Hillsides above the lakes
Acworth basements sit between a hill and a lake.
Acworth gets about 52 inches of rain a year at the Allatoona Dam weather station, and most of it lands on sloped ground. The hills near town are Madison and Pacolet soils on 10 to 15 percent slopes, many mapped as severely eroded, with red clay subsoil up to half clay. On a lot that steep, a common house plan is the daylight basement: one wall at grade, the back wall buried in the hill and catching everything that runs down it. Near the creek bottoms and lake coves, frequently flooded Cartecay soil holds a water table about a foot below the surface.
The hill above
How water comes down the slope, where gutters drain, and whether runoff reaches the buried wall.
The buried wall
Seepage at the joint, damp drywall edges, white residue and cracks that weep after storms.
Floor and sump
Water rising through the slab near the coves, and how hard any sump has to work.
What a wet Acworth basement is telling you.
Steep red clay lots and wet lake coves send water into Acworth basements by different routes. These are the four signs we see most, and each one narrows down where the water is coming from.
Water along the back wall
White streaks on the block
A sump working near the cove
Mildew in the finished room
Seeing one of these? We trace the water before we suggest a fix.
How we diagnose basement water in Acworth.
A lot of waterproofing companies show up to sell you the most expensive system they install. We show up to figure out how water is actually getting into your basement first, then prescribe the system that stops it, and tell you straight, even when the answer is "you don't need as much as you were told."
Diagnose
A free in-home inspection by someone who does this work. We trace where the water is coming from, inside and around the home, and walk you through what's actually driving it.
Prescribe
The right waterproofing system for how water is getting in, not the priciest package. A plain-English explanation and a fair price in writing. You decide on your own time.
Treat
Dependable work by our own local crew, on time, cleaned up after themselves. We keep you in the loop until the basement is dry and we have walked the finished job with you.
A lot of companies sell you a system. We diagnose first, then prescribe only what your basement actually needs to stay dry. That's the difference between an honest local team and a sales quota from out of town.
Basement waterproofing methods for Acworth's slopes and coves.
A hillside basement taking runoff on its buried wall and a lower-lying basement near a lake cove need different plans. These are the four methods we prescribe from, and only the ones your Acworth basement needs go in.
Interior Drainage
A drain channel along the inside base of the buried walls collects the runoff that works through the joint and carries it to a sump before it reaches the floor.
Best for: seepage along the back wall of a daylight basement.
Sump Pump Systems
The pit gathers what the drain collects and the pump sends it up and away from the foundation. A battery backup keeps it working through a storm outage.
Best for: lower lots near creek bottoms and lake coves.
Wall Vapor Barrier
A sealed liner on the walls keeps wall moisture and humid air out of the basement, and makes an unfinished space brighter and cleaner to use.
Best for: damp block, white streaks and musty air.
Grading & Downspout Fixes
On a steep lot, a swale that turns runoff around the house and downspouts piped well past it can keep the hill's water from ever reaching the buried wall.
Best for: leaks that start after storms on the uphill side.
Basement water and the problems that follow it.
Water pushing into an Acworth basement can also press on the buried wall or reach a crawl space under another part of the house. If the diagnosis finds that, one local team handles it.
Foundation Repair
Crawl Space Encapsulation
Sagging Floor Repair
Floor Rebuilds
Not sure what you have? We sort it out at the inspection.
In their own words.
Acworth basement waterproofing FAQ.
Find out how water reaches your Acworth basement.
We will trace the water at no charge, from the slope above your house to the basement floor, and explain what will stop it, with a fair price in writing. If a swale or a downspout fixes it, we will say so.