How to Install Drainage Foundation Tiles

Poor, inadequate drainage away from the house foundation is one of the major causes for wet, leaky basements. Water is guided by gravity, and it will follow the path of least resistance. When the ground surrounding basements is hard enough for water to run across it, instead of down through it, the water will take the path gravity gives it. Most often that is a small crack in the basement wall. Avoid this problem by installing drainage foundation tiles. Drain tile is actually a round, plastic four-inch pipe with holes in the top.

Things You'll Need

• Power digger or backhoe
• Shovel
• Drainage tile sealant
• Gravel
• Roofing felt

Instructions

1. Set the digger or backhoe bucket as close to the foundation as you can set it and still maintain control. Dig down, removing the dirt as you dig, until you reach the footer. Use the footer as your digging guide, and dig down six to eight inches below the top of the footer. Dig this far below the top of the footer to reduce/lower the water table level below the basement floor. Keep the bottom of the trench as uniform as possible.

2. Lay the drain tile/pipe. Have corner pieces on hand to turn corners with while retaining drainpipe integrity. Use sealant to seal the pipe/tile sections to each other at the ends as you install them.

3. Cover the pipe with at least three feet of gravel, more if budget allows, using a shovel. Fill up to within 18 to 24 inches of ground level if you can. Provide the water a gravity-friendly path in which to travel, away from the basement. The gravel should be at least one inch to 1 1/2 inches. Do not use fine gravel.

4. Cover the gravel with roofing felt to provide a silt barrier. Do not let silt filter down through the gravel, settle into and clog the tile/pipe you just installed. Clogged tile can only be fixed by digging it up and replacing it. Fill in the rest of the trench with the dirt you just dug out to ground level, using the shovel..

5. Dig the trenches away from the house, to ground surface, if you have good slope to the yard or live on a hill that will let gravity redirect the water.

Tips & Warnings

• Get and compare prices for every phase of this project.

• Recruit plenty of help to get it done quickly and without rain delays.

• This is not a cheap project, and without digging equipment, do not attempt it.

• If a slope to direct the water away from the house isn't available, call a foundation drainage professional and discuss options with him. He will probably recommend the standard solution, a sump pump.Sump pump installation is messy and expensive.

References

• Ask the Builder: Foundation Drain Tile & Backfilling Tips
• InspectUSA.com: Sump Pump
• Service Magic: Foundation Drainage