Serving Plattsburgh
Groundwater & Basement Water Intrusion in Plattsburgh, NY
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 sat empty over the winter and we came back to water everywhere.
That is the classic failure here and it is almost always a supply line rather than a roof. A line in an unheated space freezes, splits, and then releases at full pressure the moment the space warms enough to thaw, which can be weeks later. The volume is large because nothing stops it. Shutting the main and draining the system for any unoccupied period through the winter prevents essentially all of it.
Why do we get ice dams when the neighbors do not?
Heat loss, not weather. A dam forms when the upper roof is warm enough to melt snow while the eave stays below freezing, so the meltwater refreezes at the edge and backs up under the covering. Two houses on the same street can have very different attic insulation and air sealing, and that difference is the whole story. Raking snow off the eave treats the symptom; sealing attic bypasses is what actually stops it.
It barely rains here. Why does the basement get wet in April?
Because months of precipitation arrive at once. Snowpack holds a whole winter of water, and a warm week releases it into ground that is still frozen a foot or two down and cannot absorb it. The result is a saturated collar around the foundation for several days, which is far more demanding than any June storm. Gutters and grading that never mattered in summer matter a great deal during that week.
The Plattsburgh overview carries this FAQ with the city research.