Basement Waterproofing in Tiffin, Ohio

Tiffin is the Seneca County seat, and a lot of its housing is old. Across the county, more than a third of homes were built before 1940 and more than half before 1960. Basements from that era were usually built with stone or block walls and no drainage system at all, so they depend on the soil around them staying dry. In a wet spring, it doesn't.

The Sandusky River runs through the middle of Tiffin, and the city has a long flood history. The March 1913 flood is still the greatest on record here: it crested about 8 feet above any earlier flood, destroyed 46 homes and left about 600 families homeless. More recently, Seneca County was included in the federal disaster declaration for the August 2007 floods.

Tiffin at a glance

Why Tiffin basements take on water

Most Tiffin basement leaks aren't river floods. They come from groundwater: after days of rain or a fast snowmelt, the soil around the foundation fills with water and pushes against the walls and up under the floor. Older block and stone walls have more joints for that water to find.

Homes in low areas near the river and its tributaries can also see a higher water table for weeks after a wet stretch, which keeps a sump pump running far more than usual.

• 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.

Also serving nearby Seneca County villages

We also take requests from homeowners in Bloomville, Republic, New Riegel, Bettsville and Green Springs. Use the form and include your ZIP code.