Crawl Space & Basement Waterproofing Services in Cloquet, MN

We Offer Interior Waterproofing, Exterior Waterproofing & Crawl Space Encapsulation

If you have a basement or crawl space prone to flooding, you know the dread that comes with every rain storm. Will there be water? How much time will it take to clean up?

If you have a finished basement, how much will it cost to repair any damage? If these fears sound familiar, it might be time to look into basement waterproofing for your Cloquet, Minnesota, home.

At Alliance Inc., we offer a full array of waterproofing options so we can work with you to choose what is suitable for your house.

Is the best solution going to be exterior waterproofing to keep water away from your house, to begin with, or perhaps interior waterproofing, directing any water that enters your basement walls to a sump pump and out of your home without causing any damage or flooding?

If you have a crawl space, encapsulate and waterproof it to avoid the structural and other damage that water can wreak.

Whichever fits your home best, we will work with you to ensure the work is effective and efficient so you no longer have to feel dread with every heavy rain.

Exterior Waterproofing

Depending on the severity of the problem and what is causing the water problems, we can employ several different exterior waterproofing options.

Chances are, your home already has gutters, but if they aren’t in good condition, we can have gutters installed.

French Drains and Channel Drains

One of the main goals of exterior waterproofing is to direct water away from your house.

French and channel or trench drains are two options. Both use perforated or slotted pipes to carry the water away.

They differ in how the water gets to the slotted pipe.

With a French drain, a ditch is dug, and the pipe is inserted at a grade that directs the water away from the house. The pipe is then covered with gravel, which is sometimes covered with soil.

This type of drain is ideal for homes where the problem is water that has been absorbed into the soil and is gaining entry to the basement walls or other parts of the house.

If your issue is with surface water, a channel or trench drain is likely optimal. Unlike the French drain, gravel is not used to drain toward the pipe.

Instead, a metal grating is installed at the surface, targeting water as soon as it hits the ground rather than waiting for it to seep into the soil.

Catch basins also allow for the collection and dissipation of water in ways that won’t threaten the rest of the basement.

Waterproofing membranes

While those methods direct water away from your house, reducing the hydrostatic pressure, a different option is to build up the defenses of your basement walls against water from the outside. That is where waterproofing membranes come in.

After excavations are made to expose the basement walls, a drainage board is installed to prevent water from entering through them. The board also insulates the basement, which can be helpful if you use it as a living space.

Interior Basement Waterproofing

An interior drainage system is among the most popular waterproofing solutions because it is generally less expensive and, in some ways, less intrusive than exterior waterproofing solutions.

While it won’t prevent other issues caused by pooling or improperly draining water the way exterior drainage systems can, a properly installed drainage system will keep your basement dry.

Sump Pumps

Outside of a dehumidifier, a sump pump is probably the first product that comes to mind when considering basement waterproofing.

Sump pumps take water collected in a sump pit and pump it out of the house. They usually discharge in an area of your yard where the grade will direct it away from the house.

The cover of the sump pit is usually flush with your basement floor.

Interior Drainage Systems

The question then becomes, how does water get to the sump pit?

An interior drainage system is one of the most common and effective ways, especially if your basement has block walls.

First, we excavate around the basement perimeter, cutting through the basement floor. That provides space to lay drain tile next to the walls.

If you have block walls, we drill holes to drain water in the walls into the tile. The tile is laid so that any water drains into the sump pit.

The drain tile is then covered back up with concrete, leveling the area to the rest of the floor.

Waterproofing for New Construction

Sometimes, the best time to waterproof a new home or business is during construction.

Often done in concert with our insulated concrete form installation, Alliance can install a waterproofing system during construction.

This comes with several potential benefits.

First, waterproofing can be a significant selling point if a developer is building a home or business.

Second, waterproofing a home will inevitably be disruptive to some degree. Ditches must be dug outside, or portions of the concrete floor will be broken up inside.

If the home is still under construction, no such disruption occurs.

Crawl Space Encapsulation

But what about homes that have a crawl space instead of a basement?

They certainly can still have water problems. Damp or wet crawl spaces can lead to mold, mildew, and wood rot. If your floor joists start to rot, it will cause””spong”” floors, among other issues.

However, because crawl spaces are rarely used for anything other than storage, their waterproofing is done differently.

Encapsulating a crawl space involves sealing the whole area off so that no moisture can get in, whether through the walls or the floor.

As a key portion of this, we will install a vapor barrier that stops water from entering the crawl space. This prevents flooding and keeps the humidity from rising too high and causing issues on its own.

Looking for a Basement Waterproofing Expert Near You in Cloquet? Contact Us for a Free Estimate

Does your Cloquet, Minnesota, home have water problems? Are you building a home in an area prone to flooded basements? If so, contact Alliance today for a free estimate. We will lay out your waterproofing options and explain which we believe would best suit your home.