To keep your basement or crawl space water-free, a drain tile system is an essential waterproofing fixture. These waterproofing devices ensure that during periods of heavy rainfall or snowmelt your home won’t be inundated by groundwater that causes costly flooding issues and structural damage.
As part of building a home from scratch, an exterior drain tile system will often be installed around its foundation footers to prevent water seepage through cracks into the foundation and basement walls. But for existing homeowners wanting to prevent or remedy water intrusion issues in their basement or crawl space, an interior drain tile system might just be what is necessary.
Interior drain tile systems consist of perforated plastic drainage pipe that collects groundwater and directs it towards a sump pump, either within your basement floor and/or beneath footers of your foundation. They may also connect to an exterior basement wall drainage system.
Basement floor drains are perforated plastic pipes installed under the floor of your basement that feature an inverted “T” shape. When in place, these drain tiles should be covered in washed gravel to prevent soil entering through perforations in the pipe, before being concealed using finishing material such as carpet. When installing such drains it is crucial that they slope towards their pipe so water can flow out of your basement into its path and into it safely.
An interior or exterior drain tile system may be useful in helping reduce hydrostatic pressure. Hydrostatic pressure occurs when too much water has soaked into the soil, pushing against your basement walls and pushing against their foundation, leading to cracking, leakage and even structural failure. A drain tile system may help alleviate this issue by diverting groundwater away from home foundations.
There are various kinds of basement floor drains, but all operate the same way: to move water into a collection pit before having it expelled out via submersible or pedestal-style sump pump. If your existing basement has become damp due to water intrusion, have professional contractors install a floor drain. For more information on basement drainage solutions for Cincinnati homes call Reid & Pederson Drainage today – they offer free estimates as well as lifetime warranties on our work!