it was wet. His sump pump didn't seem to be handling the job and he was looking to get rid of the water problems once and for all. The biggest challenge for DryZone inspector, Johnny Scarborough, was that the walls were older in nature. Normally, an inspector will look at the place where the wall meet the floor and determine what kind of drainage system to use. In this case, it looked like the walls and floor had been cemented over at some point. It appeared that someone tried to correct the leaks by spreading a thin layer of cement down the walls and across the floor. This made it impossible to see the seam and choose a drainage solution on sight alone.
Solution
Johnny sat down with the homeowner and explained the solutions that we have available. Together they decided that WaterGuard was a great basement drainage solution. Johnny then explained that when the crew installed the new sump pump they would be able to look at the thickness of the floor. This detail would determine whether or not WaterGuard would work in his basement. If for some reason the floor was too thin, they would switch to DryTrak, which is an above ground drainage system. The homeowner liked that idea and said that he understood the reasoning behind both systems. They are both a great way to keep the water from flooding his basement, DryTrak is just a little more labor intensive. When the crew arrived to install the waterproofing system, the homeowner was delighted to hear that WaterGuard was going to be installed. Once the crew opened up the floor to install a new sump pump, they saw the standard 4 inch floor and knew it was perfect for WaterGuard. This is a great example of what DryZone does to educate our homeowners. They often call the office or send feedback and let us know that the reason they chose DryZone over another company was because of our customer service and the fact that we explain why we are proposing certain things, rather than just telling them its all the same.