Serving Miami
Groundwater & Basement Water Intrusion in Miami, FL
Basement seepage, failed sumps, and hydrostatic pressure against the foundation are extracted and dried, and the path from the ground is identified so the loss does not repeat. Groundwater and basement seepage are extracted and dried only after the path from the soil is identified — a wall, a slab, a drain, or a failed sump. Drying the interior without stopping that path returns the same water to the same floor.
Frequently asked questions
Only one corner of the tile is wet. How far has the water actually gone?
Farther than the stain. On a Miami slab there is no basement to drop into, so a supply leak or a September sheet travels laterally beneath the tile until it meets a saw cut or a wall. Block cores then take what the floor does not show. A moisture map of the slab and the first course matters more than how large the wet tile looks. Extraction and drying follow that map, not the stain.
The roof is almost flat. Is a September storm really a roof job or a ground job?
It is often both. Low-slope decks pond, and a rusted fastener or a failed scupper puts water into the ceiling while the same afternoon is already ponding at the slab because the table is high. Check the deck and the grade. Ceiling wetness that tracks a storm is the roof; a wet first course with a sound deck is groundwater and runoff. A contractor should meter both before tearing either one open.
The painted block looks dry two days after the flood. Can we skip the dry-out?
Not if the cores are still wet. Concrete block holds water inside the unit, so a wall can feel dry at the paint and still read wet on a meter. Closing the house on that reading leaves a hidden reservoir that will re-wet the finish. Extraction of any remaining standing water, then a closed dry-out with readings in the block, is the order this stock requires.
This FAQ belongs to the Miami page; it is repeated here.