French Drains

A French drain is a ditch covered with gravel or rock that moves away from your basement. It has hollow pipes along the bottom which vent water that gets down into the gravel or rock. French drains are a popular drainage systems, and are used to stop water from getting into and damaging your basement.

Foundation Drain Installation

A correctly installed foundation drainage system can prove to be one of the most important parts of your home’s construction. If your home is older and you find that your basement is constantly experiencing issues with water seeping into it, then you may not have a foundation drain installed. To ensure that your basement is allowed to remain dry when the water in the soil around your home is seeking any crack to enter into your basement, it is absolutely vital that you take the steps to research foundation drain installation.

Understanding The Purpose Of The Foundation Drain

When done correctly, by skill professionals, foundation drain installation can help you to ensure that your basement remains dry and free of the potential health hazards that mold and mildew offer. Foundation drains allow water from in the soil around your home to flow away from your basement. Even if you live in a relatively dry area, all it takes is for the water content in the soil around your home to increase slightly for you to develop a slow leak into your basement. From there it is a quick step to developing mold and mildew, and also for the area tiny crack to weaken and slowly develop into a larger crack for even more water to enter.

Remember that water is, essentially, lazy. It will always take the path of least resistance – if you offer water an easy to flow through drain in lieu of working its way through a tiny crank in your basement wall, there are good odds that the water will opt for the drain.

Working in conjunction with an exterior basement wall sealant, your foundation drain can help to ease the stress that water can place against your basement’s walls.

The Foundation Drain

• The drain pipe
• Filter media
• The filter media cover
• The water outlet

The drain itself is generally customizable to fit around your basement’s exterior walls and any other piping that may be in place; corners and interconnector pieces are available to ensure that the foundation drain can adequately drain the soil. The filter media is generally pea-sized gravel that can allow the water to easily flow through but will, along with the filter media cover, help to keep out excess silt from clogging up the drainage pipe.

The water outlet is the area where the water flows to once it collects away from the walls of your basement. As a general rule of thumb, your water outlet will simply open up into an area where the water can be evaporated.

While it is not impossible for a foundation drain installation to occur in an older home without an existing system in place, it is infinitely easier to install the system in new construction before the basement walls have been poured.

Consult with a foundation drain expert who will be able to help determine the best resolution for the water concerns that you are experiencing with your basement. Your resolution depends entirely on your home’s unique situation – allow a skilled professional to guide you in the right direction.

There are generally four primary components to a professionally installed foundation drain; in order for the foundation drain installation to be successful at keeping water out of your basement, all components must be included.