Flooded Yards Cause Flooded Basements
Erie and Niagara Counties have seen a resurgence in the beautiful art of landscaping. There were 15 garden walks in the month of July alone. Our residents could grab a cup of coffee and on any given weekend, walk through residential backyards throughout the city of Buffalo, NY; the Town of Tonawanda, NY; Lockport, NY; Lewiston, NY, and the list goes on. You see the light bulb of inspiration glow above the heads of each of the passersby, and the exclamation of joy when they find the flower they had been looking for and are able to grab a few seeds to propagate their own backyard glory. You see topiaries and Bonsai dwarfed by their original counterpart just behind them, as the light dapples through the leaves of the mighty Maple established in front of, or behind, most of our backyards.
Beautiful? Yes. Is it enriching our neighborhoods? Absolutely. Is all this landscaping causing damage to our homes? You bet. Here in Tonawanda, NY, and in the older areas of Buffalo, as well as our nearby villages, our neighborhoods are getting older, our homes are getting bigger with each addition we feel the need to attach to our house, and our trees are finally canopying our streets with a dream-like quality. But what lurks underneath all the colorful shades of garden? Roots, cement foundations and oftentimes, no drainage system in place to allow the water to escape.
Western New York has extreme weather and dense clay soil. We have hot summers, frigid winters, and all the snow and springtime rain you could ever want. But lately, the melting snow and spring monsoons are taking until July to dry out. Once they finally do, the ground is so dry you see soil cracks in your lawn and if you look closely, you’ll see the soil pulling away from your foundation. This extreme expansion and contraction also tugs and pushes at our homes’ foundation and soon you begin to see water coming from the walls, or cracking floors and corners where your basement is adjusting to the soil’s charge. This is a big problem.
Not only is water inside your home a hotbed for bacteria and mold, a condition that soon permeates your home as you turn the furnace or central air system on pumping the basement air throughout your home, but it also weakens your home’s structure. Soon you notice windows sticking, floors buckling, and doors jamming. This is no joke. It can destroy a home in the long run and you suddenly realize the problem will only get better with a solution that costs thousands of dollars to do correctly.
Do yourself a favor; once you notice pooling water near your home that won’t go away, put in an exterior drainage system that will change the direction of the water and guide it to the water system at your street - away from your home.
If you notice cracks in your walls that are small but growing. Don’t wait. Take care of it early before you begin to see damage in other areas of your shifting home.
Notice the signs and call for an appointment to have a certified drainage and foundation professional come out to see what’s happening, and more importantly, what’s causing it to happen. Catch it early and the cost won’t be as great. Catch it early and prevent additional damage to the rest of your home. Catch it early and welcome each season without trepidation of what you will see at the foundation of your home.
This year we had more people calling us for exterior drainage work than we could handle without compromising the quality of our work. We actually had to tell our potential customers they would have to wait until next year before we could take care of the problem. Wait, and you don’t control the situation. Wait and you can cause damage to areas of your home you aren’t even thinking about. Wait and you may have to spend the winter worrying about what spring will bring.
Call for a free estimate for whatever is concerning you now. We can do interior work throughout the winter months. You can even get a jumpstart by scheduling exterior work as early as possible.
Our drainage and foundation specialists are certified professionals. Our crews are vigorously trained on the latest structural solutions and drainage options. The estimate is free to the homeowner and will put your mind at ease.
Please read the “about us/ testimonials” section of our website to see what our clients are saying. Or take a look at our “Meet the Team” section of our website to read about our sales staff and leadership team.
