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Installing a Basement French Drain: Process & Benefits

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Good drainage is essential for keeping a home dry and mold-free. If groundwater accumulates in the basement, it is not only an eyesore for the homeowner, but it also can cause the wood to rot and mold.

Installation of a Basement French Drain by HydroHelp911 with slotted pipes, filter fabric, and gravel is the most dependable way to eliminate unwanted, free-standing water. The old approach of installing French drains omitted granular material and fabric. However, the drain can become clogged with sand and soil without the gravel and fabric over time.

A flooded basement is a nightmare that no homeowner wants to deal with. Unfortunately, because of the large amount of rainfall that some areas of the United States receive nearly all year, flooding is a severe worry. If you have had water in the basement before, the problem won’t go away, and, unfortunately, it’ll happen again.
The most effective waterproofing method is installing HydroHelp911’s basement French drainage system. This waterproofing system can be easily adapted to fit your specific home’s needs and quickly diverts water entering your basement through cracks or floor joints out of your basement and away from your home.

But what distinguishes an Interior French drain system, and why is its installation necessary? This is what we’ll look at in this article.

Basement French drain Installation

Our HydroHelp911 basement French drain system is an excellent choice for waterproofing a typical basement. This French interior drain is designed for installation beneath the floor slab on top of the foundation footing. This helps keep the drainage system away from the “mud zone,” where drains can become clogged. The waterproofing experts at HydroHelp911 install the basement French drain system with minimal intrusion of the slab, and all concrete is regained after installation. 

Installing a basement French drain system from HydroHelp911 gathers water that leaks through basement walls and drains it to the installed sump pump. The system is simple to install and has a clean-finished appearance, so you won’t have to worry about an unaesthetic drain in your basement. In addition, the interior French drain system is compatible with both block walls and poured concrete, ensuring that the basement is always dry. 

Determine the area that will be diverted and drained.

To install a HydroHelp911 basement French drain system first, determine the best location for rerouting excess water. Next, decide where the excess water congregates and where you want it to go. 

  • When selecting a runoff water outlet, look for retention ponds or other bodies of water, or tap into existing drainage. If it’s easier, you can divert the runoff water to the road’s curbside. 
  • Do not drain onto the property of a neighbor. 
  • Mark the direction and length of the trench with striping spray paint, stakes, flags, or another method. 
  • The trench and pipe system should always drain from a higher elevation and let water out at a lower height for proper drainage. 
  • Always keep the water away from your house. 
  • Check to see if your neighborhood has any zoning restrictions and obtain any necessary permissions before installing the French drain. 

Choose one site in which the water flow will not affect neighboring properties. Evaluate a slightly downward-sloping path at least 1 meter away from walls or fencing and free of obstructions such as posts, trees, or shrubs. Drains that slope 6″ every 50 feet provide a better effect. Mark the drainage route with striping spray paint. 

Make a trench and fill it with gravel. 

According to the spray paint signs, delve a 6-inch hole with a shovel “a wide trench no deeper than the depth of the nearby foundation Trenches should run in parallel to building structures and laterally across slopes. Once the trench has been dug, add a 3” a layer of gravel along the bottom 

  • Insert a fabric lining. 

Line the whole length of the trench with the help of landscape fabric, leaving about 10 inches between layers of gravel excess fabric on both sides of the trench 

  • Install the Drain Pipe. 

Position the drain pipe on top of the fabric lining, then cover it entirely with gravel. Leave around 5″ between the upper side of the gravel and the ground surface 

  • Excess Fabric Lining should be folded over. 

Fold the excess fabric over the gravel to create an overlap. This will aid in the protection of the lined drain pipe. 

  • Trench Fill and Cover 

Fill the trench with sand, then topsoil, using a shovel. Cover sand and topsoil with turf and insert a stone bed from around the open end of the drain pipe. 

Basement French Drains Relieves Hydrostatic Pressure

Installation of HydroHelp911 French drains in the basement help to relieve hydrostatic pressure against your foundation wall or floor by ensuring that the soil underneath and around your foundation is never over saturated with water.

If you’re considering installing a French drain in your basement, you’re probably aware that keeping a basement dry implies something more than sealing cracks and jamming holes. In other words, water entering your basement is only a tiny part of the problem. There’s also the issue of hydrostatic pressure to consider. This is how it works: 
When water accumulates in the soil in your basement walls or beneath the basement floor and has nowhere to drain, hydrostatic pressure builds up and pushes against the walls or the floor.

If this prolongs for a long time, the walls will begin to bend inward and which may even crack. In addition, due to hydrostatic pressure, water can even be forced through a basement wall or floor. As a result, a sound drainage system not only keeps your basement dry but also protects the structural integrity of the home by inhibiting hydrostatic pressure from establishing in the first place.

Basements are more vulnerable to water intrusion because they are below grade (i.e., underground), damaging valuables and creating an unhealthy, mold-filled environment. In addition, almost all new homes are built with a drain tile system these days. However, older homes built before the most recent building codes frequently lack foundation drainage systems and are thus vulnerable to water intrusion.

Installation of a French basement drain by waterproofing experts HydroHelp911 is a solution for your wet basement. 

French drains are a well-known and highly effective basement waterproofing system that keeps basements dry by channeling water away from the foundation. Drain tile, perimeter drain, footing drain, foundation drain, curtain drain, weeping tile, and subsurface drain are some other names for French drains. 

Meanwhile, take a look at this video by waterproofing experts in the USA, HydroHelp911

Play: Video
FAQs

WHAT IS THE ESTIMATED COST OF INSTALLING A FRENCH DRAIN IN A BASEMENT?

The estimated cost of installing a French basement drain in an existing home’s basement is determined by several factors, including your geographical location, the drain’s size, and whether you DIY (not recommended) or recruit a contractor. As a result, the exact amount cannot be quoted. 

The only way to determine the cost of installing a basement French drain system is to request an inspection and estimate from a professional foundation repair contractor. Most contractors will assess for free and will be able to tell you whether a French drain is a viable solution for you. 

WHERE CAN THE FRENCH DRAINS BE INSTALLED?

French drains can be installed in a variety of locations. French drains can be installed both inside and outside of your home.

A French drain installed inside, beneath your basement floor, or outside, buried along the foundation footer, inhibits hydrostatic pressure from building up by ensuring that the soil is never swamped. All extra water is directed away from the foundation by gravity or a sump pump. (Please keep in mind that a French drain is not the same as a channel drain.) Channel drains fall under the category of above-ground drainage systems.

WHAT ARE THE APPLICATIONS OF A FRENCH DRAIN?

Residential, commercial, and municipal property owners across the country use French drains to address drainage issues that could damage their homes, buildings, and property or limit the usability of lawns and landscaped areas. Because water flows downward along the paths of least resistance, it can collect against sunken walls and barriers, degrading the material over time. Then, even a hairline crack can allow water to enter where it isn’t wanted, destroying property, posing health risks, and causing other problems. Seepage into a below-ground room, such as a basement or crawlspace, can range from a minor annoyance to a major issue. 

A French drain helps resolve drainage issues in the following situations: 

  • Construction of foundations, basements, and crawl spaces. 
  • Lawns and landscaped areas. 
  • Patios and driveways in hardscape. 
  • Retaining walls 
  • Any site that is prone to surface or subsurface saturation.


If you reside in North Carolina and need a highly skilled foundation repair, basement waterproofing, or crawl space repair company, look no further! HydroHelp911 is ready to restore the life of your basement or crawl space!

 

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If you reside in North Carolina and need a highly skilled foundation repair, basement waterproofing or crawl space repair company, look no further! HydroHelp911 is ready to restore the life of your basement or crawl space!