Eighty-five percent of all basements leak in their lifetime. Once you understand how a home is built and how water behaves, you’ll understand why a basement leaks. Interestingly, your home is built to leak from day one. One of the first things a builder does is they dig the hole for the foundation to be built in. Water from many places, surface runoff and water from the below grade sources will accumulate at the bottom of this hole.
You will notice that as the foundation is being built, the footer, wall and floor are poured at different times forming a path of least resistance for water to flow between these three separate pieces. As the home ages, the wall, floor and footer expand and contract at different rates creating a larger path of least resistance for water to enter your basement.
