Basement waterproofing and crawl space repair in WI

Sure-Dry named finalist for Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce Award

Fri, May 18 2012, 00:00:00 -500

Sure-Dry Basement Systems, Inc. has been named a finalist for the Exemplary Marketing/Performance Award by the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce.

Each business applying had to demonstrate areas of outstanding achievement in four categories: Style of communication, new technologies, traditional marketing channels and results of these marketing efforts.

Sure-Dry will be competing with two other local businesses and the winner be announced at the Fox Cities Chamber Business Awards Luncheon on June 6 from 11a.m.-1:30p.m. at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton, WI. If you would like to attend the event please click here to register events.foxcitieschamber.com

Why Using Just Any Dehumidifier Won't Work

Wed, May 9 2012, 00:00:00 -500

When “dry” means – feels dry, smells dry, and looks dry.

Just because you have a waterproofing system, doesn’t mean you have a dry basement. It’s confusing, but bear with me, because this is important.

There are 4 ways basements become wet or damp:

1. Groundwater leakage.

2. Capillary action. It means wicking. For example, a block wall may not leak, but it feels damp because it’s wicking the water inside it to the surface like a sponge.

3. Water vapor coming through your walls and floor.

4. The last way is from an exterior air leaking into your basement. This is not a problem as long as the outside air is cooler than the basement. It’s the warmer, summertime air that moves lots of water into our basement.

- So whenever the outside air is warmer than the inside air, and especially when it’s humid outside air, we are likely to have a condensation problem in our subterranean levels. This is because the Relative Humidity of air goes up 2.2% for each one-degree you cool it. Our basements are always cool because they are below ground. And we know that a house is like a chimney – air flows upwards, allowing air to escape the upper levels, with new air being sucked in at the lower levels.

Why Household Dehumidifiers Just Don’t Do the Job

1. They are too small.

2. The cold air coil (the actual thing that takes the water out of the air) is too small.

3. The fan is too small (it has to be so it doesn’t blow the air past the dinky coil too fast, otherwise it wouldn’t take any water out)

4. The fan doesn’t circulate the dry air around your basement – because it’s too small.

5. The usually aren’t drained automatically, so the bucket fills up and they shut off.

6. They are rated (25 pints, 30 pints, 40 pints, etc.) per day at 80 degrees air temperature. Warm air holds a lot more moisture than cold air. Put them in a 68 degree basement and their effectiveness goes way down below this number.

Owner of Sure-Dry Basement Systems Featured on BBB Website

Wed, April 18 2012, 00:00:00 -500

Menasha, WI - Sure-Dry Basement Systems is proud to announce that Doug Newhouse, the company’s owner, is pictured on the homepage of the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau’s website. As a finalist for the 2011 Business Ethics Torch Awards, Doug is shown alongside the headline “Start Your Search With Trust,” a reference to finding trustworthy businesses in the area.

With a focus on performance, trust and integrity, the Business Ethics Torch Awards were created to honor ethical Wisconsin companies and charities that build trust, advertise honestly, tell the truth, remain transparent and keep their promises.

As owner and president of Sure-Dry Basement Systems, Doug brings over 20 years of experience in the building trades and the basement waterproofing industry to helping homeowners resolve their wet-basement needs. He has been featured on Straight Talk, the radio program of the BBB, and his company regularly participates in community events such as Habitat for Humanity projects.

Sure-Dry Basement Systems provides basement waterproofing, crawl space repair, and foundation repair to residents in Northeastern and Central Wisconsin. They use their experience and dedication to help customers reclaim lost space and restore home value. Part of a national network of waterproofing specialists, Sure-Dry Basement Systems has access to the highest quality products and latest technology used in more than 200,000 basements.

Sure-Dry Basement Systems specializes in basement waterproofing in Appleton, WI. Visit them for a free basement waterproofing estimate if you life in the Fox Cities, Appleton, Oshkosh, Green Bay, Wausau and other surrounding areas.

Alternate Battery Back-up Power Sources

Mon, April 9 2012, 00:00:00 -500

Alternate Battery-Back-up Power Sources

To follow-up on last week’s blog post about the Importance of a Battery Back-up System, this week I’m writing a post about alternate power sources of that battery back-up.

Some alternate power sources for sump pumps appeared on the market in recent years that sounded great at first review. One is a battery power system for your primary AC operated pump. When the power goes out the system converts the DC power to AC power and runs your only sump pump. The manufacturer will tell you that it’s better since your primary AC operated pump will normally pump more than a DC operated one. This is true, but not a key issue in most cases. The main issue or problem here is that you have only one pump. If the pump fails you get flooded despite this back-up protection. Secondly, converting DC to AC power is very inefficient. You lose more than half of your power in the process. So your primary pump will run and pump plenty of water out, but not for long. In our test it was only one hour of time and then the batteries went dead. Since the primary pump we used pumped 2200 gallons an hour, it was just 2200 gallons of protection this system offered.

The next type of system that sounds good is another single-pump system that can be used as a primary and back-up pump in one unit. It is actually a DC pump with batteries hooked up to it. When the power is on the AC is converted to DC to run the pump. When the power is off the pump runs on the batteries. Sounds good. But you only have one pump and if it fails you’re dead in the water. In addition, no matter how strong the DC pump, you only get as much water out equal to the amount of battery power you put behind the pumps.

Importance of a Back-up Pumping System

Tue, April 3 2012, 00:00:00 -500

Importance of a Back-up Pumping system

It is important to note that there are many kinds of "back-up" systems on the market. When it comes to back-up equipment, the variance of quality is a chasm. The low-end equipment most often will not work when you need it to and the folks like you who buy back-up pumping equipment really need and want the protection.

To give you an example, nearly all suppliers of back-up equipment do not supply batteries. Batteries are heavy and expensive and difficult to ship. Instead, they leave it to the contractor to go to the automotive store and buy a car battery. Car batteries are not made for this application. Their ampere-hour capacity diminishes quickly after a year and this application will not get the "gallonage" out of your basement when you need it to.

Other suppliers provide expensive back-up pumping systems with batteries that need maintenance every 6 months. If you don't remember, you are out-of-luck. Sealed, maintenance-free batteries are the only sensible option.

Float switches are extremely important too. The best pump in the world needs to have a switch to tell it when to go on and off. Many primary and back-up pump systems come with a tethered float switch - a "ball-on-a-wire" design. These have to swing up and down to operate and commonly get hung up - and cause a flood.

No pump or back-up pump is perfect. But so many are really pitiful protection. That's why Basement Systems' TripleSafe and UltraSump are specifically engineered to do what we need them to when we need them to do it.

Do you want this?

OR THIS!?

The pump is only part of your sump pump system

Tue, February 28 2012, 00:00:00 -500

The Sump Liner

You don’t want your pump to clog up in a muddy hole in the floor. And you don’t want it in a 5-gallon bucket that doesn’t hold a lot of water and will cause the pump to “short cycle” (go on and off very quickly). Instead, you should have a sturdy liner or housing for your sump pump with holes in it to accept water directly from the ground as well as a larger inelet hole to allow your perimeter drainage systems to empty into it. There should be about 100 3/8-inch holes in it. The liner should be about 2 feet deep and about 18 inches wide, and should have a rim that accepts a sealed cover.

Lifetime Warranty?

No pump manufacturer gives a lifetime warranty on their pumps – and there is a good reason why. A lifetime warranty doesn’t make a pump better. Some irresponsible contractors will tell you there is a lifetime warranty (or many years) on their pump – “free replacements forever” – to seduce you to buy their whole solution. This is irresponsible. Ask yourself, “How do I know when to call to get my free replacement?” The answer is when your basement is flooded, which is exactly what you spent your money on in the first place to stop from happening. The damage will be done, and the 10 year, 20 year, or lifetime warranty won’t help you.

Airtight Sump Lid

The sump should have an airtight lid on it to prevent water from evaporating out of the sump hole into your basement, to stop stuff from falling in that can clog the pump or switch, and to quiet the system. Depending on the cover, it can also make the installation look good too. Instead of a necessary evil in your home, you have a thoughtfully engineered system. On top of the sump lid you should have a floor drain. Not if, but when you have a plumbing leak and the water floods out onto the basement floor, you’ll want to use your sump hole to drain the water away. With an airtight lid, the water will fill up your basement. (Unlike groundwater leaks, plumbing leaks and the damage they cause might be covered by your homeowner’s insurance.) Putting a floor drain in the sump lid is the answer. But wait, won’t a sump drain allow water vapor to evaporate into my basement? Not with Basement Systems’ airtight floor drain. This places a specially designed cup and ball underneath the floor drain which allows water to go down, but doesn’t allow air to come up.

A Stand for the Pump

A “CleanPump Stand” will elevate the pump off the bottom of the sump liner a bit, allowing for some sediment, mud, debris, or gravel that washes into the sump liner to settle to the bottom of the sump liner without clogging or otherwise affecting the pump. It also keeps the check valve and discharge pipe clean. A check valve (one-way valve) should be installed on all sump pump discharge lines, so when the pump shuts off, the water in the pipe doesn’t flow back into the sump hole, which would then have to be pumped again on the next cycle.

Pump Alarms

How would you know if your sump pump has failed and you were in danger of being flooded? Unless you have an alarm, the answer is, when your basement floods, which is just what you are trying to avoid. A battery powered alarm that sounds off automatically when the water reaches a level above the point where the pump(s) should normally turn on is essential. The patented WaterWatch alarm does just that, telling you there is a problem before the floor gets we, so you have a chance to do something about it.

Why you shouldn't excavate to fix your basement water problem

Tue, February 21 2012, 00:00:00 -500

One way to fix a wet basement is to dig up the earth outside around your foundation and waterproof the walls and install a new footing drain. This is almost never a good option. Why?

First of all you’ll be replacing the same systems that failed you the first time and even if you did how long would it last this time?

The big problem is the excavation itself however. You have to dig down to the bottom of the footing, about 8 feet deep. Picture standing in a trench, looking up at where the grass used to be. An 8-foot deep trench has to be at least 8 feet wide at the top (12 fee if you ask OSHA). And where will all that dirt that comes our of that hole go? It’s piled up in the rest of you yard. You can expect about 25 feet of your yard all the way around your home to be destroyed.

Everything in this area has to be removed and replaced, including porches, driveways, sidewalks, landscaping, air conditioning units, decks, steps and so on. Then after the work is done, the dirt that was excavated – which is now fluffed up and loose on your lawn, is put back in the trench. It will take years for this dirt to settle, and as it does, new dirt has to be added against the foundation to keep the slope away from the house. Then you can put your driveway, sidewalks, decks, porches and landscaping back. This is reason enough not to consider doing the job from the outside.

If you need more reason to dismiss the disaster idea, how about these:

1. Where will the drain go to? If you don’t’ have a lot of slope on your property to take the pipe out to daylight, then you need to bring the pipe inside the foundation to a sump pump anyway.

2. Exterior excavation does not address water vapor coming through your basement walls and floor.

3. Nor does this method address humidity – and won’t ensure that mold won’t grow either.

4. What if something goes wrong and there is still a little seepage? What will you do then? Dig it all up again? Outside systems are not serviceable.

5. It costs a lot of money – like up to $20,000 to go all the way around your home!

Hopefully we can now close the book on this option.

Negative Effects of the Air in your Damp or Wet Basement

Mon, January 30 2012, 00:00:00 -500

Negative Effects of the Air in your Damp or Wet Basement

As warm air rises in a home it leaks out of the upper levels. New air must enter to replace the air that escaped. In fact, in an average home about half of the air in the home escapes each hour out of the upper levels. This creates suction at the lower levels of the home to draw in replacement air. In older, leaky homes the air exchange rate can be as high as a full air exchanger per hour.

What this “stack effect” does is create airflow in your home from bottom to top. So air from the basement is drawn upwards into the first floor, and then to the second floor. Of course it dilutes with other air in your home, but building scientists say that up to 50 percent of the air you breathe on the first floor is air that came from the basement. If you have hot air heating with ductwork, the air mixes even more thoroughly throughout the house.

Therefore, whatever is in your basement air is in your house and affecting you, whether you spend much time in the basement or not. If there is high humidity downstairs, there is higher humidity upstairs than there would be otherwise. If there is mold in the basement, there are mold spores upstairs. If there are damp odors downstairs – you get the idea

Negative Effects of a Wet or Damp Basement

Since air flows upward into the upper levels of your home from the basement, it brings the humidity from the basement with it. The effects on your home can include:

Dust mites (the number one indoor allergen)
Sticking (swollen) doors and windows
Smelly damp carpets
Buckling hardwood floors
Condensation/rotting/mold in your attic (as humid air escapes into your attic it can condense against the cold ceiling or roof)
Frost or condensation and mold on the inside of windows in cool weather
Increased cooling bills (damp air takes more energy to cool)
Increased heating bills (damp air takes more energy to heat)
Mold upstairs
Decreased life of roof sheathing and shingles
Aggravated asthma and allergies

Why Should You Fix Your Foundation?

Thu, January 26 2012, 00:00:00 -500

Why Should You Fix Your Foundation?

You’re at the crossroads of making a decision as to whether to fix your foundation now or if you should wait a year in hopes it’ll just go away or not get any worse. There really isn’t any good news when dealing with a foundation problem but there are some things to consider when weighing the decision of now vs. later:

The problem will get worse. A foundation problem never gets better on its own – only worse- and as it does, it’s going to cost more to fix.
Resale value. Who wants to buy a house with a foundation problem? Nobody.
Appearance. Foundation problems often cause ugly cracks not only in the foundation itself, but inside the home as well.
Door and window operation. As your foundation fails to hold the house where it should be, your house bends and twists – this causes doors and windows to stick and jam, giving you fits.
Use of space. Sometimes you can lose use of space because of foundation failure, and that’s nto what you paid for when you bought the home
Safety. It’s unusual, but foundation collapsing, chunks of brick veneer falling off the house, and other serious safety hazards can and have happened.
Critters like cracks. Insects and even rodents can get into your home through cracks in your foundation, becoming uninvited house guests.

You’re going to pay for it whether you fix it or not.

Consider this: We are all going to sell our homes one day. And when we do, the buyer will hire a home inspector, something few people did 40 years ago, but now everyone does. In addition, when we list our home for sale, there is a disclosure form that sellers must fill out, explaining any defects with the house. You swear and sign to it, and the buyer gets a copy.

So it’s simply unavoidable that the buyer is going to know about the foundation problem in your home. Will they say “Aww shucks, don’t worry about that. We’ll take the problem off your hands and deal with it ourselves!” Not likely. In fact, they will probably walk away, and go look at the hundreds of other homes for sale out there.

If they do still want your home, they will either make you fix the foundation before they buy it, or they will take the price of the repair off the price of the house. There is no escape.

So whether you get your foundation fixed now and enjoy the peace of mind for you and your family while you live there, or you don’t, you are still going to pay for it – and maybe more later as the problem gets worse.

I don’t know about you, but if I am going to pay for something whether I get it or not, I’m getting it now. Make sense?

Homeowner gets creative with wall anchor covers

Tue, January 17 2012, 00:00:00 -500

Your home needed anchors and now there are bright, shiny plates that are attached to your basement wall forever. It doesn’t always have to look that way however if you invest in some wall anchor covers. That’s exactly what one homeowner of Sure-Dry’s did and they didn’t stop at “good enough.” They took wall anchor covers to the next level by personalizing them to fit their finished basement.

Before:

After:

Keep Your Basement Dry This Upcoming Summer

Fri, January 6 2012, 00:00:00 -500

With the unusual wet spring in the Fox Valley last year, it is essential for homeowners to keep their basements dry. For about 99 percent of homeowners it is the sump pump system that is the most crucial component in taking care of this. All that is involved in the specifications of a good sump and pump are more than you might have thought.

Why do we need sump pumps?

Most of the soil in the Fox Valley is comprised of some type of clay. The nature of constructing homes has us creating "clay bowls," otherwise known as basements. After digging we set the footing of our homes on the base of that hole and because of that, we then need to create a means to collect any water that fills it and eject it away from the hole. It sounds like a never ending cycle of water entering and exiting the foundation and it actually is. Water will always seek the path of least resistance (it goes where it can get to the easiest) and will always seek its own level (filling up the space equally). The challenge every homeowner has is to get a footing drain system to accommodate these natural laws. Before the water is expelled away from the foundation and propelled far enough away so it would be unlikely for it to enter back into the cycle, you need to offer the water a path of least resistance that reliably manages the level to which it is allowed to rise. This is when the sump pump comes in.

The makeup of a good system:

Sump pit - the hole in the basement floor. The bottom of the hole should be aligned with the lowest point in the basement.
Sump liner - A good sump liner has multiple inlets for water to collect quickly when the flow of water increases. The perforations assist in de-watering the sub-floor in the immediate area. The idea is to collect water into one spot as fast as possible. This should also have an airtight cover to keep out humidity and damp, musty smells that come along with standing water; safety is another reason.
Pump- not all pumps are created equal. There are two types:
- Pedestal pumps stick up above the floor. These pumps are air cooled so they tend to hold heat and burn out faster while also having a lower capacity. They usually are inexpensive and have and adjustable float.
- Submersible pumps are sealed water tight and are water cooled in which the motor sits in or under the water. With these pumps come a variety of switch designs:
  - Pressure sensitive – has no float, switch reacts to increased water pressure when water gets high enough.
  - Tether – switch is inside of a float attached to an adjustable cord.
  - Mechanical – float is fixed on a rod or stem and located on the side of the pump in which it slides up and down.
  - No switch at all – Uses switch panels that allows for continuous running.

How do I know which one is for me?

Pump manufacturer’s rate and test their pumps differently. Getting the most horsepower in a pump doesn’t necessarily indicate the highest volume, and that volume isn’t always tested the same way. When determining the volume of a pump be sure to compare the “head,” which is the distance of vertical lift out of the basement. For example, if one pump is advertising a certain volume at a two foot head and another is showing a lower volume with a ten foot head then you know the higher the volume was achieved under a much smaller workload. In determining the head under normal use for your sump pump just add the depth of the sump pit to the highest point of the discharge pipe. This is how high the water in the sump pit must be lifted to be expelled away from your foundation.

With the number of contributing factors in choosing the right pumping system for your situation, remember that there is a lot to be said in being able to rely on that pump and for it to work as hard and as long as it needs to in order to keep the basement dry.

Sure-Dry an Official Toys for Tots Drop-Off Location

Mon, November 21 2011, 00:00:00 -500

Sure-Dry Basement Systems, in accordance with the Winnebago County Home Builders Association, is happy to once again be an official drop-off location for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program. This program helps less fortunate children receive gifts at Christmas time.

From now until December 15th community members are asked to donate new, unwrapped toys by dropping them off at a participating location so they too can enjoy the Christmas expierience.

All toys will be sorted by age and gender and then distributed from mid to late December by the event coordinators with assistance from local social welfare agencies, church groups, and other local community agencies.

Sure-Dry Basement Systems takes pride in helping out our local community. We provide basement waterproofing, crawl space, foundation repair, and sump pump installation in Sheboygan and throughout Wisconsin. Our service area includes Appleton, Oshkosh, Sheboygan, Fond Du Lac, Wausau, Manitowoc, Neenah, Stevens Point, Wisconsin Rapids, De Pere, and other surrounding areas.

Sure-Dry Basement Systems Honorable Mention for Torch Award

Mon, October 24 2011, 00:00:00 -500

Menasha, WI - On Wednesday, October 19^th, the Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin named Sure-Dry Basement Systems the Honorable Mention recipient in this year’s prestigious Ethics Torch Award for Business Ethics and Integrity.

The winners were selected by an independent panel of twelve business ethics experts and announced at a ceremony at the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. The winners were chosen based on submissions that demonstrated excellence in ethical practices, service excellence, reputation, honest advertising, peer recognition, management practices and employee training in ethical behavior. The BBB’s Business Ethics Torch Award was started eight years ago and is a statewide competition that honors companies and charities that do business in Wisconsin.

“It’s our pleasure to shine the spotlight on these companies, all of whom put a high priority on ethics and integrity with their customers, their employees and their vendors,” said Randall Hoth, president/CEO of the Wisconsin BBB. “I applaud their commendable business practices and their commitment to doing things the right way.”

Sure-Dry Basement Systems, located in Menasha, has been in business since 1994. We're basement waterproofing, crawl space repair, and foundation repair contractors that serve Northeast and Central Wisconsin. Our service area includes Appleton, Oshkosh, Sheboygan, Fond Du Lac, Wausau, Manitowoc, Neenah, Stevens Point, Wisconsin Rapids, and surrounding areas.

Sure-Dry Basement Systems Receives Awards at International Convention in Connecticut

Wed, October 5 2011, 00:00:00 -500

Menasha, WI - Menasha, WI – Sure-Dry Basement Systems was recently honored at a meeting of over 600 guests from all over the United States and Canada at this year’s Team Basement Systems Convention. The annual convention is held each year between Seymour, Connecticut, (where the Basement Systems headquarters is located) and Hartford, Connecticut, and brings together dealerships of the international network for classes, seminars, training, parties and networking.

This year Sure-Dry Basement Systems awarded at the Team Basement Systems International Convention for ranking as one of the Top 30 Basement Systems dealers and one of the Top 5 Foundation Supportworks Power Brace Dealers in the United States and Canada.

The convention featured guest speakers Krish Duhnam (of the Zig Ziglar corporation), and the “Pit bull of Personal Development” Larry Winget. A sports-themed party at the Connecticut Convention Center ended the convention week with music, food and performances by the Harlem Wizards and the New England Patriots Cheerleaders.

Sure-Dry Basement Systems is a certified Basement Systems dealer specializing in foundation repair, basement waterproofing and crawl space encapsulation in Wisconsin. Sure-Dry Basement Systems has been servicing homes in Wisconsin since 1994.

Basement Systems is an international network of basement waterproofing, crawl space repair and basement finishing contractors. The international headquarters, based in Seymour, Connecticut, also provides sales and service throughout Connecticut and Westchester County, NY. Larry Janesky's Basement Systems has been helping homeowners increase their usable living space for over 20 years across the United States, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. They have 27 patented basement and crawl space products, designed to help homeowners get more out of their basements and increase their home's value.

Sure-Dry a Finalist in the Better Business Bureau EthicsTorch Awards

Mon, September 19 2011, 00:00:00 -500

Milwaukee, Wis. – The Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin Foundation is pleased to announce that 11 organizations have been named as finalists for the prestigious 2011 Business Ethics Torch Awards.

The finalists are (in alphabetical order): Batzner Pest Management of New Berlin; Cintas of Madison; David Hobbs Honda of Glendale; Empire Today of Northlake, Illinois; Kerzner Remodeling & Construction of Oconomowoc; MedAdvocates of Racine; Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Wisconsin in Milwaukee; Sargento Foods of Plymouth; Spectrum Communications Services of Brookfield; Sure-Dry Basement Systems of Menasha; and The Starr Group of Greenfield.

The BBB’s Business Ethics Torch Award is a statewide competition that honors companies and charities who do business in Wisconsin, and that demonstrate excellence in ethical practices, service excellence, reputation, honest advertising, peer recognition, management practices and employee training in ethical behavior. The award program was started eight years ago by the Wisconsin BBB Foundation, a non-profit organization. Awards will be given in these categories, based on the size of the organization: 1-5 employees; 6-50 employees; 51-500 employees; 500+ employees; and charity.

Randall Hoth, Wisconsin BBB Foundation president said, "Trust has never been more important than in today’s business environment. When companies are ethical and trustworthy, they deserve to be honored. The BBB is happy to shine the spotlight on these ethical companies. I congratulate all of them for this well-deserved honor."

Winners will be announced at the BBB’s 9^th annual Torch Awards Banquet on Wednesday, October 19^th at the historic Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. Rich Meeusen, president and CEO of Badger Meter, is the keynote speaker.