Serving Flint
Groundwater & Basement Water Intrusion in Flint, MI
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
The house next door is empty and water is coming toward us.
A vacant building is a genuine risk to its neighbors and it is worth acting on rather than waiting. An unheated house freezes and a split line runs continuously, saturating the ground around it and, on clay, pushing water toward whatever is downhill. Reporting it to the city is the practical route, and documenting what you can see, with dates, both supports that and protects you later if the water reaches your foundation.
Our basement has no drain tile. What is realistic?
An interior perimeter drain and a sump, which gives arriving water somewhere to go other than the finished part of the basement. On clay the water reaches the wall and the floor joint regardless of grading, so relieving that pressure is what changes the outcome. It is disruptive to install, and it is the single most effective retrofit available in housing of this era and this soil.
Is the building sewer worth having inspected?
On a house of this age, yes, and it is inexpensive relative to what it finds. Clay and early cast iron sewers from the mid-century separate at the joints and take root intrusion, and a partially blocked line makes every heavy rain worse because the drainage that would clear a basement is slowed. A camera inspection tells you whether the public system is your only problem or one of two.
This FAQ belongs to the Flint page; it is repeated here.