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When is a French drain installed and what is it used for?

Have you ever noticed places where water accumulates around your foundation, or worse, in your basement? Well, if that’s the case, it’s time to check if you have a French drain, and its condition, or if you don’t, consider installing one.

First, what is a French drain and why is it used? In fact, it is a drainage system that protects the foundation of your home by preventing water from infiltrating. Consisting of a pipe and a pump, surrounded by gravel, the drain concept is gravity driven and diverts water safely away from your home, and prevents puddles from forming on your lawn and around your home.

Warning signs to look for

As a homeowner, it is important that you stay on the lookout for changes you may see in or around your home.

In fact, moisture, mould, cracks and water infiltration can be the results of a poorly installed, damaged, ineffective or absent French drain. These harmful effects could have serious consequences on your foundation.

Other warning signs, such as wet areas on the lawn or a constantly wet driveway, may encourage you to keep water away from your foundation by redirecting it to a place on your property where it will be more useful.

Water infiltration into your home’s foundation can eventually damage your home’s environment, lead to mould growth and bacteria. This will also affect the air circulation in your home and could cause illness for you and your family.

Water infiltration can even cause large cracks in the structure of the contaminated wall, affect its durability, in addition to causing your property to collapse and become unstable.

To address all these situations, the installation of a drainage system is essential. Since several criteria are used to determine your needs, it is essential to call upon qualified professionals like Rockethammer to evaluate your situation and know if your problem originates outside or inside the house.

A surface water problem will require the installation of an exterior drain, whereas to regulate water penetration into your basement, you will need to install an interior drain. Although the most common technique is to dig a drain around the foundation, outside the house, the drain can also be installed in the house itself.

Though more rare, the interior drain option is chosen when the exterior lot is inaccessible or when the house is built on a water table.

The drain is installed in the basement of the house and avoids the excavation of your landscaping. While they may be installed later, interior drains are normally installed when the property is built. Surrounding the house perimeter, intercepting the water before it can enter the basement.

Better safe than sorry

Often we postpone what we can do today. In this case, it is better to anticipate and pave the way rather than encourage procrastination.

We therefore recommend that you have the soil around your home professionally analyzed before you build. And, if you notice cracks on your home’s foundation, act now to check if these cracks are caused by the crackling of the concrete, not a more serious reason.

Obviously, the price of installing a French drain will always be less expensive than the price to pay to decontaminate a home infested with mould and bacteria, and even lower than having to redo the structure of a house that has collapsed due to water infiltration.

In short, if you suspect that your drain is blocked, damaged, or even that you don’t have one, our team at Rockethammer will help you optimize your drainage and strengthen your foundations for optimal comfort in your home!

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