Drain tile is an effective and affordable way to protect your home from groundwater flooding and foundation damage, diverting water away from its path before it has time to pool under your basement floor, which could lead to cracks or structural issues. Which system you select depends on both your situation and budget – interior or exterior drain tile systems both provide effective protection, though each can offer unique advantages for leak prevention in different situations.
Cost of basement drain tile installation will depend on its installation method, project size and how much equipment rental (such as trenchers or jackhammers) costs per hour from a contractor. You could save money by taking on this work yourself; just be sure to plan ahead as this complex job requires extensive preparation; having all of the tools ready ahead will eliminate last minute hardware store trips for anything necessary like jackhammers, large shovels, dust masks, leather gloves and heavy-duty workwear ready.
Before embarking on your DIY Basement Drainage journey, be sure to review our comprehensive guide. It provides a step-by-step walkthrough and includes safety advice. In addition, this guide details all the tools and materials you’ll require, along with their costs – budget for renting trenchers and jackhammers as well as excavating with a sump pump.
Installing basement drain tile as part of new home construction is the ideal time and cost-saving method; doing it later requires digging down to the footer, breaking up concrete flooring, or hiring outside help to install it later on in an existing home can be time consuming and complex.
Installing an outdoor drain tile system can be more complex than doing so indoors, as the project requires excavating down to your foundation footer and then backfilling to reach it. This undertaking can disrupt landscaping and leave behind a considerable amount of cleanup work that must be addressed post installation.
Retrofitting an older home with an interior drain tile system requires significant effort, but is certainly possible. To do so will involve stripping down basement walls, taking out all finished flooring or furniture along the bottom edge and using a jackhammer to create channels for drain pipe and sump pit installation.
An internal drain tile system will protect both you and your home from groundwater flooding as well as hydrostatic pressure damage – the force which pushes water against foundation walls until they collapse – as well as horizontal or zig-zag cracks forming in basement walls.