Daylight Basements on Hillside Lots
Why the lower level of a hillside house takes the water.
AUBURN NEIGHBORHOOD · LEA HILL
Water Damage in Lea Hill
Water across the lower level of a Lea Hill split-level, or a ceiling stain under the bath? Valley floor to Lea Hill, one number.
- Restoration, mitigation & flood cleanup
- Auburn-area restoration companies
- King & Pierce County
Lea Hill Fact Sheet
- Ground: plateau east of the Green River valley
- Nearest river: the Green, below the bluff
- Typical homes: split-levels and ramblers, plus newer two-story subdivisions and townhomes
- What usually gets wet: daylight basements and lower-level carpet; ceilings under upstairs bathrooms
Up on the Plateau East of the River
Lea Hill sits high above the river, so flooding here isn't about the Green. It's about the houses. The plateau east of the valley is home to Green River College and to neighborhoods that joined the city of Auburn in stages. Many of the older homes are split-levels with a lower floor partly below grade. In a long rain, groundwater moving downhill presses on the uphill wall of that lower floor, and the carpet along it gets wet first. Newer two-story houses and townhomes bring the other common call: a bathroom leak that shows up in the ceiling below.
Getting Help in Lea Hill
On a split-level, mention which side of the lower floor is wet, uphill or downhill. It points the company toward groundwater or a plumbing source before anyone arrives.
Calls from here usually involve ceiling water damage, wet drywall and floors, basement and crawlspace water, water removal, flood cleanup or the whole restoration and mitigation job. One number covers all of it.
A lower-level carpet that's damp along one wall after every long rain is a pattern, not a one-off.
Reading for Lea Hill
Wind-Driven Rain: Water Behind Siding and Around Windows
How storm rain gets into walls without a roof leak.