If your basement is damp or is prone to flooding due to exterior water you might have had a contractor try and sell you on expensive exterior waterproofing. The expense can be quite high with exterior waterproofing options due to the excavation that is involved.
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What then are other viable options? An interior weeping tile system provides a viable alternative to traditional foundation excavation and waterproofing measures. An interior weeping tile system is also known as a internal perimeter drain system. Interior weeping tile system have been proven over the last two decades as a highly efficient and cost effective basement waterproofing measure. These systems waterproof both concrete block and cinder block foundation walls.
A perimeter drainage system keeps your basement dry by providing a channel to drain water that flows into or pools within your concrete block or cinder block foundation walls. This system is also highly effective in dealing with high water tables underneath basement floors. It also combats any water that leaks in through foundation wall cracks, making an interior weeping tile system a highly effective means of combating many forms and sources of basement leaks and flooding.
The interior weeping tile system is built by installing a drainage system along the entire perimeter of your basement, beneath your basement floor. This system avoids expensive digging outside of the home. This system drains water at the footing of your foundation much like an exterior weeping tile system does. It works by allowing water which has collected in your walls to drain, which prevents water from seeping through into your basement interior or from going beneath your basement floor. This system extends the life of your foundation by preventing or delaying deterioration over time due to the saturation of the blocks from pooled water within them. Most basement foundation erode over time due to the presence of water which becomes trapped within its walls, but this system provides continual drainage there by alleviating the problem. A properly installed interior weeping tile system will keep your basement dry for life.
Your contractor will jackhammer the basement floor right next to the foundation walls to expose your foundations footing as well as to excavate a trench to be used for the installation of a drain pipe or drain tile. The contractor then drills holes into the fully exposed bottom course of concrete blocks hollow cavities, this allows water to exit the holes and flow into the channel trench or drain pipe. A perforated drain pipe is then installed adjacent to the foundations footing and an air gap membrane is installed along your wall. If your basement does not have a sump pump liner, a sump liner and submersible sump pump will then installed beneath your basement floor, with the liner cover installed flush with the floor. The weeping tile systems drain pipe is then connected to the sump liner but beneath your basement floor and out of sight. This allows the water that was collected from your walls to be drained into your sump pump. The drain pipe and lower portion of the drainage membrane are then covered up with a fresh layer of concrete and leveled so that all that will be visible to you is a seam along the floor next to the wall and the membrane which is fastened to the wall, as well as a sump pump discharge pipe to the exterior. Even the discharge pipe that goes up the wall can be hidden from view by installing against the basement wall and concealing the pipe behind finished basement walls.
Internal weeping tile systems are far more effective at preventing wet basements than exterior weeping tile systems. This is because most of the ground water that enters our basement enters in through cracks, gaps and voids in the basement wall, all of which an exterior tile system will not prevent. In short an interior weeping tile system is one of the most effective tools at your disposal for dealing with leaky basement walls and basement drainage.
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