Typical cost in Burien
A wet crawlspace, a damp basement wall, a soggy slope or a footing drain that has stopped working: this page is about where the water at your foundation comes from and which fix fits. Burien Foundation Repair looks at the source first.
We serve Burien, SeaTac and Normandy Park. Burien’s median home was built in 1966, so footing drains, gutters and grading in many yards here may be decades old, and what is still working is a question to answer by looking.
Grading that slopes toward the house, gutters that overflow and downspouts that drop beside the wall all put water where it should not be. HUD’s rehab guide puts surface drainage first: lead water away from buildings by grading.
A perforated pipe set in gravel at the base of the foundation on the outside collects water at footing level and carries it away. Reaching the footing means digging along the wall, so access matters.
An interior drain collects water at the base of the wall inside a basement or crawlspace, and a sump basin gathers it for removal. It works from the dry side and deals with water that has already reached the wall.
A Minnesota extension service lists poor slope, weak gutters and downspouts, and absent or failed subsurface drains among the reasons basements get wet.
Water that lingers can carry fine soil out from under a footing and press on the wall, according to HUD. That makes persistent wetness a settlement and cracking question as well as a damp one.
Existing footing drains may be undersized or no longer working, according to HUD. An older drain could be blocked or crushed, and the way to find out is to see where it empties and, if needed, to scope it. Ask the city what its code requires.
An outside drain addresses water at the footing but needs digging. An inside drain avoids that and works on the water that has reached the wall. Which fits depends on the wall, the access and the source of the water.
Before anyone digs: clear the gutters, extend the downspouts, and look at whether the ground falls away from the walls. Those are the first things to rule out. On a sloped lot, where the water goes after it leaves the downspout is part of the picture too.
Downspouts may be tied into old lines. We check where a connected line goes before adding to it.
Burien’s building code says permit exemptions do not apply to critical areas, steep slopes or landslide hazard areas. If the lot is steep, ask the city before a trench is dug along the foundation.
The crawlspace page covers ground cover and moisture inside the space.
Drainage is priced from the system. The factors:
Burien’s hazard chapter lists erosion hazard areas along with landslide and seismic ones, and water leaving a downspout on a slope can matter to erosion. City code can change, so confirm the current wording and the mapping with the permit center.
King County’s landslide mapping page points to the iMap viewer’s Environmentally Sensitive Areas layer for potential landslide hazard areas.
Standing water or damp soil along the wall after rain, a wet crawlspace or a damp basement wall are the signs. We trace where the water comes from before suggesting a drain.
It depends on access and the source of the water. Outside drains work at the footing but need digging. Inside drains work on the dry side.
Drainage addresses water, which HUD says can cause settlement and push on walls. It does not close an existing crack. See the foundation crack repair page.
Water at the foundation can do harm below and above. Soil that softens under the footing is the subject of foundation settlement and piering, whereas damp wood higher up is the subject of crawlspace post and beam repair. All five services appear on the Burien Foundation Repair home page.
Where does the water show: crawlspace floor, basement wall, yard? Note which way the lot slopes, where each downspout empties and how long this has gone on. We'll get back to you soon with an estimate or any questions we have. Estimates are free and there's no obligation.
Call (253) 352-3724