• Home
• About

Wet Basement Waterproofing MA | Basement Perimeter Drain Basics

There are so many aspects to basement waterproofing but in this post I am going to focus solely on basement sub-slab perimeter drains (a.k.a. interior french drains).

The process for installing these drainage systems is designed to relieve the hydrostatic pressure under the basement floor. Properly designed drain systems will accept water into them at a depth and pace to ensure that the water level does not reach the bottom side of your basements floor, or slab. The result of a properly installed and free flowing sub-slab drain is a dry basement by eliminating seepage and future flooding.
The installation process involves removal of 8″-18″ of concrete around the interior perimeter of your basement, and/or in chosen water problem areas. A sump location must be chosen and dug out. All of the concrete must be removed and a trench must be dug 8″-12″ graded from a far high point to the sump location. The grade is a necessary step in order to properly pitch the drain pipe. Virtually every basement waterproofing company has their own company procedures for drain installation. The drain is installed, usually accompanied by large amounts of river gravel or processed stone, it is lead to a sump location and then the drain opening is closed up and recemented.

The sump pump(s) is installed and the discharge line(s) is fed to the outside of the building. Many companies offer drip moldings for the perimeter and vapor barriers so that water coming through wall-cracks and pipe penetrations can be collected in the drain below the floor. These are the main features of an interior french drain, though there are many other custom offerings from companies worldwide.

Visit http://www.greenbearinnovations.com for more innovative Home Improvement and basement waterproofing methods.

Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.