Home drainage is much overlooked world wide, and critical to owning a home that is environmentally healthy. Protecting your home from groundwater saturation and hydrostatic pressure, as a result of groundwater from snow melt or heavy rains, pooling against your homes exterior foundation walls is your objective. This condition causes leaking of groundwater into crawl spaces and basements, and it only gets worse with time and more rain or snow melt. Protect your home from suffering dry rot, mold and mildew, just to name a few. Protect your families health by not breathing bad air.

Most so called home drainage contractors will talk about everything else under the sun as the solution to your groundwater problems. Few know what they are talking about or have years of experience actually doing the work they pitch. Many are not even licensed, bonded and insured contractors at all. Many of these characters just own a ditch witch or back hoe and try to convince you that you can install french drains with it. You cannot. All you will get from these types is a sloppy ditch full of debris, a foundation wall with river rock or gravel directly against the foundation wall in many cases, and in short time, if not from the beginning, these systems will fail and produce a worse groundwater event than had been documented prior to this type of work being done to the home. What out folks.

Whether you are a do it yourself homeowner or someone who wants to understand the subject of home drainage to choose a reputable home drainage contractor in your part of the world you will find enough information on the subject of environmentally safe home drainage standards in this site to satisfy your need for educational excellence and therefore success. You will succeed where before you would have likely failed.

Your diligent study of home drainage will make you money, protect your health and give you peace of mind when selling or buying your home. What’s not to like about that?

When the ground is saturated it takes longer to dry out those areas recieving groundwater, but by getting those hand excavated french drains installed now, you will cut off the groundwater on the surface from the rains and begin the process of drying those basements and crawlspaces. If you wait until spring or summer, your crawlspace or basement may have suffered damage that will need repairs accomplished as well as the french drains.

Many water problems are caused by the old rain drain discharge systems that the downspouts are vented into. This is true of older homes especially. The older homes built before the 1970-80s were most likely plumbed with concrete or clay tiles about 18″ long that were simply laid in a poorly excavated dirt ditch. The dirt falls between the rain drain discharge tiles, and in short or long term they plug with dirt. The downspouts, after the rain drains plug, begin the process of backing up next to the foundation, and naturally the roofwater draining into the gutters and downspouts finds it’s way into the course of least resistance, the basement or the crawlspace.

Many times this year I have removed those tiles filled with dirt and plumbed new downspout discharges with abs and ads solid pipe. When the gutter system cannot vent through the rain drain discharges, the gutters overflow along the whole length of the gutter as well. Water pooling against your foundation causes hydrostatic pressure, and that causes leaking into your crawlspace or basement.

Protect the quality of your foundation walls, and the posts, piers and footings in your crawlspace by installing french drains. To be more specific, hand excavated french drains only. You will be glad you did install french drains when you get the home inspection report during your home sale and find no water or evidence of water; or when you find no damage in the support structure of your home.

Dryrot is the really expensive problem to deal with. Dryrot is a very expensive lesson in poor drainage and procrastinated drainage work.

Dryrot is the payoff for having poor drainage around your home. Dryrot is the evidence of significant groundwater, past or present, in your basement or crawlspace. Protecting your home with good drainage and french drains is just as important as having a good roof over your head. Protect your home with hand excavated french drains.