Picture this: You’ve been looking forward to your vacation for months. Your bags are packed, your itinerary is set, and you’re ready to finally unwind. But as you step out the door and lock it behind you, that nagging worry creeps in, “What if my basement floods while I’m away?” It’s a valid concern. You know that your sump pump won’t turn on if the power goes out and your spouse convinced you a battery backup wasn’t necessary. You’re in quite the dilemma.
As a homeowner, safeguarding your basement against flooding should be a top priority. A flooded basement can result in extensive damage, costly repairs, and a host of headaches you’d rather avoid. But how prepared are you to prevent basement floods and mitigate their consequences? Let’s find out by asking ten critical questions to assess your flood readiness.
Windsor-Essex has a strange relationship with Spring melt. Winter snow comes and goes. Temperatures fluctuate. We go back and forth between two weeks of rain and thaw and then two weeks of snow and ground freezing. Rather than one big Spring melt, we have multiple smaller ones.
This back and forth causes soil to become clogged with water, creating a tremendous amount of hydrostatic pressure. This hydrostatic pressure forces water through your foundation walls or the mortar holding cement blocks together. On top of this, Windsor has a high-water table, sitting only 2 meters below ground level in some areas. Water has few places to travel to, which is why it forces its way into your home through your foundation.
The way this blog is titled, there are two ways to look at it: Where homes are most likely to flood inside the home, and where homes are most likely to flood in our geographical area. I’m going to answer both. One answer is much simpler than the other. Let’s dive in.