Effective Crawlspace Drainage Systems In Charlotte Nc And Surrounding Communities
We cant stop water from flowing, but we can manage its direction to where we want to direct it. Since many North Carolina locations receive heavy rainfall in the spring and early summer months, drainage issues have been a significant concern in residential and commercial properties. Without proper attention, it can create hydrostatic pressure, which compromises the stability of your propertys foundation.
Since the crawlspace is the lowest point of your home, chances of flooding in this area are high, even from a mild rainstorm or snowfall. Fortunately, we can help resolve your drainage system issues by installing a drainage system along the foundation of your property. Internal drainage systems are a common and effective solution for this issue, not to mention less expensive and invasive to install. If you are looking for a dependable drainage system company in the Charlotte, NC area, Carolina Crawlspace Pros is here for you. Our drainage system services guarantee exceptional results without the need to break your bank! Just give us a call, and well send someone out right away to provide you with a FREE, no-obligation estimate!
What Issues Exist Without A Moisture Barrier Protecting Your Home
The potential of wood rot, mold and other issues is very high, and that will lead to more issues that will affect the home. Pests love your crawl space and will find what they need to survive. If a food source is found in the crawl space as well as water it will offer that perfect environment to pests and, in turn, result in severe damage to the home. Pests thrive in those conditions and will begin eating into the structure of your home.
Can You End A French Drain Underground
A French drain is a flexible drainage device that may be used to solve a variety of drainage issues. Water is dispersed over a vast area through a buried perforated conduit. A French drain, in reality, does not require an input on only one end. You may build the drain such that it accepts water along its length and disperses it underground.
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Book A Free Crawl Space Inspection And Let Scout’s Check It Out
Book a free crawl space inspection to identify if you have moisture and pest issues in the crawl space. The inspection does not take too long but is thorough enough to find all those issues that you may miss by having a cursory glance into the crawl space. This needs the services of a licensed professional who will be able to identify what you can’t. Scouts pest control are fully licensed and conduct inspections on a regular basis.
Check Out How Your Crawl Space Could Look!
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French Drain Installation In The Charlotte Nc Area
At Carolina Crawlspace Pros, we provide honest and reliable drainage system services for Charlotte, NC area communities. We never leave our clients in the dark and pride ourselves on transparency. Let us share with you how we do French drain installation, the CCP way!
Determine a Trench Location
First, we need to assess the property and determine the perfect route for your French drain system. This includes where the water should go and confirm that the end of the trench is in the proper location.
Check the Slop
Water flows to its easiest path of resistance. A sloped French drain will make it easier for the water to flow down to its destination. Our drainage system contractors allow for a minimum slope of 1% during the process, which means we place 1-foot drop in every 100 feet length.
Trench Digging
Remove the sod, then dig the trench, considering the vertical sides and smooth sloped bottom. Then, Line the trench with landscape fabric, using a continuous swath.
Fill the Trench
Fill the trench with course drainage gravel, such as crushed granite, so it is flush with the surrounding ground or sod.
Nothing beats the commitment and attention to details of our experts at Carolina Crawlspace Pros when it comes to crawlspace drainage system installation in the Charlotte, NC area. You can count on us to create a carefree living environment so you can focus on the many other things you have on your plate.
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Crawl Space Low Point Drain & Discharge
A low point drain and discharge system is designed to manipulate the flow of water from the lowest point in the crawl space. This drain system is fairly simple, consisting of a pipe installed at the lowest level. Because the drain pipe is mounted steeply, the water can be directed out of the crawl space.
How Far Away From A House Should A French Drain Be
A french drain should be installed 3 feet from the house. Measure around the porch, patio, basement and deck before you install the drain. If you are installing a new drain, make sure it is installed in the same location as the old one. The amount of water you need to add to your drain depends on the size of your house and how much water is in your home.
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Not Lining The Trench
Its also important to line your French drain with fabric. You want to use a continuous swath if possible.
If not, you can overlap pieces of fabric by at least 12. However, its important to secure both ends of the fabric with staples driven into the ground. As you lay the fabric, fold the excess on both sides and trim it away later.
Also, its important to overlap the fabric in the desired direction of flow. In other words, the fabric on the high side of the trench must overlap the fabric on the low side.
The Budget Waterproofing French Drain Method
We follow a foolproof French drain method to ensure that your crawl space or basement stays dry. Our method includes the following steps:
- 1. We start by excavating the area around your home where the French drain will be installed.
- 2. Next, we install a perforated pipe in the excavated area.
- 3. The pipe is then covered with gravel and surrounded by a drainage fabric.
- 4. The area is then backfilled with dirt and tamped down.
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Problems Caused By Excessive Flooding
Whether you just frantically searched who installs French drains near me after you noticed the beginning of some flooding in your yard or have let it sit for a while, youre in the right place if you want to obtain awareness of potential problems and take action. If left to sit, standing water can cause foundation issues, disease, soil erosion, mold growth, and foster a breeding ground for mosquitoes. This flooding can also kill plants, trees, and grass, ruining your landscape. You can also easily track mud through the home.
It can cost thousands of dollars to fix these problems, but a drainage system can quickly solve them. A French drain is particularly useful against intense flooding because it captures and diverts groundwater before it saturates the ground. Be sure to do your research about French drain installation near me to solve flooding-related issues quickly and effectively. A professional installation can keep these problems at bay for thirty to forty years.
How Do I Know If I Need French Drain
There are many issues you may encounter that would indicate the need for a French drain system. If you are noticing perched groundwater, this is an issue you must address quickly. Perched groundwater can lead to many issues including growth of mold and mildew in home and building structures, issues with seepage in streets which encourages growth of algae and degradation of crawl space coverings.
Issues with hydrostatic pressure could also result in the need for a French drain, as well as a wet basement or a wet crawl space. Leaving these issues unaddressed can lead to pricey damages due to your home or building structure being compromised.
Additionally, if you have expanding soils, a French drain system is imperative. Expanding soils are ground soils that have the ability to absorb large quantities of water which causes them to expand exponentially, which can produce many undesirable outcomes. These outcomes include structural damage to nearby homes and buildings, and an unstable home or building foundation.
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Not All Encapsulations Are Equal
You need to take precautions when you are investing in a company to carry out an encapsulation. There have been cases where the encapsulation has failed because the standing water and moisture issues were not dealt with in the appropriate manor. You can see from the pic below where the encapsulation has failed because of this standing water issue. This image came from an inspection carried out by Scouts Pest Control and found the following problems because of the lack of crawl space drainage.
Not having the problem dealt with swiftly and professionally can cause more moisture problems, and that of course means pests that seek shelter, water and a food source. Having the drain and sump pump installed properly, should be the first port of call and a prerequisite due to your standing water problem. This is the first stage before any other moisture remediation can be effective.
Wood Damaging Pests
Besides draining the surface water, this ensures that your household is free of termites and other pests that would otherwise gain a foothold and threaten the structural integrity of your home. This is particularly important for older homes, which decay faster and are more prone to structural damage first from the accumulating moisture, and then the ensuing termite population or other wood damaging pests.
Signs You Need Crawl Space Drainage
To find out if you need a crawl space drainage system, take a look around for the following signs.
- Standing Ground Water: The most obvious sign you need crawl space repair is if you have standing water or a muddy crawl space floor. While flooding could be caused by leaky pipes, it can also be due to poor drainage.
- High Humidity: If your home feels more humid than typical, this can actually point to an issue with your crawl space! When moisture builds up there, it can lead to condensation on appliance surfaces, pipes, or the inside of windows. If your paint is peeling, you smell a musty odor, or you see mold or mildew in your home, there is definitely a cause for concern.
- Sagging Floors: Remember that your dirt crawl space floor can retain moisture if its not properly waterproofed. This can weaken your floor joists, causing them to sag or slope.
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The Benefits Of French Drain Installation
There are many benefits of having a French drain installed in your basement or crawl space, including:
French drains can help to prevent water damage by collecting and directing water away from your home.
Standing water is one of the leading causes of mold growth. By having a French drain installed, you can help to prevent mold from growing in your basement or crawl space.
French drains don’t detract from the look of your home because they are installed underground.
Install The French Drain Near The Surface
We see articles and DIY guides advising homeowners to bury the french drain pipe at the footer in crawl spaces like you would in a finished basement, but keep in mind the main enemy is surface water. If you place the drainage system at the footer and you live in a hard soil or clay environment, the vapor barrier may float, or worse the water gets on top of the plastic before it has a chance to seep into the footer drain. In crawl spaces, our primary concern is groundwater which can come from the footer, the foundation wall, or the door. Making sure the flood water has easy access to the drain tile you placed in the crawl space will ensure it discharges quicker to the outside.
Pro Tip – Make sure you weigh down the pipe if it is covered with a Styrofoam aggregate otherwise it can float out of your trench. Don’t use loose polystyrene foam poured into the trench because it will float out under your vapor barrier.
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What To Know Before You Install
Whether you are doing it yourself or Google searching French drain installers near me to find the best professional in your area, there are some things you need to know about these system installations before the fact.
Before digging the trench, the underground utility lines on your property should be marked and noted when creating a route for the drain. There should also be an ideal location for the water to drain. Before the trench is filled and covered, the drain should be tested to see if water flows properly through the pipe and out into the drain area. In fact, it is good to leave the pipe uncovered until heavy rain comes through, ensuring that your French drain is working and that you do not need to regrade it.
When you are considering next steps, be sure to search up professional French installation near me and schedule a consultation appointment to further discuss a drainage system for your property.
Using French Drains For Crawl Space Drainage
Your crawl space is the area between the first floor of your home and the soil beneath. Crawl spaces are a great way to access floor joists, wiring, and pipes for repairs, but when they accumulate moisture, you can run into serious issues.
Because the floor of a crawl space is often made of soil, they commonly become wet, humid, and even moldy. Even if your crawl space floor is concrete, water can still seep in through the foundation walls, causing those same excess water problems. These problems can lead to severe water damage, rot, and pests. Rot can impact the structural stability of your home, pests can eat away at the floor joists, and mold can affect the air quality in your home, which can affect your home environment and even make your family sick.
Its important to drain and waterproof your crawl space in order to remedy those issues and prevent them from returning.
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Crawl Space Mold Removal
One of the most critical tasks in resolving moisture control issues is to remove mold from the crawl area. Mold may quickly become a serious problem in a home, and those who act immediately to clean up and remediate the situation will have a better chance of preventing it from spreading. You will save time and money if you remove the mold before it spreads throughout your home.
Do You Need A French Drain In A Crawl Space
French drain in the crawl space is designed to move water to a pump. They can be used to move the water out of the foundation wall. If you have water intrusion in your crawl space after heavy rains, you may want to consider installing a french drain. The first step is to determine if you need to install a drain or not.
Then you can determine how much water you will need for your new home. To determine the amount of water needed, divide the floor area by the number of square feet of floor space. For example, if your home has a 2,000 square foot floor, then you would need a 1,500 gallon per day drain in order to prevent water from seeping into the basement.
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History Of The French Drain
Despite the name, the French drain system did not originate in French. It was named after a 19th-century American agriculturist and invertor, Henry Flagg French, who developed the said technique. His passion for agriculture led to his book called Farm Drainage in which he introduced the French drain system or cellar drain. The French drain system is an effective method, but they wear out when soil and plant roots clog the gravel and pipe perforations. This is why a maintenance check is still necessary to maintain efficiency. French drain installation cost varies on different factors, including length and depth of the drain, types of drain materials, project length, and digging difficulty.
Sump Pumps And Battery Back
We do not usually use gravity to run the water out of the crawl space once it enters the french drain system. For us, using sump pumps attached to battery backup systems is a more reliable, long-term approach. Over time we have seen landscaping companies and homeowners forget where gravity discharge lines are and sometimes destroy them. Running a 1.5-inch PVC discharge to a pop-up emitter is less difficult to forget because it is always visible.
Of course, the time you will lose power is when you need it the most, during heavy flooding. The SEC 822PS Pump Sentry is great for pumps up to 1/2HP and the 1622PS covers up to 3/4HP. Both are great add-on battery backup systems to ensure your sump pump runs when it is needed the most. The Pump Sentry can be installed on new and existing systems in both crawl space and basement waterproofing applications.
Pro Tip – Make sure you are installing your sump pump into a sump pump basin with weep holes to allow moisture to enter. You can even dead-end the pipe into the basin to make sure water enters and is discharged faster.
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Solving Moisture Problems For Maryland Homeowners
As a BBB-accredited business with an A+ rating, you can trust that Budget Basement Waterproofing is your best choice for French drain installation in Maryland. Our French drain contractors are licensed, bonded, and insured, and they are ready to put their expertise to work for you. Were so confident in our French drain installation services that we back all of our projects with a Lifetime Guarantee. When you partner with Budget Waterproofing, you can rest assured that your home is in good hands.