From the hills down to the level neighborhoods near San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito homeowners are universally plagued by the frustration of water intrusion. If it isn’t dampness in crawlspaces, it’s usually a flooded basement or lower living space keeping homeowners awake in a rainstorm. It’s all too common a story of El Cerrito homeowners up all night during atmospheric rivers with a shop vacuum, sump pumps, buckets, and towels, doing anything and everything they can to save their basements from filling up with water.
Many El Cerrito homeowners need drainage improvements around their homes. These houses, built before and during World War 2, were not constructed to account for the kind of inclement weather we face today. Our understanding of the effects of water on mold growth, smells, and loss of heat to humidity give us a keen interest in collecting and diverting water away from the home. It can be dangerous and unhealthy to allow moisture intrusion to persist, even if only seasonally. Not to mention the frustrating strain on the homeowner’s cost to heat their home, since the dampness and humidity rising up from wet crawlspaces and basements will soak up the warmth and create further condensation.
The sloping properties in the hills have the advantage of providing the means to drain groundwater away from foundations by gravity alone. In certain instances downhill, this may be impossible for homeowners who live on level ground. To fight back against the disadvantageous topography, we slope our drain pipes to a sump outside the home where water can be collected, and then pumped out to the gutter at the street. A professional grade sump pump can save your crawlspace and basement from flooding when paired with a proper drainage system.
Call Henry to review the drainage problem at your home. We can find the most suitable solution to the issues keeping you up during stormy winter nights.