As soon as water intrusion problems appear in basements, it’s usually best to hire a drain tile installation professional immediately – because hydrostatic pressure is at play here and any delay could increase damage considerably.
At the core of effective basement drainage is determining whether your home has an interior or exterior drain system, depending on if you’re building from scratch or retrofitting existing walls; whether the system uses rigid or flexible pipe.
Dependent upon these variables, installing basement drain tile can range anywhere between $3-$10 per square foot. Please be aware that these estimates should only be seen as indicative and could vary considerably if a contractor must excavate more ground than usual or add extra items not considered when making their estimate.
Field drain tiles work by collecting water around the foundation, then channeling it away from it. Soil has an inherent tendency to push against anything it touches – including your home’s foundation wall – forcing cracks or fissures into it over time, potentially leading to significant structural damage over time.
Drain tile installation usually entails digging a trench along the footings of your basement or crawlspace floor and placing the drain pipe there, followed by covering it with washed gravel for additional protection from clogging or damage. Filter fabric wrap is often added for extra defense against this process.
Once the drain tile has been installed, your contractor will install a sump pit (if one does not already exist). This pit serves to release all of the water transferred through your drainpipe into daylight or another location outside your house.
Those building new homes often benefit from including an interior drain tile system in their construction plan to make installing it simpler and cheaper than doing so later on.
Interior drain tile systems consist of corrugated, flexible plastic pipe connected to rigid PVC tubing that has been perforated to allow in water. This pipe comes either yellow or black in 10-foot lengths with one side featuring holes, while corner fittings may also be included to connect individual pieces together end-to-end or as corner assemblies. Importantly, interior drain tile systems should never come in direct contact with concrete or any material that might clog its internal channels.
Retrofitting requires contractors to remove a section of flooring in the basement and excavate soil around it to form a trench near its footings, before installing perforated piping which is covered with gravel to help prevent clogging and create an excellent substrate for passive waterproofing solutions such as foundation membranes to be applied over.