Lehigh Valley (Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton)
Spring in Lehigh Valley means melting snow, often in vast quantities, and that can seriously impact every part of your home if you are not prepared for it.
Schedule Free InspectionBasement or Crawl Space Waterproofing in Lehigh Valley (Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton)
The generally good drainage capabilities of the soil around Lehigh Valley, PA, mean that issues with basement or crawl space flooding and dampness are not overly common. A robust drainage system can keep all but the worst of storms at bay in this area, of course, but even the best exterior drains can be overcome when a big storm rolls in. This is where basement or crawl space waterproofing for Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton comes in.
The team here at Baker’s Waterproofing is expert in undertaking waterproofing and encapsulation processes in crawl spaces and basements. Our team is experienced and highly trained, of course, but also, we have a portfolio of effective and high-quality waterproofing products that will ensure that their skill produces the very best results in every situation.
Broadly speaking, waterproofing requires a mix of passive and active measures that repel water and remove it. This is the only way to get a well-rounded, long-lasting, and effective water-resistance within your home. The products we use have been carefully chosen to work well with each other.
Foundation Repair in Lehigh Valley
The somewhat rocky soil around Lehigh Valley (particularly Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton) has progressively more shale content the closer you get to Blue Mountain. This has some benefits and some drawbacks, especially when you consider the generally wet climate of the area. With rainfall generally never falling below an average of two inches, and spring bringing heavy snow thaw at times, even this rocky soil can have trouble draining away all the water it is faced with.
As such, there is a fairly high risk of soil movement, displacement, and washout. That’s especially true when the weather is particularly wild or a property does not have effective drainage in place. When this happens, foundation damage is one of the most likely outcomes. Issues like subsidence and settlement, for example, can be caused by soil movement. This kind of soil does damage by leaving voids underneath a surface, unlike expansive soils, which are able to apply direct pressure. The lack of support essentially renders a property unable to bear its own weight.
Here at Baker’s Waterproofing, foundation repair is a specialty. Our team has decades of collective experience in analyzing and fixing foundation problems, and we have a range of repair options in place. From foundation piers to wall anchors, we can address the causes of foundation damage, as well as the secondary issues that often come about as a result of foundation movement, fragmentation, and deterioration.
Lehigh Valley Concrete Lifting Services
Your home’s concrete surfaces are incredibly important to the appearance and health of the property as a whole. As such, settled or damaged concrete slabs can be pretty frustrating for any homeowner, but, more than that, serious damage and deviation could actually be dangerous! Sunken concrete slabs and surfaces present a real tripping hazard, after all, and can also be warning signs for foundation problems in the future! As such, you should invest in a thorough inspection when you see serious concrete sinking and damage around your home.
Any inspection can be undertaken as a part of a wider concrete lifting and repair process, of course. This is something that we at Baker’s Waterproofing excel at. We have been undertaking concrete lifting processes for many years, so you can be sure that we know how to address the local factors that lead to concrete damage. While many of our competitors still use older concrete lifting processes like mudjacking, we favor the more up-to-date process of polyurethane foam injection.
SettleStop PolyRenewal™ foam injection is the most trusted polyurethane foam system on the market today for many good reasons. From its lightweight and waterproof nature to its tailorable expansive force and the fact that it cures in a matter of minutes (not days), SettleStop PolyRenewal™ is an efficient and cost-effective solution to sunken concrete. Better yet, it can be used in conjunction with more robust solutions, like slab piers, to address and rectify severe damage to concrete surfaces and structures or even your home itself. Above and beyond all this, however, SettleStop PolyRenewal™ prevents the need for concrete replacement (which is both expensive and inefficient).
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About Waterproofing, Crawl Spaces & Foundation Repair in Lehigh Valley
Soil washout is not always a disastrous thing, but it is never really a good thing for any property that is experiencing it. After all, soil washout is a process of displacement that causes the level and stability of the landscape to fluctuate, and your home needs stability above all else. While a small amount of washout may not cause damage in any real sense, any significant movement can cause the foundation of a home to shift or even lead to sinking and fragmentation.
Soil washout and erosion both have the capacity to cause damage to your property and the various structures that are found on it, but washout is the more destructive of the two. This is because of the different ways in which they operate. You see, erosion is a primarily wind-based process that is only capable of stripping the topsoil. This is very damaging to the health of your yard and lawn, of course, and can cause gaps to form at the edges of concrete slabs and structures; but, it is not capable of causing serious soil movement underneath your home or other deeply rooted structures on your property.
Soil washout is far more insidious, however, because of the instrumental role that water plays in the process. Because soil saturation is a key part of soil washout, this process can impact soil from above and below. While it is true that topsoil is more easily washed away during heavy storms and periods of intense rainfall, the more dangerous form of washout occurs beneath the surface. This can lead to the formation of voids under your property’s foundation and even contribute to the creation of sinkholes. So, yes, soil washout is always a bad thing – but the real question is: how bad will it be for your home?
Crawl space vents are a bone of contention in the construction industry these days, because while they are considered to be generally bad for a structure, many homes have them. The majority of homes that have crawl space vents installed were built between the 1950s and 1990s. These homes had crawl space vents installed as a matter of course, because they were believed to increase airflow and, as a result, reduce dampness and humidity. Of course, this was found not to be the case. As a result, it is now considered best practice to build new homes without them (and to cover them where they are present).
Open crawl space vents can, in fact, be actively damaging to your home. The increased airflow that they cause is a direct contributor to high levels of humidity and dampness around a home. What’s more, open vents leave your home more vulnerable to flooding and pest infestations, as well as causing a general instability in the interior climate of a property. This has a huge amount to do with the way that thermal changes impact the air inside a property.
Known as the stack effect, this process can have many different impacts upon your home and they all stem from how air is drawn from outside your property. A home that is well-sealed will find its interior climate to be stable. The stack effect undermines this by causing artificially cooled or heated air to exit the home either at the top or the bottom of the property. This will draw in air from outside, increasing the number of allergens in a home and creating a clash of warm and cool air that can lead to condensation and, over time, dampness. So, as such, it is definitely better to cover crawl space vents.
Your property’s crawl space is both incredibly important to your home and highly vulnerable to the elements (thanks to its unique positioning at the base of the property). While a crawl space with open vents is far more vulnerable to dampness and humidity, even a crawl space that has no vents (or that has sealed vents) can still become damp and humid in a number of ways. The process of waterproofing makes this far less likely (impossible, even), and it protects the home as a whole by controlling the crawl space climate.
The benefits of waterproofing are many, of course, but the most obvious is the reduction in dampness and humidity, as well as the prevention of flooding in your crawl space. This means that the risk of things like wood rot and mold are seriously lowered, which is better for you and your home. Furthermore, this lower level of humidity is great for your HVAC system. Humid air is far harder to heat and cool than arid air, so it will put strain on your HVAC system, reducing its efficiency. This can even cause your energy bills to rise and will certainly increase the likelihood of avoidable breakdown.
The limitations of waterproofing are simple: waterproofing must be undertaken in a crawl space that is in good health. If your dampness is being caused by damage to your property’s structure or to its internal workings, then waterproofing could simply cover the signs of damage (letting it grow) or even trap water into your home and magnify the issues that are caused by dampness and humidity by preventing even minimal drainage or evaporation. So, if you want to waterproof a damaged crawl space, some repairs may be needed. Nonetheless, waterproofing is a worthwhile process that has many short and long-term benefits.
There are a number of potential causes of dampness when it comes to a property’s basement. Some are fairly benign, while others can be linked to very serious damage to the structure of your home or its internal workings. Of course, the most common and easy to spot source of moisture in any basement is damage to the property’s plumbing systems and any attached appliances. Small leaks in the joints between pipes, or deterioration in appliances like water heaters, can significantly raise humidity over time. More dramatic plumbing floods are more likely to cause dampness, of course, but also less likely to be allowed to continue for any amount of time.
The other possibilities are structural damage or a process called seepage. Seepage is a fairly common and surprisingly benign process that can, nonetheless, have serious implications for your home. Seepage occurs because of the porous nature of concrete as a building material. If the soil outside your home is saturated, then there is a high chance that the water it holds will start to seep through your basement’s concrete walls. This rarely causes noticeable amounts of standing water, but it will raise the humidity in your home. It may also leave a white-ish residue on your walls. This is known as efflorescence.
Finally, damage to the structure of your property, the foundation, or the basement walls is a common but serious issue that should not be ignored. While foundation damage and bowing basement walls are the most severe kinds of damage that can lead to dampness, any crack in the structure of your home can let water in over time. As such, you should act quickly and contact a professional to make sure that the cause of your dampness is not structural of some kind.
Mold can be very dangerous, depending on the species. The problem for homeowners is that there are so many different species of mold, so telling them apart with any level of certainty is almost impossible without laboratory testing (even for professionals). From wood rot to fungal growths to spreading mold formations, mold can take many different forms.
To the question of whether mold is dangerous or not, it depends on the type of mold and your definition of the term dangerous. For example, there are many kinds of mold and fungal spores that are dangerous to the structure of your home but not dangerous to your health and wellbeing in any direct way (unless ingested in fairly large amounts). Wood rot is a serious issue, of course, but it is not dangerous to people, for the most part.
There are many types of mold that can be harmful to people, but the main type that is actively dangerous is black mold. Black mold is a serious problem that can cause many issues, including but not limited to rashes, infections, irritation, breathlessness, dizziness, fainting, and even seizures. This is serious for those in good health, but for those with underlying conditions, it could be lethal.
Yes – ensuring that your home and yard experience a robust and regular maintenance schedule is absolutely key to preventing avoidable damage and catching serious problems before they have a chance to escalate. What’s more, maintenance can be fairly simple. There are some tasks that you, as a homeowner, can undertake yourself. Things like cleaning out your gutters and maintaining your yard may seem very small, but they’re actually very beneficial to your home.
Of course, professional maintenance of your property’s plumbing system, waterproofing measures, and appliances is just as important to ensuring that it is a safe and comfortable environment. Likewise, ensuring that your home receives a thorough, professional inspection on a regular basis is incredibly important. Thankfully, most professionals will be able to inspect your property, as well as perform basic maintenance tasks.
The benefits of regular maintenance are many, but there are a few that are more obvious than others. Most notably, regular maintenance will prevent avoidable breakdowns and ensure that the internal workings and appliances within your property stay in good working order. This ensures efficiency and could even lower your energy bills by preventing heat loss from your plumbing system and its attached appliances. So, while maintenance may seem like a very small thing, it could save you a lot of trouble and money in the long term.
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Lehigh Valley Metro Area
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Allentown, PA
Call Baker’s Waterproofing today for your no cost, no obligation estimate for concrete lifting, leveling and concrete repair in Allentown!
Berks County, PA
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Bethlehem, PA
Call Baker’s Waterproofing today for your no cost, no obligation estimate for basement waterproofing, foundation repair, crawl space repair & concrete lifting in Bethlehem!
Breinigsville, PA
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Coplay, PA
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Easton, PA
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Effort, PA
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Fleetwood, PA
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Kunkletown, PA
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Harrisburg Local Office
Contact UsBaker’s Waterproofing
315 Point Township Drive
Northumberland, PA 17857
Hours of Operation
Monday – Thursday: 7 am – 9 pm
Friday: 7 am – 7 pm
Saturday: 8 am – 8 pm