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After the drain pipes have been laid and connected to an outlet, double check the system using a four-foot level to make sure the water will flow toward the outlet.

The material used for backfilling should encourage rapid drainage to the pipes. DO NOT shovel dirt back into the trench.

Backfill with these materials:
-6″ of pea gravel or crushed stone on top of the pipe
-12″ of sand travel filled to within 24″ of the surface
-a layer of felt paper
-24″ of topsoil graded at the surface away from the house

After the first several rains, inspect the area for any slight settling and have enough extra topsoil to fill in any small holes or depressions. Minor settling is expected as the gravel and sand work their way into permanent position.

Perimeter foundation drains should be installed after the walls have been treated. Drain pipe or drain tile comes in three types: PVC (polyvinyl chloride), flexible molded, and ceramic. The type you choose will depend on the price and on how much you wish to support the petrochemical industry. In any case, the pipe comes in standard 4-inch diameter size. PVC is perforated and comes in 10-foot lengths, the molded flexible pipe comes in rolls of up to 250 feet, and ceramic pipe comes in 4-foot lengths.

Lay the pipe on a 3-inch bed of pea gravel or crushed stone. If ceramic pipe is used, place the sections ¼ inch apart and wrap the joint with an 8-inch strip of felt paper. This keeps soil and silt from clogging the joint while allowing the water to get under the paper and into the drain.

Install PVC pipe with the perforations facing down, to minimize silting. Flexible pipe needs no special treatment. Because the purpose of installing perimeter drains is to carry the excess ground water away from the building site, you need to be concerned with where the runoff will go. If permissible in your locality, you can run the water off into a storm sewer.

If you live in the country and the house is on a slope, you can simply run the pipe from the low end of the foundation to the surface some point below the house. If your lot is level and local building codes prohibit connections to storm sewers or if no sewer is nearby, then there are at least two alternatives to consider.

One is the construction of a dry well or modified leach field .These are subsurface water-collection points that allow for normal absorption into the soil at a distance from the house. The second alternative is to connect the perimeter drain to a sump and then pump the water to the surface (see the section on interior drainage and installation of sump pumps).

For dry wells there is no rule of thumb concerning the proper size. A “dry” well simply holds the water until the soil can absorb it naturally. If your soil is heavy, the well will drain more slowly and you will need a larger well. The opposite is true for sandy soils; the same size house will need a smaller well. Before installing a dry well, it is recommended that a soil engineer or representative from the SCS be consulted.

Apercolation test should be performed to determine the rate of absorption, and you will need an estimate of the maximum expected water flow from your drainage system. The dry well can then be constructed based on the maximum rate of flow and the soil absorption rate. A well that is too small could back up your system resulting in a flooded basement — which is what you are trying to prevent!

Optional: chalk line, reinforced polyethylene sheet, muriatic acid or etching product

All exterior wall treatments, regardless of other local conditions, are based on at least one application of an asphaltic base, a tar-like sealer designed for exterior foundation walls. For most homes, a properly applied coat of foundation sealer should prevent any water from entering the basement.

If your home is in a low spot or in a chronically high water-table area, the enormous pressures exerted by the water against the walls will require more than a coat of sealer to prevent leakage. For these conditions, the only solution is to install a membrane, a continuous layer of material impervious to water, against the exterior wall.

In the past, the installation of a membrane was referred to at the “sandwich method” because a layer of heavy 30-lb. felt paper was sandwiched between two coatings of tar. This method is still perfectly good, its disadvantages being that it is time-consuming to install, and that felt paper comes in relatively narrow rolls requiring overlapping to form a good seal.

Today, new membrane systems and materials offer almost foolproof water protection. Applied to the exterior of the foundation, these impenetrable membranes can withstand changes in temperature, continuous exposure to water, and are relatively easy to apply.

Equally effective and easier to install is a fiber glass reinforced polyethylene sheeting that comes in rolls up to 8 feet wide. Do not use a standard unreinforced polyethylene sheet. It tears too easily, negating its purpose. A single roll of this sheeting will cover the entire wall of most homes without any horizontal overlapping. It is available at well-stocked masonry supply outlets under a variety of brand names.

If a contractor is doing the job, ask if he is going to install a membrane barrier. If he says no, find out why. It doesn’t take that much time to install and for the extra material cost, it may be well worth it, especially if you have any doubts about the condition of the walls
and the local water-table height.

REMEMBER: If your house is in a high water-table area, water may still come up through the floor, and for obvious reasons it is impossible to place a membrane barrier on the exterior side of the
floor. In an extreme case it might be possible to tear up the floor, put down a membrane and pour a new floor, but that seems an excessive solution. Good perimeter drain tile should keep the water table below the level of the floor slab.

After excavating a comfortable work space, clean the wall with a stiff brush and a garden hose. If there is a lot of sediment or crystallized deposits on the wall, wash it thoroughly with a weak muriatic solution or use a commercially prepared etching product (UGL Drylock Etch, for example). Always wear eye and hand protection when working with these products.

Patch all visible cracks with hydraulic cement. If the wall is bare concrete or cement block, it should be given a coat of mortar. This treatment on block walls is referred to as “parging” and results in a smooth surface upon which to apply the sealer. Being introduced on the market is a fiber glass reinforced bonding cement that could be used instead of parging and forms a dampness barrier of its own.

The wall should be absolutely clean when using it, however. Few homes in northern latitudes have block foundations because they are more susceptible to shifting and settling due to ground movement caused by deep penetration of frost. Block foundation homes in northern climates must install a membrane barrier to insure dryness.

Once the wall is thoroughly cleaned and prepared, elastic roof sealer should be applied around any pipes, wires, or conduits that pass through the wall. Elastic roof sealer is different from roof
cement in that the roof sealer can be applied to a wet surface and remains more pliable. Use roof sealer to coat the wall-footing joint, to fill any depression or holes in the surface, and to seal any other joints or corners that look like potential weak spots.

Now apply the foundation sealer. Measure the square feet covered after using the first can. The amount of coverage should correspond with the manufacturer’s recommendation. If more space has been covered, then it is being spread too thin. Roof sealer and foundation sealer are available at any building-supply store, and can be purchased in one- or five-gallon cans.

To apply the reinforced polyethylene sheet, start in a few feet from a corner and strike a vertical mark with a chalk line. Press the edge of the sheet up to the line and secure it with a coating of roof
sealer. The top can be temporarily tacked to the bottom of the house frame and the bottom held down with a shovel full of gravel. Roll it out tightly around the house as if you were wrapping a Christmas present. Any cuts to fit the sheet around pipes or wires should be completely sealed with roof sealer. When you get back around to the starting point, overlap at least 12 inches and completely seal the joint with the roof sealer.

The same procedure is followed on any vertical joint if a second roll is necessary. After the trench is backfilled, the excess at the top can be cut off down to the level of the grade.

Whether you are installing drain tile, waterproofing the wall, or both, excavation should go down to the base of the wall footings and be out far enough from the wall to allow a comfortable working space.

Be careful when digging around pipes and underground wires. Working in a narrow trench is not pleasurable and there is the temptation to work quickly. Have patience. This is a dirty, messy, and expensive job. Do it right the first time!

Loam (medium) — 2.25 units of water per foot of soil

Clay (heavy) — 3.67 units of water per foot of soil

This list makes clear that the heavier soils have a significantly higher carrying capacity, which means much more ground water is kept near the surface in the vicinity of the foundation. More water also means that greater pressure is exerted against the walls and floor.

In heavy soils, the only satisfactory solution is to excavate the perimeter of the foundation and install drain tile and waterproof the wall.

If there is no waterproofing on the wall (there should be a coating of tar or other water-repellent material) then regardless of the soil type, excavation and waterproofing will be necessary.

Excavation is a job for a person handy with a shovel, or for someone with a couple of strong-backed friends. Otherwise, consult several contractors for estimates before deciding which one to hire.

Contractors generally give estimates in terms of dollars per linear foot. To get the total cost, measure the perimeter of the house and multiply that number by the cost per foot.

(Homeowners are warned to beware of advertisements for services claiming to be able to waterproof the exterior walls of the foundation without excavation. Several companies report success using a clay injection or a pressure pumping system that forces a waterproofing material down evenly spaced holes drilled around the foundation. They state that the material spreads out underground and fills in the space between the holes. There are currently, however, numerous law suits filed around the country by homeowners for recovery of payment in cases where the treatment failed to stop the leaks.)

Feel free to post any questions you might have, or comment on some of the other threads in the forum.  We hope the new Basement Waterproofing Forum proves to be yet another way that this site helps you with all of your DIY home improvement projects!

Step outside and inspect your house. Do you have roofline gutters? If so, where do the downspouts drain the water? They should carry the water either to a storm sewer (where permitted), or a dry well. If there is neither of these, there should be splash guards at the bottom of the downspouts that will carry the water at least 8 to 10 feet from the house. Check the gutters and clean them of leaves, nests, and other debris.

During a rainstorm, go outside and check  for breaks or leaks. Repair any damage to the gutters caused by ice and snow. Many basement flooding problems caused by poor drainage have been corrected by the proper installation and repair of roof gutters and properly positioning the downspouts.

Should the basement still leak after making the repairs, it should at least be less than before. (Not much consolation, but a good gutter is a worthwhile investment in any case.)

Next check the grade of land away from the house. There should be a gradual sloping away so that the surface water will tend to run off before being absorbed into the soil. You can check the grade using a straight 2? x 4? x 8´ board and a four foot level. Lay the board perpendicular to the foundation and place the level on the board.

The bubble should be off center toward the house. If the bubble is dead center or off center away from the house, you probably have some regrading to do.

Before calling a contractor for several loads of fill, it is a good idea to examine your soil. You can do this yourself or get the assistance of the local agricultural agent or a representative from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service (SCS) who deals with homeowner problems. In many areas of the country, SCS has detailed soil maps and can be of great assistance in helping you decide what action to take to improve the drainage around the
house.

Dig out a hole down to the base of the footing. This will serve two purposes. One, it will show what you have for soil and its relative moisture-holding capacity, and two, it will show what your house has as waterproofing on the exterior wall.

Even if the walls appear well protected, poor workmanship frequently is the cause of basement leaks. Improper mixing of cement with too much sand and other time- and cost-saving “shortcuts” may have kept down the purchase price of the house at the expense of major repairs sooner and more frequently than expected.

If the soil in the test hole is loose, crumbly and easy to shovel, then you have a medium to light loamy or sandy soil. These soils will provide good drainage under most conditions. With adequate waterproofing on the wall, simple surface regarding should solve your problem.

If the soil is extremely hard-packed with a heavy clay texture, then it is likely that it is partly responsible for your water problem, and simply regarding will be of little value.

Once you get started, seemingly complicated projects often turn out remarkably straightforward.  When you replace and old fixture with a new one in the same location, the plumbing connections are simple mechanical fittings; no soldering, threading or cementing is involved.  Replacing a rickety water guzzler with a stylish, scientifically engineered toilet, for example, is mostly a matter of loosening nuts with a wrench to take the old tank off of the bowl and the old bowl off the floor and then reversing the process to bolt the new fixture in place.  Chances are the trickiest part will be lifting the components–vitreous china is fragile as well as heavy, so you may need a helper to maneuver the bowl and tank safely.

Lavatories call for even less effort to replace.  Ready-made fittings fo into place quickly.  Wall-mounted sinks are hung like pictures from specially designed brackets packaged into the basins.  Modern vanity-type lavatories are simply set into counters or fastened there with screws or bolts.  Neither kind of sink is difficult to add to a place where you do not have, but want, one: a darkroom, a bedroom, a mud room; you must extend the drain and supply lines, but if you observe the so-called critical distance between the fixture and existing pipes, you need not install a special vent pipe.

Outdoor plumbing, which most builders neglect because of the digging involved, may pay the richest dividends of all for the amateur.  With a bit of trenching and rudimentary piping, youcan treat children to an outdoor shower close to the back door or indulge yourself in a step-saving lawn hydrant next to the flower garden.  If you want to shoot the works, you can even build in a sprinkling system and connect it to an electric timer that will turn the whole apparatus on and off automatically.

In all modernizing–additions as well as replacements–keep in mind that you never need feel limited by the materials of your present piping.  Adaper fittings make it possible to join new pipes to old ones.  And, in more and more communities, local codes permit you to use plastic to shortcut your plumbing projects.

1. After nearly every rainfall (your problem is poor drainage around the foundation)

2. Only at the height of spring thaw and after heavy rains (your problem is a high water table)

3. After every rainfall (a little) and especially at height of spring thaw and after heavy rainstorms (your problem is a combination of poor drainage and a high water table)

4. After using washing machine, dishwasher, shower, or tub and no other time. (your problem is a break in the sewer pipe or a clogged leach field)

For breaks or leaks in pipes or a backed up, clogged leach field or septic tank, you will need the services of a plumber to fix the leak, or a contractor to repair the septic system.