Basement waterproofing in Cedar Falls, Iowa
For the university city upriver from Waterloo, with older homes near downtown and campus and newer ones on its south and west edges.
Cedar Falls had 40,713 people in 2020 and is home to the University of Northern Iowa, one of the state's three public universities. The city grew up around water power on the Cedar River, and its older neighborhoods near downtown and the campus sit alongside subdivisions built over the past few decades.
What did 2008 teach Cedar Falls?
The June 2008 flood was the worst on record in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls area. KWWL reported that the river in Cedar Falls crested on June 10 at about 13 feet above flood stage, and that more than 150 Cedar Falls homes had been bought out by 2012. River flooding is a different problem from basement seepage, and no waterproofing system keeps out floodwater over the ground. But a long wet season raises groundwater across low parts of town, and that is when pumps and drain tile get tested.
Rentals and older homes
If you rent out a house near campus, you may not hear about a leak until weeks after it starts. Damp carpet, mildew on stored boxes and a pump that's quietly failed are common findings. A yearly check of the sump pit and the gutters before spring is cheap insurance.
Common Cedar Falls jobs
- Sump pump replacements and battery backups
- Interior drain tile under older basements
- Crack injection on poured walls in newer homes
- Downspout lines and regrading of settled backfill
Common questions
Will waterproofing protect my Cedar Falls basement from a river flood?
No. Waterproofing handles groundwater and seepage. Surface floodwater is a matter for flood insurance and the city's flood protection, not drain tile.
Who handles permits in Cedar Falls?
Cedar Falls is its own city with its own permit office, separate from Waterloo. Call Cedar Falls City Hall, or have your contractor check, before plumbing, electrical or structural work.
Services in Cedar Falls
- Interior drain tileA perforated pipe under the slab along the walls that collects seepage and carries it to a sump pit.
- Sump pumps and backupsNew pumps, replacements, battery backups, alarms and outdoor discharge lines.
- Foundation crack repairSealing leaking cracks in poured walls and repairing leaking joints in block foundations.
- Exterior waterproofingDigging to the footing, sealing the outside of the wall and adding a footing drain.
- Window wells, downspouts and gradingWindow well drains and covers, buried downspout lines and regrading that keep surface water off the foundation.
Nearby areas
Damp carpet along the wall, or a sump pump that cycles all night?
Call and a waterproofing company that works in Waterloo and Cedar Falls will come take a look.