Moisture In Basement Floor Cracks

However even small cracks in the basement floor can allow water moisture and radon to enter into the basement.

Moisture in basement floor cracks.

Floor moisture and moisture vapor can be cause for concern whether the slab is newly poured or many decades old and regardless of location. If your basement is cluttered eliminating some of the junk will help air to flow more freely as well. In a nutshell this system is installed beneath a basement floor to collect ground water and pump it out before it gets high enough to push up through basement floor cracks and or the cove joint. If you don t have ac adding a fan and running it a few hours a day can help to distribute moisture.

While the industry doesn t have all the answers it can be said that moisture issues in concrete floors tend to arise from one of two sources. The practice reduces the chances of moisture seeing into the concrete basement floor. While floor cracks typically do not pose a problem for the structural integrity of a home it is still important for them to be properly filled and sealed so that moisture can t seep inside and cause problems. The cracks are easy to repair.

Cracks wider than inch should be sealed to help keep water moisture soil smells and radon gas from seeping through the basement floor. Often times a crack in the floor of a basement is caused from the natural shrinking and curing process of the concrete used to pour the floor itself. You will begin to notice hairline cracks within 12 months of the basement floor being poured. Concrete science is still evolving.

Insulating the places where condensation builds up can also help to eliminate moisture. Covering those places such as walls pipes and ducts with insulation will help keep warm air from coming in contact with the cool surfaces thus preventing condensation. With such tools and materials you should widen the cracks. Soil that contains clay will expand when it becomes wet creating enough upward pressure to crack and lift a slab floor.

This sort of damage suggests soil expansion beneath the basement floor. The damping agent creates an impermeable layer and hence keep moisture in concrete slab. All you need is a mallet cold chisel putty knife and patching cement. How to fix the basement concrete floor moisture problem 1.

In this method damping agent such as liquid epoxy damp proof membrane is applied for an existing concrete floor system. Attempting to seal the cove joint or floor cracks is not a recommended repair strategy for situations where water is seeping in from beneath the floor. It is used for slabs that suffered moisture problems due to lack of moisture prevention means or failure of moisture prevention system.