Can Underground Downspouts Stop Basement Flooding?

Your foundation is the bedrock of your home—literally. Whether you have a concrete slab or brick and mortar beneath your family room, you need that stabilizer in place if you want to keep your home in one piece. 

As such, you’ll want to take steps to ensure that your home stays as stable as possible while you’re still living in it. That is where foundation drainage comes into play. Most materials used to make up home foundations do not naturally drain. These materials also tend to react poorly when exposed to excess moisture or groundwater. 

Contending with Hydrostatic Pressure 

The presence of water near your foundation can cause the molecules in your building materials to rapidly expand and contract. In doing so, your foundation can come under significant stress because of this hydrostatic pressure. In order to cope with that stress, the materials you have supporting your home might crack, thereby allowing even more moisture into your space. 

A cracked or leaking foundation is a foundation that not only may begin to sink into the ground but that might also put other structural supports within your home at risk. For example, a damaged foundation can allow enough moisture into your home to cause your floor joists to start decaying. This means that you might find yourself contending with a sinking floor on top of the damage already done to your foundation. 

Identifying Your Home’s Damage 

Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to tell when your foundation has suffered from damage. You can work with a professional, however, to walk through your home and look for any signs of damage that might be concerning. Some of the clearest signs of moisture-based foundation damage include: 

• Unpleasant smells 
• Mold growth 
• Warped door frames and windowsills 
• Standing water in your basement 
• Seepage 
• High levels of humidity throughout your entire home 

In short, enabling foundation drainage means that you can protect your home from significant damage later down the line. Some of the best tools to use when trying to ensure that your foundation drains consistently include interior drains and internal sump pumps.

While it is often best to leave foundation repairs to a professional, there are some steps you can take to help your foundation drain more effectively before damage sets in. Some of the most effective steps you can take include: 

Clean Your Gutters Regularly 

Your gutters keep water from reaching the perimeter of your home whenever it rains or snows. However, if you leave your gutters full of leaves or gunk, then you put your foundation at risk for unnecessary damage. You can make a point to clean your gutters and downspouts on a regular basis if you want to try and avoid the worst of the damage that might come your way. 

Grade Your Lawn 

You can also work with a professional to determine what the grade of your lawn is and how you might modify it to better protect your home. Most lawns have either a positive or a negative grade. If your lawn has a negative grade, water will run toward your home whenever it rains. To compensate for this slant, you can build up a small wall of soil around the perimeter of your home, preventing water from coming into direct contact with your foundation’s sensitive materials. 

Repair Any Existing Damage 

When in doubt, it’s always a good idea to inspect your home for damage and to work with a professional contractor to try and repair anything that may have suffered as a result of localized hydrostatic pressure. Note that you’ll always want to try and repair your home before investing in any internal waterproofing measures, as those measures may only suffer if you don’t attend to the root of your home’s moisture problem. 

Waterproof Your Home 

Finally, you always have the option of installing a home drainage system, whether your home’s brand new or on the older side. The professional contractors in your area can talk with you about your waterproofing options and can even pair an interior drain or sump pump with other measures meant to limit the amount of water your foundation comes into contact with.

At JES Foundation Repair, we recommend that all our clients interested in a perimeter drain use BasementGutter™. It’s a perimeter drain for basements that is designed to drain groundwater from the surrounding foundation and capture moisture seepage from the walls. BasementGutter™ is similar to French drains except that it’s a lot less expensive and a more efficient drainage system because it’s located indoors. With exterior drainage, excavation is required, which is what shoots the price for French drains way up. Interior drains, however, don’t have such an extensive installation process.

The drain pipe is placed inside a small trench that runs along the perimeter of the basement. This trench is right against the basement walls so that the drain has an easier time collecting groundwater from the wall-floor joint. This area is the one most susceptible to flooding when a foundation is experiencing hydrostatic pressure, so its placement is used to optimize the drainage system’s performance. The drain can be connected to your basement’s sump pump so that all the water collected can be reliably pumped out.

The drain is designed to resist clogging, which is a big problem with exterior drainage systems. You won’t have to worry about whether or not the drain is doing its job during a storm because it’s capable of handling a lot of water without getting backed up. A lack of clogging also means less maintenance work and expensive repairs, so a money-conscious homeowner would love this particular drainage system. BasementGutter™ is only available through JES Foundation Repair, so if you’re interested, give us a call for a free inspection.