Condo Media - November 2014 - 12
by Jack Carr, P.E., RS, LEED-AP
C A I
R e g i o n a l
N e w s
MAINE
Water Kills
A Proper Plan Can Help Keep Basements Dry
Y
es, water kills buildings. It
is probably why they built
the pyramids in the desert.
Unauthorized water in a
building comes in many forms, from
roof leaks to flooded basements and
from façade moisture infiltration to
plumbing problems. Though condo
buildings come in many different style
and construction types, all can experience damage from water. For this
short article, let us focus on the typical
condominium's foundation and the
common issues faced in keeping it dry.
Foundations are usually constructed
with poured concrete or concrete block.
Modern foundations are protected with
a waterproof coating on the exterior
surface and a foundation drain around
the foundation perimeter at the base of
the footing and often with an underslab drainage system with an associated
sump pump. With these operating properly, basements should be dry.
If a modern foundation (less than 30
years old) experiences water infiltration, something is not working right
and the source is probably surface
water. If someone tells you it is due to
rising ground water, be skeptical. Keep
in mind the water table is the depth in
the earth that is permanently saturated
with water. By building code, modern
foundation basement slabs are built
above the water table. If the water
table is too high, then the building will
not have a basement, but rather, it will
be built on a slab on grade. If you have
any question about where the water
table is, the municipal code officer or a
local foundation excavating contractor
can help.
Therefore, if your foundation is leaking, you need a two-step action plan.
12
Condo Media * November 2014
First, fix the wall problem allowing
water to infiltrate into the basement;
second, minimize surface water reaching the exterior of the foundation wall.
As it will prove difficult and expensive
to reapply waterproofing to the exterior wall, the typical repair is a pressure
injection of polyurethane or other type
of foam product into cracks in the wall.
The second step is just as important.
Surface water comes from a variety
of sources. It can be rain or snow melt
on the roof, rain falling on the soil near
the foundation, or water from nearby
sloping land. Roof gutters are supposed
to divert water away from the building, but often they are the primary
source of water to the ground around
the foundation. Gutters are frequently
poorly designed by either being undersized in handling the flow of water
off the roof area, do not have enough
downspouts to handle the quantity of
runoff water, or the gutter/downspout
is broken or incorrectly placed.
If gutters are installed too low at
the roof edge, steep roofs will create a
velocity in the laminar flow of water to
overshoot the gutter during heavy rain
events. Downspouts often discharge
Condo Media - November 2014
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - November 2014
Contents
From the CED’s Desk
Editorial Board
CAI News
CAI Regional News
Asked & Answered
Homeowner’s Corner
Maintenance
Management
Focus on Fees
Vendor Spotlight
Finance
Volunteer Spotlight
CAI-NE 2014 Management Directory
Classifi ed Service Directory
Advertisers Index
Condo Media - November 2014 - Cover1
Condo Media - November 2014 - Cover2
Condo Media - November 2014 - Contents
Condo Media - November 2014 - From the CED’s Desk
Condo Media - November 2014 - 3
Condo Media - November 2014 - Editorial Board
Condo Media - November 2014 - 5
Condo Media - November 2014 - CAI News
Condo Media - November 2014 - 7
Condo Media - November 2014 - 8
Condo Media - November 2014 - 9
Condo Media - November 2014 - 10
Condo Media - November 2014 - 11
Condo Media - November 2014 - CAI Regional News
Condo Media - November 2014 - 13
Condo Media - November 2014 - 14
Condo Media - November 2014 - 15
Condo Media - November 2014 - 16
Condo Media - November 2014 - 17
Condo Media - November 2014 - 18
Condo Media - November 2014 - 19
Condo Media - November 2014 - 20
Condo Media - November 2014 - 21
Condo Media - November 2014 - Asked & Answered
Condo Media - November 2014 - 23
Condo Media - November 2014 - Homeowner’s Corner
Condo Media - November 2014 - 25
Condo Media - November 2014 - Maintenance
Condo Media - November 2014 - 27
Condo Media - November 2014 - Management
Condo Media - November 2014 - 29
Condo Media - November 2014 - 30
Condo Media - November 2014 - 31
Condo Media - November 2014 - Focus on Fees
Condo Media - November 2014 - 33
Condo Media - November 2014 - 34
Condo Media - November 2014 - 35
Condo Media - November 2014 - 36
Condo Media - November 2014 - 37
Condo Media - November 2014 - 38
Condo Media - November 2014 - 39
Condo Media - November 2014 - Vendor Spotlight
Condo Media - November 2014 - 41
Condo Media - November 2014 - Finance
Condo Media - November 2014 - 43
Condo Media - November 2014 - 44
Condo Media - November 2014 - 45
Condo Media - November 2014 - Volunteer Spotlight
Condo Media - November 2014 - 47
Condo Media - November 2014 - CAI-NE 2014 Management Directory
Condo Media - November 2014 - 49
Condo Media - November 2014 - 50
Condo Media - November 2014 - 51
Condo Media - November 2014 - 52
Condo Media - November 2014 - 53
Condo Media - November 2014 - 54
Condo Media - November 2014 - 55
Condo Media - November 2014 - 56
Condo Media - November 2014 - 57
Condo Media - November 2014 - Classifi ed Service Directory
Condo Media - November 2014 - Advertisers Index
Condo Media - November 2014 - 60
Condo Media - November 2014 - 61
Condo Media - November 2014 - 62
Condo Media - November 2014 - 63
Condo Media - November 2014 - 64
Condo Media - November 2014 - Cover3
Condo Media - November 2014 - Cover4
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