Hydrostatic pressure is the force the water exerts against your basement walls and floor when it tries to equalize itself. The deeper you go in the soil when it is wet to the surface, the greater the pressure. Your home acts much as a glass that is tipped upside down in a bucket of water. The water tries to push in from all sides.

For a complete discussion and explanation and how it can affect your home, see Section K in The Home Waterproofers Manual – Home Waterproofing A to Z. Once it’s explained, it will make common sense. However, if there’s an inexpensive way to fix the problem, most waterproofing salesmen won’t tell you. They make their profit on a percentage of the sale, and don’t consider it their job to save you money. They’ll charge as much as they can. Don’t put yourself at their mercy.

You can save thousands of dollars and many headaches by learning what is going on first. Often what looks like an expensive and serious problem may not be. Once the problem is explained, solving it is just common sense. I’ve used the knowledge I’ve put in The Home Waterproofers Manual – Home Waterproofing A to Z every day to fix water problems. It will work for you too.

But remember, when dealing with salesmen, in the waterproofing business it’s “buyer beware”. Most get a percentage of the sale and don’t consider it their job to save you money. They charge as much as they can. If they see a problem that can be fixed at low cost, or one that has a simple solution, they won’t mention it, but will only talk about “preventing serious damage” and try to scare you into signing a big contract.