When it comes to fixing problems in your home, it can be difficult to decipher what the professionals are talking about or to even know what all the parts you are paying for actually do. You understand that they are after all the professionals, but a level of comfort comes with knowing a little about additions and repairs that are taking place inside your home. Vincent Boccia of Boccia Inc., a leading waterproofing and masonry company serving New York, explains what a French drain is and how it can be extremely useful to your home.
A French drain is the generic term for a sub-floor drainage system which is essential in properly waterproofing a basement. A well-designed French drain will include a filtered perforated round pipe, stone and gravel envelope, vapor barrier and cove drainage. Once properly placed below the floor, the system will vacuum out any potential water and moisture before it has the opportunity to enter your basement. Water left untreated contributes to high basement humidity, leaks, mold and a musty basement smell.
A French drain is used for inside waterproofing measures only and is usually needed after you begin to notice water stains on the base of walls or pools of water collecting around the parameter of your basement floor. Â Because of the need to have a great understanding of water-table levels, existing footing size, proper positioning of pipes and the replacement of concrete, instillation is best left to experienced professionals. So putting a French drain in your basement should not be added to the list of repairs you plan on doing yourself.
Unfortunately, a French drain does not typically come standard in every new home because until recently, basements were mostly used as storage or laundry space. Any water that accumulated was mopped up and forgotten about. Now however with larger numbers of people looking to transform their basements or noticing musty smells that won’t go away, French drains are becoming more popular.
This can be especially important to have installed before starting construction on finishing a basement space because damage to new floors and carpeting can be extremely tedious and costly to have reversed. Luckily, once you have a French drain installed, it requires little to no maintenance and should last you a lifetime.
Although not every home may be in dire need of having a French drain installed, any home can benefit it. While it is not guaranteed that you will experience water damage, it is always better to be safe.
