French Drain Around House Foundation

Are French Drains Positioned Around Slab Foundations Or Pier And Beam Foundations

French drains are installed around both types of foundations. Theyre created by digging a trench around all or part of your foundation. A drainage pipe is then placed inside the trench. When this drain surrounds a concrete slab foundations, it helps prevent slab foundation cracks. Keep in mind that when water travels beneath under a slab foundation, it can place hydrostatic pressure on the slab. By utilizing a French drain, a homeowner can minimize the possibility of that occurring. And, because water can also force a slab foundation in an upward direction, installing a French drain around the slab will help eliminate heaving.

When pier and beam foundations are involved, French drains are used to avoid water damage in and around crawl spaces. Pooling water can cause wood to rot, create mold and a whole bunch of other hazardous conditions. Moisture that is trapped in a crawl space can impact the floors of a house and cause them to sag and squeak. High humidity in crawl spaces should definitely be avoided. Take precautions to preserve your house and prevent damage.

If you have noticed water around your foundation, its wise to consult with a drainage specialist. At HD Foundations, we service the entire DFW area. Contact us today.

• The need for repairing slab foundation water damage in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington and other metroplex

Final Verdict: Is Foundation Drainage Necessary

A foundation drain is necessary. Water moving towards your homes foundation can cause major issues and setbacks. The best way to avoid this is to install a foundation drain. When your foundation for your home is installed, a foundation drain should be part of the process. Over time these drains may need to be amended or repaired because of damage with tree roots or filter fabric deteriorating, but the presence of a foundation drain will extend the longevity of your foundation.

What Should You Do Next

Do you want to learn more about waterproofing, hydrostatic pressure, and the benefits of a dehumidifier? Check out our Basement Waterproofing Guide, a free and in-depth review of everything homeowners need to know about waterproofing.

If you have water in your basement, and would like more information about the best water drainage system for your home, contact Acculevel at 866-669-3349 or by requesting an estimate. We will make an appointment for you to meet with one of our trusted and experienced project managers.

They will listen to your concerns, inspect your home, and clearly explain what options are available. Our goal is to provide you with a whole-home solution designed to meet your needs. We believe everyone deserves a safe and healthy home, and we understand that your home is the single largest investment you have.

If you dont live in our service area, please make sure you are working with an accredited and insured member of the Better Business Bureau. If youre not sure where to start, we recommend asking neighbors, your local HOA, or the realtor you worked with on your home. All of these are good sources for finding someone reputable and trustworthy. You can also use our guide of questions to ask a contractor, to make sure that you find the right contractor for you.

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Advantages Of Foundation Drain

Why You Should Install A French Drain

French drains are quite popular in Houston and surrounding cities particularly because they can end foundation problems resulting from poor drainage. In most Houston homes, the majority of drainage problems are caused by negative grading and/or improperly designed or installed gutter systems, which fail to divert water runoff away from the foundation.

Ensuring proper drainage is one of the most important aspects offoundation maintenance. In short, proper drainage allows homeowners to maintain a relatively constant moisture content in the soil around the foundation and prevent the problems that are usually caused by repeated expansion-contraction cycles.

While repeated expansion-contraction cycles could lead to differential settlement, too much water pooling around a home is one of the primary contributing factors to mold growth, wood rot,concrete spalling, and foundation heave. Any of these problems could lead to foundation failure and additional damage, such as cracks in the walls, doors, and windows that no longer open and close properly, uneven floors, sagging roofs, and tilting chimneys.

Since excess water around your home is the main culprit behind extensive damage, keeping water away from your foundation is the only way to address and prevent different types of damage that could affect your home.

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How Does Installing A French Drain Around Foundations Prevent Damage:

It helps you avoid deterioration by forcing the water that is surrounding the foundation into into a safe zone. Its important to remember that water carries a whole lot of weight. In fact, one gallon of water weighs 8.34 lbs. A cubic foot of it weights around 62 lbs. As you can imagine, over 30 of rain per year can mean that a lot of water weight is impacting the soil beneath your foundation. Since the DFW area is known for expansive soil that swells when it gets wet, the dirt under your foundation can shift under the weight of the soil. This is a condition that should be avoided because it can destroy your foundation and negatively impact your house.

What Are The Required Materials For Proper Foundation Drainage

Different drainage solutions can require different materials. There are many questions that need to be answered. What is the preferred placement of stone around foundation drainage? What kinds of stone can I use? Where can I get stone? What kind of pipe or tile is required?

Acquiring the correct materials will help inform you of how to install a foundation drainage system. For a basic french drain, youll need perforated pipe, a geotextile cloth/cover such as a permeable mesh sock, and gravel. Not sure what those materials are or where to find them? Lets break them down.

Before buying materials, find out which kind of drain pipe is best suited for the job. We break down several of the options and descriptions of other related terms here in our glossary.

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Cost Of Installing A French Drain

Another factor to keep in mind before installing a French drain is the cost of materials, as well as any costs associated with hiring a professional to complete this work. While this task can be handled by an experienced DIYer, many people may prefer to have the system professionally installed to ensure that it will work effectively. Additionally, hiring a professional can give you better peace of mind because most companies will guarantee their work, so if there are any problems with the French drain or if any other electrical or plumbing lines are damaged during the installation, you can contact the company to resolve the issue.

The average cost to have a French drain professionally installed is about $5,000, though it can climb to $18,000 for an interior French drain installation. Keep in mind that the longer the drainage trench, the higher the cost of materials. In general, you can expect to pay about $10 to $50 per linear foot for an exterior French drain and about $40 to $100 per linear foot for an interior French drain due to the specialized membranes and additional work required to install this type of system.

What Are The Excavation Requirements

First, make sure your landscaping is done at the proper slope. A slope that is too steep will cause erosion issues. A flat yard will lead to standing water. A proper slope is 1 foot in rise per 50 feet of run . This is ideal for drainage.

To install an exterior french drain, youll need to do some digging digging up most of your yard, unfortunately! During this step, make sure to avoid any buried power lines, gas lines, or sewage. Youll have to dig a trench around the perimeter of your footing. This trench must be at least two feet wide and six feet deep. For a slab-on-grade home, the trench can be as shallow as two feet.

Exterior drains can get clogged in a few years and require you to redo this project. In order to make sure this doesnt happen, youll have to place a permeable mesh sock over the drain pipe. Your other option is to install an interior drain. This requires breaking up your basement floor, installing the drainage system, and then rebuilding the floor.

At this point, you may be thinking the install job might take a little more time and attention to detail than originally thought. Thats ok. The team at Superior has the experience and expertise to install foundation drainage systems correctly and

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What Is Collected Surface Water

Surface water naturally flows downhill using whatever path it chooses. If someone takes some action to concentrate the flow of surface water, this water is called “collected surface water”. If you collect surface water, you have an obligation to discharge that water where it will not cause problems to downstream property owners. If the discharge of collected surface water causes problems or damages on downstream properties, this could be grounds for a lawsuit.

Examples of collected surface water include:

• artificial ditches
• drainage from eavestroughs and downspouts
• water collected from the roofs of greenhouses
• discharge from storm water management ponds
• street curbs and gutters
• road crossings.

What Is A Foundation Drainage System

A foundation drainage system is used to push water away from the foundation and ensure it does not seep in and deteriorate the foundation. This can be done through various methods, including a sump, downspouts, drain pipes, and french drains. The type of foundation system that homeowners choose to use can depend on the surface area of the land as well as the way water will drain from the roof.

The foundation drainage system will help with basement waterproofing, but it also ensures that the outside walls of the foundation are not continually soaked with excess groundwater.

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When Is A French Drain Necessary

A French drain is used to channel groundwater and rainwater away from the foundation of your house, preventing expensive leaks and damage. Here are a few ways you can recognize that you need a French drain:

French Drains Questions: 888

French Drains Discharging To Driveway

Clay Insert Over End of French Drain

• Sloping french drains 1/8 per foot allows for gravity flow of groundwater to discharge area
• License, California B general contractor 744545

Perimeter French Drains, New Construction

Schedule 40 PVC Drain To Prevent Cracking, Deflection

• Backfilling and compacting tons of soil requires a rigid french drain to prevent deflection
• French drain deflection limits gravity flow of ground to discharge area
• French drain deflection affects gravity slope and creates areas of ponding water at base of foundation

French Drains Wrapped in Filter Fabric With Edges Sealed With Tape

PVC Pipe Tape is Engineered To Adhere in Below Grade Wet Conditions

• Correctly installed french drain filter fabric, edges sealed with water resistance PVC pipe tape
• 1/4 schedule 40 PVC french drains is twice the thickness of the standard 1/8 schedule 35 PVC french drain, schedule 35 french drains are prone to deflection and cracking after backfilling and compacting soils
• Schedule 35 drain pipe joints and connections are also prone to cracking allowing roots and sediment in french drains
• Drainage panels exterior covered with filter fabric allows ground water to migrate to french drains preventinghydrostatic pressure on foundation walls

French Drain Clogged With Roots

Cheap Schedule 35 Drains Prone To Cracking

• WARNING : Schedule 35 french drains are prone to cracking, clogging drain with sediment and roots

Planter French Drains

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French Drains Vs Surface Drains: Purpose

The main purpose of a French drain is to drain excess water from your garden and the area around your foundation, so that it doesnt get under your home. If your soil is prone to oversaturation from heavy rain or flooding, this type of drain will efficiently channel away any water trapped in the ground.

Surface drains are used to collect and move away large volumes of water in a short amount of time. They are frequently installed in sloped surfaces like showers and driveways to catch surplus water runoff and drain it away before it can collect and cause serious damage. If the area around your home has drainage issues , a surface drain can prevent it from causing stress to the structure.

Drainage Solution For Foundation Preservation

If you have any of the water drainage issues mentioned above, a foundation perimeter drain may be helpful to ensure all excess rainwater is removed to avoid costly foundation problems. French drains are an excellent solution to foundation drainage issues for several reasons:

• If properly installed, they can operate smoothly for years to come.
• A quality drainage system can increase the value of your home.
• They require no special equipment or moving parts, so they dont break down or involve high maintenance costs.
• Smaller, simpler systems are fairly easy and inexpensive to install, and might be done by an experienced DIY homeowner.

French Drain pipes are laid at an angle to provide rapid drainage toward the desired low point. The goal is to keep as much water as possible away from your home and foundation. In some of todays houses the drainage system is attached to a sump pump to ensure water flow can keep up with heavy rains.

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A classic french drain is a trench dug into the ground, to direct groundwater away from a specific area. Its usually lined with gravel or rock, with a perforated pipe placed in the center. If your yard becomes a pond every time it rains, a french drain is an excellent way to make this water collect somewhere else .

Acculevel is a family-owned and operated company that specializes in foundation repair and waterproofing. Since Andy Beery started the company in 1996, weve helped restore health and stability to more than 30,000 homes throughout our service area.

We offer several different waterproofing options, to meet the needs of homes and their varying structures. And we offer the best warranties in our industry. With the exception of baseboard drainage, we guarantee that our waterproofing systems will not clog or fail for the life of your structure. In order to keep that promise, our water drainage systems have to be the best products available, and they must be installed expertly by professionals.

We do not install french drains, because we are primarily focused on interior drainage. And we do not install french drains inside homes, because they do not meet our particular standards. In this article, were going to share the three primary reasons we dont recommend interior french drains.

Fixing The Drainage Around House Foundations:

Are you unsure of which type of drainage solution is best to facilitate the drainage around foundation? We can help. Let us take a look at your property situation, and advise you on the best solution that is right for you. Contact Stratum today:

Installation Process:

Below are images showing an area drain used to fix drainage issues around the house.

Remember, an area drain has water grates at set places or areas where water tends to pool. You can see identify this is as an area drain in this Dallas area home by spotting the green grate to correct drainage around the house in the problem area.

French Drain

The below images show why french drains outside the house are commonly used in the Dallas area. Water can enter through small holes all along the pipe, providing the most surface area to channel water away from the property. This is one reason why french drain installation in Dallas is on the rise.

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What Problem Can You Avoid With A French Drain In Good Condition

This membrane stops water flow before it reaches your home. This solution is particularly effective on rainy ground or during snowmelt, when soil becomes waterlogged and saturates the waterproofing of foundations, causing numerous cracks.

Although specialists can always repair foundation cracks, consequences can be disastrous for any commercial or residential property owner. This is why the installation, repair and maintenance of this drainage system must be carried out by professionals.

Whats The Difference Between A Basement Floor Drain And A Basement French Drain

A French drain gets rid of the water in the soil under and around your foundation before it has a chance to make its way into your basement. In contrast, a basement floor drain gets rid of water that might, for example, spill out of your washing machine or laundry sink. This is why basement floors are sloped slightly. If your laundry machine overflows, the water flows down the basement floor drain and into either the sewer or into a collection pit where a sump pump then gets rid of it.

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