Water damage can be one of the most troublesome and costly problems associated with home ownership.  Hurricane Irene and the other recent “100-year” storms that seem to be happening twice a year lately, have left a lot of people with water damage.  Water in your basement can cost thousands of dollars to clean up and cause extensive damage to walls and floors, destroy carpeting, ruin furniture and lead – pretty quickly – to mold, mildew and strong odors. Deteriorating submerged block foundation walls can stress the structural integrity of your home at its most vital point, the foundation.  Every new home built in your neighborhood changes the age old flow of surface water and can aggravate existing water problems. Surface water can leak through cracks in walls or the hydrostatic water pressure in the water table can cause water to leech up from cracks in your slab. Here are the top 4 things you can do to ensure a dry basement. [Read more...]