Healthy homes are protected by hand excavated french drains. The fact that a lovely home looks like it should be on the cover of Architectural Digest does not exclude it from investigation and the possibility of it containing home drainage problems never dealt with.
When it comes to real value in housing nothing trumps a healthy home. A home with an atmosphere that is sweet and clean to breathe should be every families objective.
A solid foundation is another essential aspect to a healthy home. An environment free of mold and mildew comes with “green”, healthy homes drainage concepts employed and hand excavated french drains installed properly to remove groundwater prior to it saturating the homes foundation walls.
Hand excavated french drains not only should be installed properly but located in the proper areas and collecting groundwater within the proper soil depths.
We love those picture perfect homes when wrapped up in the home buying process and many times like deer in the headlights home buyers are mowed over by some homeowners groundwater problem deception.
I have worked on many million dollar plus street of dreams homes that contained built in home drainage problems from bad planning and engineering. These homes are built to fail, from a home drainage perspective.
Who wants an expensive, trendy, neo-traditional designed unhealthy home that looks great? Right? Long story made short is: renovate that home from the exterior of the home first, by installing hand excavated french drains about 18″ away from the foundation wall after first compacting a dirt splash block at the foundation wall, sloping away from the wall, to enhance rain run off.
When you have stopped the groundwater entry problem, finish the inside of the basement. Finishing a basement prior to solving groundwater entry problems is money wasted and lots of potential extra headaches during hard rains.
Hand excavated french drains remove groundwater faster than it can soak in around foundations because the groundwater is flowing on the hard clay bottom of the aquaduct with an overflow perforated pipe. It is the clean grade and engineering that sets it aside from all other home drainage methods as the oldest and most efficient way to protect areas below grade prior to them being saturated with groundwater during hard rains and snow.
The installation of hand excavated french drains prevents the groundwater saturation and hydrostatic pressure caused by heavy rain, coming fast, which is what produces most home drainage problems. When the rains stop the home drainage problems almost deserve to be forgotten in some homeowners eyes as it seems, until the next season of hard rains.
Install hand excavated french drains before the saturation occurs to enjoy the benefits of planning and prevention with respect to groundwater removal and home drainage health.