Exterior Drain Tile Services in Aurora and Surrounding Areas
Waterproofing your home is important if you want to live in a house with a high air quality. It is also important if you intend to increase the value of your home as well as prolong its life span. Whereas your interior drain tile will serve the purpose of draining water already in your basement, an exterior drain tile is more effective in draining water away from your home before it even gets the chance to get to the interior. Whether the source is ground water, overflowing gutters, heavy rains or even misplaced downspouts, an exterior drain tile will effectively protect your foundation from water damage.
What is an exterior drain tile?
Depending on where you live, an exterior drain tile is known by different names. In western parts of the US, it is known as a French drain, in Canada it is known as weeping tile while in several places, it is referred to as footing tile. Whatever you call it, it’s all one and the same thing.
The installation begins with excavation; our crew digs a trench around the entire foundation. The trench dug is wide enough to accommodate the drain tile, but also narrow enough to prevent damaging the foundation. A few layers of gravel are laid down at the bottom of the trench and a perforated PVC pipe is laid down.
The pipe is wrapped in a nylon filter sock and is installed along the perimeter of your home. It drains into the sump pump basin, which is discharged by a sump pump. All exterior drain tiles must drain to a sump pit with a working sump pump to be effective. Before backfilling more gravel is poured on the pipe.
During installation of the exterior drain tile, we will consider whether installing a waterproofing membrane is necessary. Not all homes require this, only the most damaged foundations. This will prevent seepage of water through a weakened foundation. Most of the time we will opt to install an external waterproof membrane. This is particularly effective for cement or masonry foundations.
*Everseal Basement Waterproofing calls JULIE (Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators) before we begin any project
Why should you install an external drain tile?
There are several reasons as to why you should consider installing an external drain tile, but we will summarize them in three points.
Finished basement-If you recently renovated your basement into a living space where your family can hang out, tearing it apart to waterproof your foundation is not really an option. An external drain tile offers the option to waterproof the foundation without affecting the interior space of your basement.
Preservation of the foundation wall – Water seepage through foundation walls can cause serious structural issues. If not attended to, the house can collapse within a few years. An exterior drain tile will drain water away from the wall, leaving it free of its negative effects.
Masonry foundation – If your home’s foundation is made of masonry material like concrete and stone, an exterior drain tile is very effective in preventing water damage to it. Masonry materials often have joints that are prime avenues for water leakage or seepage and having an exterior drain tile installed will drain away the water from these points.
