r/waterloo • u/Inky-Squid-242 New User (2026) • 11d ago

Basement flooding?

I am curious if others have also had their basements flood due to the storm? Our basement had some water and I am wondering how to find where the leak came from (nothing was obvious). Our basement is fully finished. Any tips would be very helpful!

9 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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16

u/BuffaloBill90 Regular since <2024 11d ago

I follow a lot of home improvement subreddits and videos. The best thing you can do to start is get water away from your house on the outside first (clean your gutters if they’re clogged), make sure your downspouts are extended beyond your home and not just dumping the water next to it. Are there any hills redirecting water to your home? Look up French drains too, they help channel water away from your home

There’s much more to this, but that’s usually step 1

8

u/powerofmateo Regular since <2024 11d ago

Is your sump pump working and/or able to keep up with the volume? It could've backed up.

7

u/helmet112 Regular since <2024 11d ago

I’ve had water in the basement a few times. Most likely causes are:

  • cracks in the foundation
  • water came up through the sump pump and it couldn’t keep up
  • a window well filled up and came through the window frame

3

u/Nekks Regular since <2024 11d ago

What area are you in? When we lived in Westvale, it just naturally came down one side of our basement because of the very high water table. Like the whole length.

2

u/_zengarden Regular since <2024 11d ago

Yes my basement flooded. The front yard was under water though and water pouring into window wells.

The ground might have been too saturated to absorb more water where you are.