The foundation of a home is doomed to leak from the very day it's built. When the earth around a home is excavated to create room for home foundation walls, a gap is left between the edge of the foundation and the virgin soil around it. When the foundation structure is finished, soil must be backfilled into the area to fill in any additional gaps, creating a gap of loose, fluffed earth. This earth absorbs much more water than the virgin earth around it will ever hold, and a false water table forms around the home. When you have rain in your yard, more rain will collect around the foundation than anywhere else in the home.
As foundation water gathers around a home, it begins to add weight and pressure on the concrete walls. This pressure pushes water vapor through any cracks in the wall, often including the foundation wall floor joint. Additionally, this water will be pushed through the porous grout and the cement of the concrete itself, which will enter the basement in the form of humidity.
To prevent this, when the house is built, a French drain is installed around the foundation. This drainage pipe is usually laid within a bed of stone that is designed to filter out soil particles so that only water makes its way to the drain. Additionally, a filter fabric is sometimes laid on top of the stone to keep soil and sediments from making their way through. However, without the fabric, the drain is doomed to clog. And if you do have the filter fabric, that will clog instead of the drain.
When exterior French drains clog, Exterior Excavation is the only way available to repair or replace them. To do this requires a complete removal of all soil on top of the drains around the home. Anything on top of that soil- including foliage, stairs, sidewalks, gardens, porches, or other landscaping must be removed so the expensive and invasive process can begin. The dirt is removed and left in mounds in the yard, and when it's backfilled back into the gap, it's even more fluffed than ever. In a year when the ground settles, more soil will need to be added to the area there is no dip next to the foundation so water will not run downhill towards the foundation and pool there.
The best way to drain foundation water is to do it around the inside perimeter of the basement with an Interior French Drain System. Installed underneath the floor, this system will not clog with dirt and sediment like an exterior system will, and if it ever does need servicing, it can be easily done without the need for exterior excavation.
* What is a Free Estimate and Inspection? An authorized Basement Systems or CleanSpace® Crawl Space contractor will schedule a meeting during which a design specialist will inspect and measure your basement or crawl space FREE of charge, provide a free in-depth book on basement or crawl space solutions (valued at $14.95) and present you with a free written estimate at no cost.
** Warranties vary by product and service. Check with your local authorized Basement Systems or CleanSpace® Crawl Space contractor for specific warranty information.
