What is the Importance of a Foundation Drain?
Owning a home costs you dedication and sacrifice. Apart from financial input, you need to involve experts in every step to achieve your dream house with the right fixtures.
Won't you like your home to last forever after the sacrifice? I believe your answer is yes.
A foundation drain is crucial to keep your home in perfect condition. It maintains your home's structural integrity.
Failure to protect your foundation against water damage can compromise its stability.
Basement flooding, foundation settlement, and other moisture-related problems are common in poorly drained structures.
But thanks to the foundation drain, you don't have to worry about water damage anymore.
Discover the importance of a foundation drain and how it can protect your valuable property from this post.
Understanding Foundation Drains
A foundation drain constitutes a system of pipes used to channel water away from the foundation.
Contractors install these pipes under your foundation or basement floor to collect water and direct it away from the foundation.
There are three components in foundation drainage.
A perforated pipe that allows for drainage
A fabric filter to trap small sediments and prevent them from entering the pipe to minimize clogging
Stones surrounding the pipe to offer support
Why Should You Use a Foundation Drain?
A foundation drain is crucial in protecting your home from water damage. The working principle is downhill water flow through the easiest route.
Here are the benefits of a foundation drain:
1. Protect the Structural Integrity of Your Home
A foundation drain manages water around your home's foundation. Water accumulation around your house is destructive and can deny you the comfort you deserve.
For example, stagnant water around your house is not the best sight for you and your visitors.
Besides making your home untidy, it harbours insects like mosquitoes and other disease-causing organisms.
Furthermore, water leaks into the basement and can make your home inhabitable and weaken the foundation of your house.
2. Prevent Water Infiltration and Associated Issues
Water infiltration is a major cause of foundation failures.
It involves the flow of water from the subsurface into your house through cracks in the foundation.
The causes of water infiltration include:
Excessive condensation on piping
Efflorescence and chipping of concrete
Water accumulation on floors
Poor soil drainage
Leakage of rainwater
Investing in a foundation drain can curb the above issues and protect your home from water damage.
3. Mitigate Health Risks
A poor drainage system in your property exposes you and your loved ones to health risks, such as:
Spread of water-related diseases
Toxic chemical buildup around the foundation area
Breeding of waterborne organisms
Growth of mould and mildew exposes you to severe health problems and allergic symptoms such as sneezing, itchy eyes, and coughs.
You can curb the above health risks by ensuring your foundation has an excellent drainage system.
4. Increase the Lifespan of Your Foundation
A foundation drain increases your home's lifespan through water-damage protection.
It prevents water pooling near the foundation and reduces erosion around the walls. This ensures a dry basement as the drain clears standing water quickly.
The table below summarizes how a foundation drain increases your home's foundation lifespan.
You can enjoy the above benefits if you maintain the foundation drain in your home well.
Install a Foundation Drain and Protect the Foundation of Your Home
A foundation drain is essential in safeguarding your home's foundation against water damage.
It effectively controls water movement around your home and keeps the foundation dry.
Additionally, if you have a problem with water drainage in your basement, a foundation drain will help keep your basement dry and your foundation secure.
At Top Gun, we are drainage experts with over 20 years of experience providing drainage services and wet basement solutions.
Contact us today for a customized drainage solution for your home.