Waterproofing the Basement of a Chef Champion in Green Bay, WI

Friday, June 12th, 2020 by Tom Wardlow

Challenge

Celebrity chef Ace Champion of Cook Like a Champion purchased a beautiful, historic home on Green Bay's east side, and was in the process of converting part of the home into his home studio kitchen. The home was built in 1896 and was home to a grocery store and a bakery, in its 124-year history.

With all of Ace's cooking supplies, he needed a storage area, and his plan was to use the home's basement for storage...until he saw the basement.

Ace's basement, like the rest of the home, was very old. Although the stone basement walls are over two feet thick, moisture was finding its way through them and with no drainage system or moisture barrier in place, that water intrusion caused the basement to be damp and musty throughout. Before Ace could even think about storing anything down there, he first needed to solve this problem.

Solution

Sure-Dry Basement Systems was able to give Ace piece of mind about using his basement as storage by installing a complete water control system!

First, to catch the water coming in through the walls and to prevent that water from pooling on the basement floor, Sure-Dry installed their WaterGuard system. The WaterGuard system collects water that seeps through basement walls and drains it to your sump pump. The system installs quickly and has a clean finished appearance, meaning you don't have to worry about having an unsightly drain around the basement.

Next, to create a barrier between the basement and the wet walls, Sure-Dry installed their CleanSpace Vapor Barrier System. This durable, bright white crawl space liner is installed on the walls, preventing water vapor and humidity from passing through. By keeping your basement dry, you protect your basement's support structures and insulation from mold and rot.

Lastly, in order to remove the water being trapped by the CleanSpace and drained by the WaterGuard System, Sure-Dry installed their TripleSafe™ Sump Pump System. The TripleSafe™ Sump Pump System provides three levels of protection for your basement and your peace of mind. For normal functioning, the TripleSafe™ has a powerful, cast-iron Zoeller ⅓ horsepower sump pump set at the lowest level. For heavy volumes of water or in case of primary pump failure, a second, more powerful Zoeller® ½ hp pump set a bit higher in the liner will take over. In case of a power outage, our UltraSump battery backup sump pump, set at the highest level, will pump 11,500 gallons or more on a fully charged battery!

If your home's basement is experiencing issues similar to Chef Ace Champion's basement, contact Sure-Dry today for a free estimate!