The integrity of basement drainage is very important to prevent flooding. Basement flooding is a very common problem among households. Aside from the mess and furniture damages in can incur, there are many other potentially health threatening problems that can be associated with having a poor drainage system in the basement.

Research has indicated that various health threats and financial impacts can result due to water stagnation due to basement drainage insufficiency. It has been said that houses that are chronically wet may contribute to respiratory problems in the future. Also, the damage it can cause can be long term in nature and insurance companies may have the tendency to not cover claims. Moreover, the appraisal rate of your house and property may depreciate due to basement drainage problems. If you do not want these things to happen, then it is high time you strengthen the integrity of your basement drainage system.

But before taking essential steps to prevent flooding, it is vital that you know the primary cause of such occurrences. Why do basement drainages flood? Basically, there are various reasons why water can easily enter the basement. Most frequently, it is during periods of heavy rainfall and post- winter that water is most likely to flood the basement. Water seeks to settle at the lowest point, and therefore by the law of gravity, water tends to settle at the basement in your household.

But then again, you can prevent water from entering your home and basement if leaks and cracks in the walls are properly sealed. If you are only about to construct a basement, then make sure that you use the best and high quality foundation drains and an excellent basement drainage system.

There are different types of drainage systems for basement finish being used today. All of them are designed for the purpose of waterproofing the basement so as to prevent incidences of flooding, inconvenience and damage to the furniture and the house itself. It can either be an exterior or interior waterproofing system or a baseboard system.

The exterior drainage system works by making of use of a drain in the basement that runs through an exterior pipe leading to a storm drain. Usually, they are installed together with a sump pump system. One drawback is that if ever the drains are not set up deep enough, water may tend to pass through uphill. And since the drainage pipes are located beneath, dirt may clog the drains.

The interior drains are used whenever storm drains or sump pump are not. It is placed inside the concrete of the foundation by the use of a jackhammer and then setting up a drain pipe. Like the exterior type, it can suffer from dirt clogging over time and blocking of the drainage.

The baseboard system on the other hand is deemed to be more efficacious and less invasive. This makes use of vinyl base boards placed in the walls that are drilled with holes to let water to flow through the base boards that consequently leads to a sump pump that pumps the water out of the basement.

Each basement drainage option has its own set of advantages and drawbacks. The final determinant as to what system to use rests on a lot of factors. This includes but is not limited to location of the drains and actual positioning of the household or property.



Filed under: Basement Finishing • Basement Remodeling

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