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A quality sump pump in your basement is an important investment in flood prone areas. But your sump pump should be the last line of defense instead of the first. If you’re building an exercise or weight room in your basement, consider doing things in addition to installing a sump pump.

For dry Chicago basements, we are the specialists. Reliable Basement Services is a full service Chicagoland basement flood repair, basement waterproofing, and Aurora IL basement remodeling company specializing in basement waterproofing. We know exactly how to give you a comfortable, dry basement. For more information visit our website at ReliableBasement.com or call us at 630 777-0539.

To begin with your home site should be graded to move the water away from your house. The soil must slope away from the basement walls at least six inches in the first 100 feet. A less obvious basement water problem comes from the roof - your gutters and downspouts.

An average 2000 square foot roof produces close to 1200 gallons of water with for every inch of rain. This problem is made worse by clogged gutters or downspouts. To compensate for this you need adequate tile drainage around your foundation.

A dry well chamber surrounded by gravel gives downspout and sump pump water a place to go into the ground away from the foundations of the house. This can be a simple alternative to tearing up existing landscaping and re-grading the whole lot.

Another method of handling poor drainage is a French drain. A traditional French drain is a simple gravel and sand filled trench that leads water away from low-lying areas.

It should have a 1 or 2 percent grade in order to run water away from the house. It should be filled with gravel up to about 5 or 6 inches from the surface, then a few inches of sand and covered with topsoil or a layer of sod. A French drain can be even more effective if you place a perforated drain pipe in the trench.

If water is getting into the interior some distance from the sump pump you can create an interior drain to lead the water from the lead to the pump. This method involves breaking up the floor along the base of the basement walls, digging a trench, and installing drain tiles to carry the water to a sump pump or discharge point. This method does no damage to the room. The trench is then filled with coarse gravel and the floor replaced over the top.

Cracks in your foundation or basement walls can let water in too. When this happens you should contact a basement waterproofing company to repair the cracks with a waterproof caulking material. This should be followed by the application of waterproofing materials that seal the wall surface.