Kansas City drainage
A basement that takes water after a heavy rain is telling you where the water outside is going. Most leaks we see start in the yard: a downspout at the wall, soil sloping toward the house, or clay holding water against the foundation. The repair starts with tracing that path, and the fix is often outside before it is inside.
Water in a basement after heavy rain is almost always water from outside that found a way in. Before anything is sealed, patched or dug, the question is where that water is coming from. We walk the house from the top down: gutters and downspouts, the grade against the walls, low spots and window wells, then the basement itself. A wet corner under a downspout that empties at the wall is a different job from water rising through the floor in the middle of the room.
Where the water shows up says a lot. At a crack in the wall usually points to saturated soil on that side of the house. At the joint where the wall meets the floor points to pressure building under the slab, which is the classic sign in clay soil and a case for interior drain tile. Around a window well points to a well filling with water and no drain at its bottom. Down the wall from the top points to grade or gutter trouble at the surface. White, chalky efflorescence on the concrete is the mineral trace of water that has been passing through for a while.
Many basement leaks are solved entirely outside, with buried downspout lines and regrading, for a fraction of the cost of basement work. When the water table around the house rises every spring regardless, the fix moves to the foundation: drain tile inside, or exterior waterproofing where the basement is finished and the inside cannot be opened up.
Take photos of the water while it is there, and of the outside of the house on the same side, ideally during or just after the rain. Note when it happens: every storm, only after days of rain, or only in spring. Move anything valuable off the floor. And check that the downspouts nearest the wet area are connected and not overflowing, because that alone can explain it.
How long does it take? The inspection is a single visit. The repair depends on what it finds, from a day of grading and downspout work to a few days for drain tile.
These often come up on the same property, and can be planned in the same visit:
A drain along the inside edge of the basement floor that collects water before it spreads, with a sump pump to send it outside.
How it works →Excavate to the footing, seal the wall with a membrane and lay drain pipe at its base.
How it works →Solid pipe underground from each downspout to daylight or a pop-up emitter well away from the house.
How it works →Free drainage check request
Tell us where the water shows up and roughly when it started. We call back to set a time to look.
We'll call to set a time. If it can't wait, call (816) 857-9277
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