Fieldstone Foundation Waterproofing: How to Seal and Protect Your Stone Basement
“They don’t make ‘em like that anymore.” You’ve probably heard or uttered this phrase to describe items like clothes or cars. It also extends to homes, particularly older structures constructed with stone or fieldstone foundations.
Many homes built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries still stand on their original stone foundations. While they stood the test of time, they’re still susceptible to problems, including leaks, making fieldstone foundation waterproofing essential.
Owning a home with a fieldstone foundation means owning a piece of history that deserves special attention and care. Learn what makes your historical home unique and how to safeguard it with proper fieldstone basement waterproofing solutions.
What is a Fieldstone Foundation?
Concrete has long been used for constructing foundations because of its durability, but stone predates this popular material.
Foundations in older homes, particularly those built before 1900, were commonly constructed using fieldstone and mortar. These hand-built stone walls featured uneven stones carefully placed and bonded with a lime-based mortar mix.
These types of foundations are found peppered throughout North America, especially in early settlement towns and cities.
How Do I Know If My Stone Basement Foundation is Damaged?
Stone may be a hardy material, but mortar can wear away over time, and unstable soil and hydrostatic pressure stress the walls, resulting in damage. These basement problems may be tricky to discern, but if you notice the following issues, you may need stone foundation waterproofing:
- Leaking water
- Walls that feel wet
- Wet floors
- Musty odors
- Mold growth
- Condensation on basement windows and ductwork
Are you concerned about multiple issues or wondering about the condition of your stone foundation in general? Don’t hesitate to contact local basement experts for advice, as it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
What Causes Stone Basement Waterproofing Issues?
Now that you know what to look for, you might wonder how and why these issues happen in the first place. Common sources include:
- Soil: Moisture causes many soil types to expand, which can exert significant pressure against foundation walls.
- Precipitation: Heavy rain can erode the ground beneath a home, leading to structural instability.
- Home Age: Older homes, especially those with fieldstone foundations built before the 1900s, often lack modern waterproofing methods, making them more susceptible to water infiltration.
How Can I Protect My Home?
Professional repairs are the best way to address fieldstone foundation waterproofing, but you can take proactive steps to safeguard your home, including:
- Improve Drainage: Ensure proper drainage around your home with positive grading, meaning the soil surrounding your home slopes downward and away from it.
- Routine Inspections and Maintenance: Regularly check your basement’s condition, especially after heavy rain, and maintain existing appliances, including sump pumps.
- Monitor Humidity: Use a hygrometer or place a humidistat in your basement to check humidity levels. Anything above 50% means excessive moisture is present and mold growth is imminent.
- Fix Cracks Before They Worsen: Check for and monitor cracks and voids in stone basement walls. Fix them by repointing the mortar to prevent water from spreading or leaking.
Even with these measures in place, your home may still require professionally installed stone foundation waterproofing solutions. Discover repairs customized to meet your home’s unique needs during a free evaluation.
What’s the Best Fieldstone Basement Waterproofing Solution?
Many tasks, including those listed above, are simple to complete on your own. However, waterproofing stone foundation areas is not one of them. These older structures require meticulous attention and proper materials.
Some companies shy away from fixing older homes with complex issues, but Groundworks is not one of them. Our experienced pros have the right tools and training to effectively tackle the challenge head-on.
This is how to waterproof a stone foundation the Groundworks way:
Install Interior Drainage
Intercepting leaking water before it reaches the rest of the basement is crucial. We start by placing an interior drainage system in the sub-floor to collect water that leaks through walls, floors, and the cove joint (where the wall meets the floor). Many older homes were built without the modern footing or flooring techniques we use today, and may have dirt floors instead. If this is the case, we’ll use our crawl space drainage system, which is designed to sit in the soil.
Add a Sump Pump
Water collected by the interior drains needs somewhere to go instead of saturating your basement. The drains connect to a sump pump that collects this water and pumps it out of the basement and away from your home. Opting for a backup battery means added peace of mind, as it ensures continued sump pump operation during power failure.
Cover Walls with a Vapor Barrier
Not all fieldstone basement walls are smooth; they may have jagged or irregularly sized stones, which can be dangerous. Covering the walls with a vapor barrier provides multiple benefits, including improving the appearance of the walls and aiding in the waterproofing process. Any moisture or wall leaks are directed behind the waterproof and mold-resistant vapor barrier and into the interior drainage system. This vapor barrier can also be used to cover dirt floors, similar to crawl space encapsulation.
Install a Dehumidifier
A premium basement dehumidifier is an excellent solution for controlling basement humidity levels. This compact yet robust unit can extract up to 100 pints of moisture from the air per day. By eliminating excess humidity, dehumidifiers help prevent mold formation while simultaneously improving the air quality inside your home.
These solutions make up a comprehensive fieldstone basement waterproofing system, but your basement may only need some of them. We understand every home is unique, and your home deserves solutions tailored to meet its unique challenges and repair needs.
Protect Your Historic Home the Right Way: Trust Groundworks
There is so much we can learn from history. Unfortunately, many aspects seem to fade away over time, so it’s important to preserve as much as we can for future generations. This includes homes with fieldstone foundations. These unique structures deserve care and upkeep so they can continue to shine for another 100 years.
Groundworks teams have more than 50 years of experience with repairing and protecting homes from all eras, built with all types of foundations. We know how regional factors, like soil and precipitation, affect different structures, and we’re experienced in stone foundation waterproofing. Contact us today to schedule a free inspection and estimate, and let us help you protect your historic home.
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