Basement Waterproofing in Kips Bay, Manhattan

Why Do Basements Get Wet Near the East River?

The river edge of Kips Bay is low lying, so groundwater sits closer to the surface and storm water has little room to drain. Bellevue Hospital and NYU Langone flooded in Hurricane Sandy. Older cellar walls also leak through failed mortar joints and cracks.

We do not claim any specific block floods. What we see is that buildings closer to the water tend to deal with more moisture, while buildings toward Lexington Avenue are higher and often drier.

Tenement and row house cellars here have stone or brick walls that were never sealed. Over time salts flake the surface, paint peels and a damp smell settles in. Tower levels below grade have concrete walls with their own joint and slab problems.

How Do You Waterproof a Tight Manhattan Cellar?

Most Kips Bay jobs are done from the inside, since lots are narrow and neighbors share walls. We repoint and seal the walls, cut a drain channel at the floor edge and set a sump pump if needed. Exterior work happens where there is access, such as an areaway.

Access to a cellar may mean carrying material down a stair or through a hatch. We plan how debris leaves the building before work starts and protect floors above.

Areaways and sidewalk hatches can be a water entry point. A cracked areaway floor or a poor slope sends rain toward the cellar door. Fixing that concrete can cut the load on your basement. Our concrete replacement service covers it.

Will a sump pump need power backup?

A sump pump stops working in a power failure. Ask us about backup options, since storms often cause both heavy rain and outages.