What Is Hydrostatic Pressure?

Hydrostatic pressure occurs when underground soils begin to shift. Unfortunately, shifting soils beneath and around your home can cause many issues with your foundation. Why does this happen? To put it simply, excess rainfall causes the soils around your home to be saturated and leaves the water with nowhere to go. Consequently, this causes unnecessary pressure against your foundation walls.

Because hydrostatic pressure comes from water seeping in through the soils, this pressure will ultimately lead to the foundation cracking. When this happens, leaking begins, and eventually, your basement can flood. In addition, foundation wall failure can begin to occur. To be more specific, this pressure can push the water through openings near basement windows, block walls, or the wall-floor joint where the wall and floor meet. All of these foundation issues are caused by unnecessary pressure.

hydrostatic pressure graphic

Hydrostatic Pressure Causing Bowing Walls

Basement Water Problems

One of the major consequences of hydrostatic pressure is basement water problems. there could be tens of thousands of pounds of pressure against your foundation. With significant pressure, it’s likely that water will find its way through even the smallest crack or gap in your basement.

The critical solution, of course, is to remove any access water that accumulates around the footing and foundation. Otherwise, the water builds up, and under the pressure of its own weight, will penetrate through the cracks and pores in the concrete walls and up through the floor slab. This is why it is essential to use industry-standard waterproofing methods. Because If there are any flaws in waterproofing, hydrostatic pressure will ensure they leak.

Finding Solutions In ECP Products

So, how do you relieve hydrostatic pressure and prevent water problems? In addition to an exterior drainage system, if water is seeping through horizontal wall cracks and penetrating your basement or crawl space, you can permanently stabilize walls cracked from hydrostatic pressure with a variety of products. Contact Products (ECP) uses industry-standard and American-made material for all of their products. In fact, ECP offers several excellent waterproofing methods including sump pumps, exterior waterproofing products, and helical tiebacks to name a few.