Footing Drains
You must have proper drainage around the foundation for your basement waterproofing system to function. We install a special drainage pipe around the footing made from PVC that has rows of small holes drilled into it. These holes are placed downward when the pipe is installed because when water rises up from hydrostatic pressure or saturation it will flow into the pipe and be taken away from your foundation footings.
Rigid PVC footing drains are covered with gravel & filter fabric & drained to daylight. The dimpled membrane provides drainage and a capillary break along the foundation wall.
Professional Tip: After Stay Dry waterproofing services are complete, making sure gutters are in place and landscaping has created a grade that slopes away from your foundation are critical to keeping water out of your basement over the long-term.
Piping that runs around your foundation is referred to in three ways: Footing Drains, Perimeter Drains or as Weeping Tile.
There are Two Issues With Footings:
Foundation footings are level but proper drainage requires a slope of one-eighth inch per foot. The footing drain is perforated but the outlet pipe must have no perforations in it and has to be sloped away from the foundation footing.
Placement of the drain pipe has to be low enough to prevent water from reaching the footing top. The best spot in a residential foundation to put the drain is a few inches below the top of the footing and at least a half-foot under the top of the slab.
To prevent the footing drain from clogging up with dirt and other material we lay the weeping tile in coarse gravel or crushed stone covered by industrial strength filter fabric. This fabric must wrap over the top of the weeping tile and under itself to create a solid seal.
How to Prevent Clogged Footing Drains
Drain to Daylight
Drain any water to daylight through the use of no moving parts. It’s easy for you to keep cleaned and maintain. Ensure a minimum one-eighth-inch slope per foot and make sure the open end is covered with a hardware cloth to keep out prying animals. You can also bury the open end in gravel or crushed stone. It will also keep creatures away and water leeches back into the ground.
Cleanout
No matter what you do clogged drains can become an issue. So, do a cleanout with a power auger. A cleaning service will be effective to clear the system provided your pipe isn’t damaged.
Discharge
Footing drains are supposed to be a backup system for any water that reaches your foundation. Without a high-water table in your area, don’t expect them to get much use except for seasonal changes.
Professional Tip: We place at least six inches of course sand above the filter fabric to prevent clogging if you plan to backfill with soil.
Sump Pump Drainage
If draining to daylight is not an option a sump pump is usually employed. It’s a pump in a pit in your basement floor. Your sump pump must have the capacity to drain water that is collected in the pit. Footing drains must lead into the sump pump pit.
Drywell Drainage
Another option is to drain your water to a couple large drywells. They must be at least 10 feet away from your house so you don’t get water flowing back to the foundation. Drywells can be difficult to create so it’s smart to have a sump pump as a backup plan. You can cap the pipe to the sump until you need it so water doesn’t get into your basement.
