Basement Waterproofing Photo Album: Basement waterproofing in Oka

The city of Oka witnessed dire flooding problems in the spring of 2019, due especially to their location on the Lake of Two Mountains. Our clients were hit by those floods and having had basement water infiltration problems, they decided to waterproof their basement once and for all. After sitting with the clients and understanding their needs, our specialist recommended a full perimeter WaterGuard internal drain system, which would replace their obsolete French Drain. Being close to a lake, the water flow was too heavy when the basement flooded and for that reason, our specialist recommended 2 of our best sump pump systems, the Triplesafe, when usually one should be enough. We also refinished the lower part of the basement walls with our Everlast Wall Restoration walls, which is the best product to finish a basement as it could never be affected by humidity.

Flooded basement in Oka

After being flooded, our clients spent days draining the water from their basement with a submersible surface pump. By that time, all the damage to their basement was already done.

Drying up a basement after the flood

After draining the water from their basement, our clients tried to dry the basement with a small fan, which would not dry their basement properly and as such let mold grow on anything organic.

Covering the clients' furniture

As per the clients' request, we covered all of their belongings in the basement especially that breaking a basement slab for the drain installation would cause some dust.

Blowing the dust out

We used this blower to help reduce the amount of dust that could result from installing the internal basement drain.

Installing an internal drain in Oka

In order to install our WaterGuard internal drain system, we have to cut about 6 inches of the slab. In this particular case, we could not install the drain on the footing since the slab was at the same level as the footing. As such we installed the WaterGuard next to the footing.

Special installation of WaterGuard next to footing

This house used to have a crawlspace that was transformed into a basement. We see this a lot with houses next to rivers and lakes. In order not to dig a lot, the basement slab was poured next to the footing in this case. As such, we had to do a special installation by adding a CactusBoard membrane and Cleanspace to channel the water down the the WaterGuard drain system.

Installing the drain around Heating systems

In case there are hard to move obstacles in the basement, such as heating systems or oil tanks, we can always circumvent these obstacles with our WaterGuard system, and offer the same protection and warranty against a basement flood.

Protecting the basement from water infiltration through the basement access door

Our special product called the TrenchDrain solves the problems of water infiltration from the basement stairs and is designed to work with the WaterGuard system.

Damaged Gyprock

Gyprock and any organic materials should never be used in a basement, as they will easily get damaged with water and grow mold.

Finished WaterGuard

Once the WaterGuard is installed, it is finished with a layer of cement. This picture also shows our Everlast Wall Restoration system which we use to replace existing basement finishing once we cut the walls. This wall system is completely inorganic, and as such will not grow mold and will never get damaged, even after a flood (if dried up and cleaned within a few days).

Sump pump with backup installed in Oka

We have installed 2 of our TripleSafe sump pump systems in this basement, due to the high risk of a flood with the proximity to the Two Mountains Lake. Each TripleSafe system comes equipped with 2 iron cast pumps, a backup sump pump, a WaterWatch alarm system, a floor drain and many other features that make it the best sump pump system in Quebec.

IceGuard system

In order to offer the best protection, we want to keep our sump pump system independent from any drainage system. As such, we drain the water to the terrain outside of the house through a discharge line. We complement this by installing the IceGuard system which will ensure that the water will still be pumped out of the basement if the discharge line freezes in winter.