Do Walkout Basements Flood? [And Should You Add A Sump Pump]

Walkout basements are probably one of the most convenient things you can have around your house. It is literally a basement you can walk in and out of on the ground level outdoors. It can serve you a lot of purposes from storage, living space, and more! But, if you are wondering if they ever flood, then you are on the right page as we have the answers all in store for you!

Walkout basements provide another entrance apart from the main house door. They are designed with wall windows and a door that you can simply just walk in and out of your house from the ground level. Because of this, walkout basements are likely to flood due to their location. Still, this can be prevented with a sump pump.

Walkout basements provide a lot of advantages to homes and you can do whatever your creativity inspires to design the space. It is also best to know safety measures to keep the basement away from flooding. You can read further to know more about this.

Perks of Walkout Basements

Home Value

Standard basement locations are quite mainstream. Walkout basements increase home values as it gives you the benefit of having more privacy and flexible living space in the house. Walkout basements are in high demand, this is why houses that have one are pricy and considered A-plus properties.

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Lots of Options

Walkout basements give you the advantage of having more options, depending on how you want to customize it! Walkout basements can be turned into a living area, stock room, office, game room and so much more.

You can even turn this into a bedroom and hire a tenant for you to generate income. It all depends on how you would like to make it, of course. The ideas and possibilities are endless.

Entrance and Exit

As much as it provides many options, this factor is probably one of the most convenient perks of having walkout basements. Walkout basements provide additional entrances and exits to your houses, specifically in cases where it is necessary.

For instance, moving heavy things inside the house and wanting some peace of mind when the whole house is too clamorous for you. Most importantly, in cases of emergency such as fire and natural disasters, walkout basements are proven to be the top-most emergency exit, particularly the egress windows.

Disadvantages

Costly

As much as it adds a valuable price to homes, walkout basements can be expensive for the reason that it requires a lot of effort to construct and maintain to make them feasible. It takes a significant amount of earth grading, retaining walls, and drainage.

Renovating a walkout is also costly because you are going to bear the challenge of adding doors, windows, and other necessary materials needed to create the ideal walkout basement.

Additionally, walkout basements increase your property taxes because it requires a permit from the municipality when you want to have one in your house. When this permit is approved, it will be added to your municipal tax assessors and this is the main reason why the value of the house increases along with your expenses.

Leaks

When the excavated amount of earth grading is not achieved, it may lead to the walkout basement leaking. Water or snow can backlog at either the window or door, causing you another problem in the household.

When leaks occur, they can cause damages to walls, windows, and the floor of the basement. It corrupts the basement walls and windows, making them look untidy and molded.

Flood

When leaking occurs, this may inevitably lead to bigger problems like floods especially when the rainy weather and winter come.

There are several factors to consider on why walkout basements flood. For some reason, it could be the law of gravity pulling water downward from high ground to low.

Another thing could be broken drains, enabling water leaks from walls and windows to come through, causing a flood. Lastly, it could be the city's sewers overflowing, sending sewage back to your house, and flooding your basement.

Floods are one of the worst nightmares a homeowner can ever experience. To avoid this from happening, you can read further and follow some tips to prevent basement flooding.

Should You Add A Sump Pump To Walkout Basements?

If you are having major concerns that floods will bane your walkout basement, then you definitely should go get yourself a sump pump. It is one great tool for your basement because it removes excess water from moisture and reduces the possibility of flooding.

A sump pump is placed in a constructed pit in your basement. It is positioned in a hole engraved below the basement floor to discharge water out of your house and move it in a place where there is either a well, creek, or nearby drainage.

Another great feature of this is its valves that can sense water levels and pressure. When this happens, the sump pump automatically does its job and pumps the water away from your house and into its designated area.

Sump pumps are a great deal for your walkout basement to save you from the costs and repairs due to the damages that floods and leaking may cause.

What Type of Sump Pump Does a Walkout Basement Need?

As much as sump pumps can be considered as the ultimate savior of your walkout basement from flooding, there is also a variety of them that you can choose from according to your needs.

But since we want to know what type of sump pump is the best quality to be efficient and sustainable enough for your walkout basement, we are going to consider a few important features.

A sump pump that is good for your basement should have enough horsepower to handle heavy water pressure. However, the amount of horsepower should also be based according to the size of your home and the weather conditions of your locale.

Take for example, if the size of your house is average around 2,500 square feet and it rains only regularly, then you will only need a one-third horsepower submersible pump.

A one-third horsepower submersible pump is easy to install, maintain and operate. It is designed with steel hardware and a cast iron pump for endurance. It is water-resistant and engineered for high performance with strainer filters and an anti-clogging pump.

Find this submersible pump on Amazon.

Do Sump Pumps Fail?

As much as sump pumps offer a lot of advantages to save your walkout basement from flooding, it is unpreventable that they may fail for reasons of human errors such as incorrect installation, the attribute of the machine, and its lifespan.

Over some time, sump pumps can malfunction due to their consistent cycling and switching every so often. But despite that, sump pumps have a lifespan of seven to ten years depending on the extent of how frequently you use them.

Also, if you happen to be installing the sump pump yourself, make sure that you know the proper procedures or better yet, have some experts install it for you to save your time and struggle. Inaccurate installation of sump pumps will most possibly lead you to end up damaging the machine, causing it to be ineffective to do its function.

In Closing

Walkout basements guarantee a lot of upsides and necessities to our homes. It may likely cause an issue with leaks and flooding, but that's totally something a sump pump can solve! All it takes are the right sump pump, process, and tips that will fit according to your usage.

For more tips on other basement concerns, you can read the following:

Water Leaking Into The Basement After Heavy Rain – What To Do?

Basement Sink Backing Up – What To Do?