April Showers Bring May Flowers…and Wet Basements, Too!

May02
2011 Written by jlord
National Weather Service: 14-Day Precipitation Analysis (Illinois & Missouri)

The St. Louis area has certainly experienced an excess of wet weather in the last two weeks. Just how much? Check out this image from the National Weather Service, illustrating the amount of precipitation the bi-state area has received just in the last 14 days.

According to this image, the St. Louis Metro-East alone has seen between 4 and 10 inches of rain.

That much rain in a short period of time saturates the ground so much that basement leaks become more prevalent, and even the smallest or most infrequent groundwater leak will become larger and more frequent when left untreated. Water will leak into a basement through any opening it can, including walls, floors, and the joints between them. Water can even pass through the concrete itself—which is one reason why basements are notoriously damp, humid spaces.

Fortunately for those plagued by wet basements, certified basement waterproofing professionals in Illinois and Missouri have the necessary tools and expertise to keep basements dry amidst heavy rain and flooding.

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I HATE MY CRAWL SPACE! Video Contest

Apr25
2011 Written by jlord

4 Cardinals vs. Astros tickets for May 18th could be yours!

We’re giving away four tickets to the Cardinals versus Astros game on May 18, 2011—along with $60 worth of Cardinals Dollars—to the winner of the I HATE MY CRAWL SPACE! video contest. So, get to filming already! The deadline for entries is fast approaching. To learn more and register to win, visit the Giveaway page.

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Central and Eastern Missouri Facing Flood Warnings

Apr25
2011 Written by jlord

Much of central and eastern Missouri faces flood concerns as rivers and creeks are already flooding. “Parts of eastern Missouri south of St. Louis could get up to 9 additional inches of rain through Wednesday,” reports KSDK. “The Mississippi is at or approaching major flood stage in several communities. The Missouri River is also flooding, and many tributaries are rising.”

Just one inch of water in a basement—especially a finished basement—is enough to cause thousands of dollars in damages to your home and your contents.

Just how much would a flooded basement cost you? This interactive tool (from FloodSmart.gov) shows you what a flood in your home could cost, inch by inch.

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Repairing a Damp, Moldy Crawl Space

Apr13
2011 Written by jlord

Damp soil in the crawl space and the stench of mold throughout the Collinsville Chamber of Commerce office had the Chamber Board concerned with the air quality and structural longevity of the building. The Chamber called upon the basement and crawl space experts to solve their moisture problem and seal the crawl space.

THE SOLUTION: a CleanSpace vapor barrier which prevents mold growth, a SmartSump sump pump system with a cast iron Zoeller pump, and a powerful and effective SaniDry dehumidification unit.

“It’s Monday morning after [Woods Basement Systems] finished the job, and we can already notice a difference in how clean the air smells in the entire building,” commented Wendy Valenti, Executive Director of the Collinsville Chamber of Commerce. “In fact, I would probably not have come down here before, because it was too nasty.”

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Register to Win 2011 Gateway Grizzlies Tickets!

Mar28
2011 Written by jlord

Register to Win Grizzlies Tickets!As a sponsor of the 2011 Gateway Grizzlies, Woods Basement Systems is giving away 2 sets of 4 tickets to the home game on Thursday, August 4, 2011 at 7:05 PM when the Gateway Grizzlies play the Joliet Slammers.

Tickets include food and beverage for the first 3 innings of the game. Two winners will be selected. Register to win at http://www.woodsbasementsystems.com/grizzlies by July 21, 2011.

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Most Dangerous Radiation Exposure Could Be In Your Home

Mar18
2011 Written by jlord

PRESS RELEASE
March 18, 2011

Collinsville, IL – While the Obama administration says the radiation leaking from Japan’s nuclear reactor is currently not a danger to the United States, there is another source of radiation that puts Americans at risk every day. Radon, a radioactive gas that seeps into our homes, kills thousands of Americans every year.

Radon comes from the natural decay of uranium in the soil. Homes can trap radon inside as it moves up through the ground and seeps through cracks and holes in the foundation. When radon is trapped inside a house, the levels of radon can grow dangerously high and expose those living in the home to radiation. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer (after smoking) and kills more than 21,000 people each year.

Woods Basement Systems provides radon testing.

The good news is that there is something you can do to reduce your risk of radiation from radon. A radon detection kit can inexpensively and easily determine if there are high levels of radon present in your home. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers 4 picocuries per liter of air to be unacceptable. If 4 picocuries or more is detected, a radon mitigation system can be installed to vent the gas, eliminating the risk of radiation.

Radon expert and Woods Basement Systems’ Tim Warchol says every family should check for radon. “This test and, if needed, mitigation, could save lives. Radon and radiation are serious health issues that could be fixed for about the cost of an average home repair.”

Woods Basement Systems has trained radon mitigation specialists available to help homeowners understand the radon threat. If elevated radon levels are found in the home, Woods Basement Systems experts can easily and affordably install an aesthetically-pleasing mitigation system.

For more information on radon and its health effects, radon testing and radon mitigation systems, contact:

Woods Basement Systems
524 Vandalia Street
Collinsville, IL 62234
1-866-938-2374
http://www.woodsdm.com

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The Non-clogging Waterproofing System

Mar15
2011 Written by jlord

Imagine the horror following a long, hard rain when you wake up to find the carpet in your newly-finished basement soaked and your drywall waterlogged. You had a flawless waterproofing system up to this point, but now your basement is ruined. What happened? Perhaps your experience is similar to this home in South County, St. Louis.

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The Solution to Frozen Discharge Lines

Jan17
2011 Written by jlord

IceGuardDid you know that snow, ice, and freezing temperatures pose a serious threat to your basement?

Without an IceGuard in place, even the most powerful of waterproofing systems can be compromised. If sump pump discharge lines become frozen or clogged, then water expelled by the sump pump has no escape. Thus, the sump pump overflows onto your basement floor. This is a major problem for your dry basement, especially if it’s a finished basement. This video explains how IceGuard keeps your basement dry.

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The Key to Foundation Stability & Integrity

Dec07
2010 Written by jlord
Micropile, Screw Piles, and Helical Piers in Illinois & Missouri

Helical piles are a factory-manufactured steel foundation system consisting of a central shaft with one or more helix-shaped bearing plates, commonly referred to as blades or flights, welded to the lead section. Extension shafts, with or without additional helix blades, are used to extend the pile to competent load-bearing soils and to achieve design depth and capacity. Brackets are used at the tops of the piles for attachment to structures, either for new construction or retrofit applications. Helical piles are advanced (screwed) into the ground with the application of torque.

The terms helical piles, screw piles, helical piers, helical anchors, helix piers, and helix anchors are often used interchangeably by specifiers. However, the term ‘pier’ more often refers to a helical pile loaded in axial compression, while the term ‘anchor’ more often refers to a helical pile loaded in axial tension.

Design Considerations

Helical piles are designed such that most of the axial capacity of the pile is generated through bearing of the helix blades against the soil. The helix blades are typically spaced three diameters apart along the pile shaft to prevent one blade from contributing significant stress to the bearing soil of the adjacent blade. Significant stress influence is limited to a ‘bulb’ of soil within about two helix diameters from the bearing surface in the axial direction and one helix diameter from the center of the pile shaft in the lateral direction. Each helix blade therefore acts independently in bearing along the pile shaft.

Multiple piles shall have a center to center spacing at the helix depth of at least four (4) times the diameter of the largest helix blade (ICC-ES AC358). The tops of the piles may be closer at the ground surface but installed at a batter away from each other in order to meet the spacing criteria at the helix depth. For tension applications, the uppermost helix blade shall be installed to a depth of at least twelve (12) diameters below the ground surface (ICC-ES AC358).

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