How To Install Drain Tile Around House

How To Install Foundation Drain Tile

• Plumbing Pipe Slope

Subsurface water or high soil moisture in the landscape, as well as runoff from roofs, can threaten to seep through or leak into vulnerable structures or cause puddling, erosion or other problems in the landscape. One means of protecting your basement or crawlspace from moisture and direct excess water away effectively is to install foundation drain tile alongside the structure. Drain tiles are made from various materials. They were traditionally made of clay, but now most drain tiling is perforated PVC or corrugated plastic piping.

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How Do You Protect The Gravel

You must protect the gravel with a barrier. It prevents silt and mud from the soil from clogging the gravel or the drain tile pipe.

During excavation, dirt removed from the hole is fluffed. This means that it is disturbed and broken up.

It’s volume usually increases about ten percent. It’s loosened and disturbed more during backfilling procedures.

Where Is Drain Tile Placed

Drain tile is placed deep in the ground alongside the foundation footing.

Because these systems are usually deeply buried and cannot be easily modified or corrected, it’s vitally important that they are installed correctly. Foundation drainage systems which are installed properly can serve a dual role.

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What Are Drainage Tiles And What Are Their Functions

A drain tile system, also called a French Drain, is designed to collect and redirect water seepage away from the house.

Drain tiles can be installed either on the interior perimeter of the foundation or along the exterior as a house is being built.

Drain tiles basically consist of a perforated pipe set in a trench and covered with gravel. Some contractors cover the pipe with a nylon filter sock to prevent the pipe from filling with debris. Usually the water that enters the pipe is then redirected to the sump pump or away from the foundation by gravity flow.

Most drain tile systems are designed from the same concept. The differences come in the materials, shape of the pipe, and placement.

Differences in Materials and Shape

Before the 1950s, drain tiles were made of a red or orange clay material. The original drain tiles had no holes in the pipe, but instead the sections were laid with a quarter-inch space between them to let in water. Now, drain tiles are made with plastic or PVC perforated pipes.

Manufacturers have designed drain tile pipes in various shapes from round, rectangle, and square to oblong variations or pipes vents with multiple openings for increased flow.

Differences in Placement:

While the main difference in placement is outside versus inside the basement, there are mainly three different placement options for interior drain tile systems.

Interior Drain Tiles:

Exterior Drain Tiles:

How Does A Drain Tile System Work

If your home has a wet basement, a drain tile system can probably solve your problem because it takes water and moves it away from your homes foundation. Applications include basement waterproofing, crawl space waterproofing, and yard drainage.

Other names for this highly effective basement drainage and waterproofing solution include weeping tile, French drain, drainage tile, perimeter drain, and foundation drain.

In this article, were going to go over the basics of how drain tiles work, the difference between an interior and exterior drain tile system, types of drain tile pipes, cost, and finish up by giving you a list of the most common signs of foundation drainage problems.

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Pros And Cons Of Repairing Your Wet Basement With An Exterior French Drain

Cutaway of a French drain system installed on the outside of the concrete footing of a home foundation. A discharge line would also be included to send the water away from your home.

Shown in this photo are the French drain itself , a fill of stone, and the backfilled soil.

One way of basement waterproofing that many contractors will suggest for waterproofing a basement is to install a french drain system along the outside perimeter of your home.

To install an exterior French drain, the contractor will take the following steps:

At Island Basement Systems, we do not recommend this type of drainage system installed in your home. Instead, we suggest installing an interior basement drain along the inside perimeter of your basement or crawl space. For a free waterproofing quote in the British Columbia area, call or e-mail us today!

What Is The Difference Between Drain Tile And French Drain

French drains are actually exterior weeping tiles. French drains are installed on the side of the house as opposed to weeping tiles, which are supposed to be installed below the ground level. The drainage system is designed to drain water away from the home and into the surrounding area. French drain system consists of two main components: a main drain and a secondary drain. These two components are connected to each other by a series of pipes.

Each pipe carries water from a separate location to a different location. When the drain is full, it is filled with water and the process begins all over again. ) the primary and secondary drains in a typical home. The primary drainage pipe is located at the bottom of your homes foundation.

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Are Sump Pumps A Good Idea

No, sump pumps are a bad idea.

If you build on level ground, you have to install a sump pit. A sump pit is usually installed inside the basement of your home.

The pit is nothing more than a buried plastic container that resembles a garbage can. It’s large enough for a sump pump to rest at the bottom.

The drain tile pipe runs beneath the footer to this sump. The collected water is then mechanically pumped from the sump.

Types Of Foundation Drainage Systems

Drain tile is one of the oldest, proven methods for managing water around your foundation. However, there are some other, somewhat newer, types of drainage systems that can work just as well. One of the newer systems on the market works as a combination footing form and foundation drainage collector. This system uses hollow forms for the footings that create a continuous loop around the foundation to collect water.

Another type of foundation drainage system is called a strip drain that eliminates the need for gravel around and above the drain. Weve used this system for years without any problems. Its basically a twelve inch tall by one inch thick piece of plastic with cones formed into it. This plastic is surrounded by a filter fabric to prevent soil particles from clogging the area between the cones. The strip drain is secured to the foundation wall just above the footing. To see more details on this type of foundation drain, check out this link to a product called DrainStar.

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Cost To Install Sump Pump And French Drain

The average cost to install a sump pump and French drain is $4,000 to $15,000, depending on the size of the basement’s perimeter and the number of sump pumps required.

Interior drainage systems require a sump pump to pump the water out of the crawlspace or basement. Exterior French drains may only require a sump pump if the slope is too high. Sump pump installation costs$500 to $1,200 when connecting to an existing drainage system.

Set The Dry Well In Place

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Lower the dry well into the hole after wrapping the sides with a special silt blocking landscape fabric. To tuck the fabric under the dry well top cover, loosen the screws, push an inch of fabric under the cover, then re-tighten the screws. Once its lowered into place, insert the top drain fitting and make sure its level with the surrounding soil. Our situation is a low spot in the back yard. The only practical place to drain the puddle was along the garage and then into a downward-sloping hill toward the front yard. Instead of draining all the water to the front yard, however, we decided to install a dry well, which is merely a holding tank for a large water runoff. After a rain, it slowly drains itself into the surrounding soil.

We also connected a 4-in. perforated drain tube to the side of the dry well to help drain off and percolate overflow water. This tube rests on a bed of 3 to 4 in. of crushed rock or small river stone and slopes downhill from the dry well. A sock sleeve made of a rot-resistant fabric is slid over the tube to filter out any small grains of soil that would otherwise eventually collect in and clog the tube.

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Two Types Of Drain Tile Pipes: Rigid Pvc Vs Corrugated Flexible

There are two types of pipe used in a drain tile system: rigid PVC and corrugated flexible. Both are usually around 4 inches in diameter when used for drainage around residential homes.

Rigid PVC pipe

Rigid PVC pipe has small holes on one side. When the pipe is placed in the trench with the holes facing downward, water gets into the pipe through the holes. Because the pipe is rigid, it needs corner fittings for any direction changes.

Corrugated flexible pipe

Corrugated flexible pipe has small slits all over the pipe. Water can enter the pipe from all sides, but the slits are small enough to keep out soil. Corrugated pipe is less expensive than PVC pipe and easily bends around corners. Its also highly durable in all temperature extremes, hot or cold.

Where Does The Water From French Drains Go

A French drain needs an exit point to remove standing water and prevent flooding. A French drain carries water down a gradual slope into a dry well, public drain or water main, or drainage ditch. Stormwater may be directed into city irrigation ditches with permission from the local water department.

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When Should Drain Tile Be Installed

In new construction, install the drain tile immediately after the footing forms are removed. Cover the pipe with gravel to a level flush with the top of the footer.

If you choose to wait until the foundation is poured, there will be less room to work in, the side walls of the excavation could cave in, or extra concrete from the foundation pour could fall into the hole and have to be removed. Believe me, it’s faster and easier to install the drain tile pipe and the first layer of gravel without the foundation walls in the way.

B Flexible Corrugated Pipe

This pipe has slits cut on all of its sides. The slits allow water in from every direction and keep the sand, soil, and grit particles out.

The flexible corrugated pipe retails at about $0.89 per foot, making it cheaper than the PVCs. The best thing about it is that it does not require corner fittings as it can bend on its own.

Its other perk is that its highly durable and can withstand both high and low temperatures.

Note: The industry standard for residential drainage is 4 inches regardless of the pipe you choose. However, there are sizes up to 18 inches meant for industrial uses.

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Foundations Are Covered Swimming Pools

Many homes around the nation have full or partial basements. These basements are really reverse swimming pools.

The basement, before the house is built on top of it, looks just like the typical in-ground swimming pool. Once the house is built, this swimming pool gets covered.

But most people don’t want water in their basements. Foundation drain tile systems are the means by which groundwater can be transported away from your basement. If you want a dry basement, you must have fantastic drain tile and waterproofing on the outside of the foundation.

Dry Wells Don’t Stay Dry

Some people say to extend the drain tile pipe to an underground dry well. A dry well is a large subterranean pit filled with gravel.

The drain tile pipe runs to this pit and the water fills this pit.

These pits work well only in places that have very open gravel soils. Not many places have this soil. In most places, the soil is dense clay and the dry well fills with water and the water then backs up against your foundation.

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One: Digging The Trench

Two important things to keep in mind when digging the trench are maintain a constant slope toward the point where you want the water to be discharged and keep the surface of the trench level to avoid dips where water can collect.

The trench should be around 12 wide and 8-24 deep. It should slope at the rate of ¼ per foot. This means it will be deeper at the runoff point than it is at the drainage point. The easy way to make your trench is with a trencher, but you may have to do it by hand if the land is soft and muddy.

How Many Parts Are There To Drain Tile

A foundation drain tile system has four main components:

• Drain tile pipe

All of these elements must be installed for the system to function properly.

Here are three of the four parts of the system. The missing part is what happens with the round drain pipe. It will either extend sideways to daylight if the slope is steep around the house, or it will go under the footing to a sump pit in the basement or crawlspace. 2017 Tim Carter

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What Do You Put Under Drain Tile

Over the coarse gravel lay filter fabric or landscaping cloth. The filter fabric blocks the passage of silt and debris, which can slow down the flow of water. If the gravel is too coarse, you may need to add a layer of coarse sand or gravel to the filter cloth.

This will help to reduce the amount of gravel that gets into the drain system. You can also use a fine-grained gravel, such as gravel from a golf course, to fill in the gaps between the filters.

What Is Drain Tile

Simply put, Drain Tile is a system that prevents your home and basement from flooding. It is a drainage setup that channels away water from your house to prevent damage.

Many people have a flooding problem but dont know about the Drain Tile solutions.

If you live in a hilly neighborhood, then you should make a point of investing in a Drain Tile. It will save you from unfulfilled insurance claims and expensive house repairs in the future.

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How Long Does Drain Tile Last

The entire drain tile installation cost can be written off in as little as one year or as much as 15 years, while the actual life of the drain can last up to 30 years.

The drain is designed to be installed in the same manner as a regular drain, with the only difference being that it has a built-in drain plug. This plug allows you to drain the water directly from the tile without the need for a separate drain pipe.

French Drain Permit Cost

French drain permits cost $100 to $375 on average. Drainage permits cost $400 to $500 for cutting a public curb to create a new street drain outlet. Adding a connection to the public storm drain costs $275 more. Additional inspection fees apply if the project modifies the public right-of-way.

Do I Need A Permit To Install A French Drain?

Permits are typically needed when connecting to a public drainage system, changing any structure on your property, or any electrical work to install a sump pump. A contractor’s license is not required to do the work yourself for small jobs under $500 in time and materials.

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Mark Out The Desired Drainage Path

To do this youll need a string, stakes, and spray paint. Afterward, start from the lowest point and dig an 8-inch wide U-shaped trench. Set the trenchs depth at 8 inches.

For short distances, you may use a shovel. For longer lengths, you can rent or borrow a trencher.

As you work the grade, you can always adjust your slope when you hit tree stumps or rocks.