Serving Houston
Groundwater & Basement Water Intrusion in Houston, TX
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 bayou never left its banks. Why is there still a foot of water in the street and in the house?
On this clay the street is part of the floodway. Houston storm drains and bayous share the same flat grade, so a September tropical band can fill the pavement without an overbank. Meyerland, Braeswood, and Kingwood see that sheet often. Pavement water is Category 3. Pump it from the slab or the crawl, then decide what flooring can be dried. The bayou gauge is not the only flood test.
We are in the Heights on pier-and-beam. Is a street flood still a slab problem?
No. The rooms may stay dry while the crawl takes the street. That under-floor water still has to be pumped and the joists dried, and it is still contaminated if it came off the pavement. Clay seepage can also wet that bay without a flood. A local pro should look under the house, not only at the finish. Treating a Heights crawl like a Meyerland slab will miss the standing water that is actually there.
A dry summer opened a crack at the slab. Does September rain use that?
Yes. Gulf Coast clay shrinks in the heat and leaves a gap at the stem; the first tropical band then runs down that crack instead of sheeting across the yard. The wet line appears inside, away from any window. That is not always a plumbing leak. Have someone meter the slab edge and the yard grade before opening walls. Closing the gap and carrying roof water away matters as much as the dry-out.
The same questions, in context, on the Houston mold removal page.