Basement Waterproofing in Attica, Ohio

Attica is a village of about 870 people in the southeastern corner of Seneca County, between Tiffin, Willard and Bucyrus. Many homes around Attica are farmhouses and older village homes, and Seneca County as a whole has one of the older housing stocks in the region: more than half of homes were built before 1960.

Rural homes bring their own basement issues: long gravity drain lines that clog or collapse, sump pumps on private lots with nowhere good to discharge, and foundations that were never waterproofed on the outside. The Bellevue-Castalia karst plain, an area of limestone bedrock with sinkholes, also extends into Seneca County, which can change how groundwater behaves.

Attica at a glance

What to look at in a rural or older Attica basement

Start with where the water goes. Many country homes have a footing drain or sump that discharges into a tile line or ditch. If that outlet is blocked, water backs up against the foundation no matter how good the walls are.

If water comes in only during the heaviest rains, the fix may be modest. If it comes in for weeks every spring, ask contractors about interior drainage and a properly sized sump pump.

• Look at the joint where the wall meets the floor after a heavy rain. Damp lines there usually mean water pressure from outside, not a plumbing leak.
• Check block walls for white, chalky deposits (efflorescence). They are left behind by water moving through the masonry.
• Walk the outside of the house during a storm. Downspouts that dump next to the foundation are one of the cheapest problems to fix.
• If you have a sump pump, pour a bucket of water into the pit and make sure it starts, empties the pit and shuts off.