Large Basement Waterproofing in North Andover, MA

Monday, June 17th, 2024 by Marcus Girard

Challenge

Unpredictable wet basements can be a nightmare for those who use it for storage space. A daycare in North Andover, Massachusetts used the basement to store miscellaneous educational items in, as well as office space. With water coming in on all sides of the foundation, the already existing sump that was installed was unable to capture the large amounts of water from the high water table. With worry that personal items in the basement could get damaged every time it rains, the owners of the daycare reached out to Erickson Foundation Solutions.

After an appointment was made through our Customer Care team, our Design Specialist, Debra Rayborn, went out to the daycare center to provide a thorough inspection. Once Debra identified key problem areas where water entered the foundation, she recommended a waterproofing system that would permanently keep the basement dry. This waterproofing system was composed of:

171' of WaterGuard perimeter drainage
20' of TrenchDrain surface drainage
1 TripleSafe sump pump
2 UltraSump sump pumps
4 IceGuard discharge line freeze-prevention systems
2 LawnScape wells

Solution

Once the daycare owners accepted the proposal, an installation date was scheduled. Our installation crew arrived at 8am of the installation date to start the four-day project. Due to how large the basement was, foreman Anthony LoCascio found it would be optimal to divide the work into two sections. The crew's objective was to fully waterproof the storage section of the basement, and then waterproof the office section.

The first step was to demo the last three stairs on the staircase that led to the basement. This was necessary in order to have access to the foundation so WaterGuard could be installed. Our crew then chipped out concrete around the perimeter of the foundation in order to install WaterGuard. Our crew took the proper precautions to protect any personal items that were still remaining in the basement. After jackhammering the perimeter of the first section and digging down 24 inches to create a sump basin, the debris was placed into buckets and lugged out into our company truck. This jackhammering can be a dusty process, so our team made sure to sweep the basement after the trenching was complete. With the groundwork now laid out, WaterGuard, TrenchDrain, and the TripleSafe were put in place. With WaterGuard installed to the perimeter of the basement, the water is collected before being exposed to the basement and filtered to the sump pump basin. TrenchDrain is a surface drainage that was installed to reroute water around the oil tank, since it could not be moved. TrenchDrain and WaterGuard are connected to create one flow of water to the sump basin. The TripleSafe is a three-pump system, composed of the cast-iron Zoeller ⅓ horsepower sump pump, Zoeller ½ horsepower pump, and battery backup pump. The primary pump is set for normal functioning. The secondary pump is placed slightly higher in the TripleSafe liner, activated if larger amounts of water enter the basin. Lastly, the battery-powered backup pump operates in the event of a power outage, ensuring that water gets pumped out of the basement at all times. This backup pump includes illuminated plugs, battery-operated emergency LED lights, a resettable fuse, and is compatible with the TimeMachine data logger, which gives you instant access to real-time data about your system. After all of these systems were implemented, they were tested to ensure the proper flow of water to the sump basin and then cemented in place.

A similar process was then applied to the office side of the basement. Our crew was very cautious of the finished space, demoing the lower portion of drywall and chipping out as minimal of the tile floor necessary in order to install the WaterGuard system. TrenchDrain was once again installed, this time to reroute water around the furnace. Two UltraSump sump pumps were installed, rather than the TripleSafe that was installed in the storage area of the basement. The UltraSump can pump out up to 12,000 gallons of water on a fully charged battery! Since water was less invasive in the area, these pumps operate as an additional safety net to protect the bulkhead stair entrance and finished office space.

The last step for the crew was to install the exterior discharge systems for all the pumps. The discharge lines were plumbed from the sump pumps to various outside locations. IceGuard was attached to all of the discharge lines in order to prevent water from freezing in these pipes. We heavily recommend installing IceGuard to discharge systems, as prozen pipes lead to a backup of water which can flood the basement. LawnScape wells were also added to the end of the discharge system to prevent debris from entering the PVC piping, as well as add a more aesthetically pleasing look.

After our crew completed the installation and cleaned the area, a final walkthrough was performed with the owner of the daycare to showcase the work that was done and answer any questions that were left remaining. They were thrilled that the basement space has now become a safe space for both the office and storage!