Sometimes finding the best home improvement solution available is a complicated process. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the wide selection of different home improvement or repair options on the market, all seemingly good solutions. Often these choices end up being a matter of personal preference, a simple matter of finding the product you like best and accepting it.

However, choosing between interior and exterior drainage systems is not one of these cases, this is a case where the options are black and white. Interior perimeter waterproofing is a quick and affordable solution that, with proper service, is designed to last your home indefinitely. Exterior excavation waterproofing is a disruptive, expensive and often ineffective waterproofing solution. And because they are prone to failure, they often lead to basements getting wet anyway.

disruptive excavation

To install an exterior drain around the perimeter of your home, basement waterproofing contractors will first need to excavate the area around the foundation using a backhoe. Before this can be accomplished, anything around the perimeter must be removed, including porches, shrubbery, landscaping, sidewalks, steps, part of the driveway, and anything else that may be near the foundation. Once the soil around the foundation is removed, it is placed in piles in the yard. Drainage will be installed and most of the land will be backfilled in the area. This dirt will be spongy and porous, absorbing more water than any other dirt around it. Over the years it will settle back against the foundation and will require constant leveling to prevent water from pooling and pooling in the house.

Interior drainage systems can be installed in a day or two by hammering in the perimeter of the floor and laying a drainage system on a clean bed of stone. If done correctly, this can be achieved with minimal dust generation in the home and without any long-term or visible disruption to your home. Once the pipes are laid, they are re-cemented, making the system nearly invisible after installation. No damage to the house, landscape or foundation.

drainage problems

Unless your house is located on a slope and there is enough space between your house and your neighbor’s to dig a gravity drain, an exterior French drain system (also known as a gutter) will not have a natural way of discharging water. accumulated in the drains. downhill. If the water cannot run naturally from the bottom of the foundation and out of the house, then the drainage system cannot function on its own. In cases where drainage goes to a storm sewer or dry well, that system will need to be significantly lower than the drainage discharge line, and the amount of water that can be discharged around the foundation is limited to capacity. of the holding tank from the point of entry of the pipe.

In most cases, a sump pump can be installed to pump the water out of the perimeter drainage system. But if you are going to install this inside the house, why not install the rest of the system there as well and avoid foundation digging?

Waterproofing Service and Cost

If you’re looking for a foundation waterproofing system, chances are good that your home already had one installed around the outside when it was built. Why did it fail? Because exterior excavation systems with French drains or drain tiles will eventually need service. When installed, they are placed around the outer edge of the foundation on a bed of gravel. Gravel is placed on top to improve drainage, and a layer of filter fiber is placed on top. If there is no filter cloth, the pipes will get clogged, and if there is filter cloth, then that can just as easily get clogged. Because these drains are impossible to repair without digging up the system again, they are doomed to clog over time. If your outside drainage system fails and your basement leaks, what will you do?

When a new exterior waterproofing system is installed, it is often installed to replace one that has already failed. This comes at a high price! Exterior waterproofing systems are much more expensive than interior ones, typically costing about twice the price. And because they are much more accessible for service and maintenance, interior waterproofing systems can last much longer.