AAA Home Drainage

1. You find that you are getting water in your crawlspace or basement. This is one of the most conclusive home drainage signs, and many times it goes undetected if the water is in the crawlspace.

2. Your basement and exterior foundation walls show evidence of dark coloration and/or patching and skim coating. Sometimes the patching and skimcoating is done poorly, and if you tap on the inside or outside of the foundation wall in areas that show evidence of repair, it will sound hollow. This is because the mason was not experienced, and floated too much mix on at one time creating an air pocket behind the surface of the repair. Eventually this area will crack and fall away. No bond has been achieved.

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Construct and plumb your french drain groundwater removal system approximately 18″-24″ from the foundation wall. Create a 18″-24″ wide compacted grade splash block, sloping away from the side of the foundation.

This will flow rain water to the inside of your french drain, and reduce water on the foundation wall, that causes saturation of the area, and produces hydrostatic pressure and leaking into basements and crawlspaces.
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When constructing foundation footing drains, if they are required, due to water that comes in low in the grade, near the foundation footing, advise your contractor to do so creating a grade for the system.

Do not lay the perforated pipe flat on the outside of the foundation pour. Do not use the perforated pipe with a sock over it, and just backfill it with dirt. (more…)

Many builders still construct downspout rain drains, and the abs pipes used to connect the gutter systems, by laying them flat on the outside of the foundation footing pour upon completion of the foundation. This leaves pipes flat on the outside edge of the footing, with no grade to help them drain.

A better way is to construct the rain drains is to lay them on the bottom of a properly engineered and constructed french drain groundwater removal system that contains two pipes, and is not constructed at the base of the foundation footing. (more…)