Interior Vs Exterior Drainage Systems

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



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



Disruptive Excavation



To install an exterior drain around the perimeter of your home, basement waterproofing contractors will first need to excavate the area around your foundation with a backhoe. Before this can be accomplished, anything around the perimeter must be removed- including porches, shrubbery, gardens, sidewalks, steps, part of the driveway, and anything else that may be sitting near the foundation. Once the earth is dug up from around the foundation, it's laid in heaps in the yard. The drainage will be installed, and most of the dirt is filled back into the area. This dirt will be fluffed and porous, and will absorb more water than any of the soil around it. Over the years, it will settle back down against the foundation and will require constant regrading to prevent water from collecting and pooling against the home.



Interior drainage systems can be installed in a day or two by jackhammering the perimeter of the floor and placing a drainage system on a bed of clean stone. If done correctly, this can be accomplished with a minimal generation of dust in the home and without any long-term or visible disruption of your home. Once the pipes are laid down, they're cemented back over, making the system almost invisible after installation. No damage is done to the home, the landscaping, or foundation.



Drainage Issues



Unless your home is located on a slope and there is enough room between your house and your neighbor's to dig a gravity drain, an exterior French drain (also known as drain tile) system will have no natural way to discharge any water collected in the drains downhill. If the water cannot run down naturally from the bottom of your foundation and outside of the home, then the drainage system cannot work on its own power. In cases where the drainage runs to a storm sewer or dry well, that system will need to be significantly lower than the drain's discharge line, and the amount of water that can be discharged from around the foundation is limited to the holding tank's capacity from the entrance point of the pipe.



In most cases, a sump pump may be installed to pump the water out of the perimeter drainage system. But if you're going to install this inside the home, why not just install the rest of the system there as well and avoid the foundation excavation?



Waterproofing Service and Cost



There's a good chance if you're looking for a basement waterproofing system, your home already had one installed around the exterior when it was built. Why did it fail? Because exterior excavation systems with French drains or drain tile will eventually need service. When they're installed, they're laid around the outside edge of the foundation on a bed of gravel. Gravel is laid on top to improve drainage, and a layer of filter fiber is laid on top of this. If there is no filter fabric, the pipes will clog, and if filter fabric exists, then that can clog just as easily. Because these drains are impossible to service without excavating the system again, they're doomed to clog over time. If your exterior drainage system fails and the basement leaks, what will you do?



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

The Clear Waterproofing Choice When it comes to foundation waterproofing, the choice is clear. Installing an interior drainage system is far less disruptive and installs without the long-term need to regrade the soil around your home. They install quickly- usually in a day or two- and they're much more easily serviced in your home. They're the superior solution to effective short term and long-term drainage around your home, and they install at half the cost. If you're looking for an internal drainage system, Basement System's WaterGuard is the best innovation on the old-fashioned French drain or drain tile system on the market. Their perimeter drainage system is resistant to clogs, easier than ever to service, and installed with the backing of the largest network of basement waterproofing contractors in the world! Their basement waterproofing contractors install only top-quality Zoeller sump pumps and basement waterproofing products. These systems keep your basement dry all the time! ~Jacques Bouchard Basement Systems Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jacques_Bouchard