How to make foundation drainage with your own hands?

In the article you will learn how to independently drain the foundation of a house or any other structure. If the building is located in a lowland or if the groundwater level is too high, it is necessary to make quality protection of the base. In order to do the drainage, you need to study all the rules and features of the work.

What is a drainage system for?

If the groundwater is too close to the surface, then in the basement there will always be damp and unpleasant odors. In addition, fungus and mold will begin to form on the walls, and it is very difficult to remove these "parasites". But these are only “flowers”, the worst can happen further. If water begins to penetrate the lower part of the structure, then it will wash the foundation. He, in turn, will weaken.

It is imperative to protect buildings that are being built on heaving types of soil. They can trap moisture, and in the cold, so-called swelling occurs. This leads to the fact that the base of the structure is destroyed. In the event that the basement floor is lower than the groundwater level, the water will certainly get inside. If the drainage is done correctly, you can get rid of most of the problems:

1. Securely protect all basements from possible flooding.
2. Drain all the soil around your home.
3. Protect the foundation of the structure from moisture.
4. Prevent excessive soil saturation with liquid during the rainy season and during stagnation of water on the surface.

What should be considered?

But not always and far from in all areas it is allowed to make a system for water drainage. Before you begin planning and making drainage, you need to consider such factors:

1. Where is the site located.
2. The quality and composition of the soil.
3. At what depth do groundwater occur.
4. Relief.
5. Climatic conditions.

All these parameters affect the foundation drainage device.

When to do drainage?

Using the simplest drainage system, you can protect the structure from flooding. It is necessary to equip the system in such cases:

1. If the basement is lower than groundwater. Please note that during floods, groundwater is at its highest point. Exploration is recommended. The basement floor should be half a meter from the beginning of the groundwater bed.
2. If the structure is being erected on clay type soil. This is loam, sandy loam, etc. And even if the water is very far from the surface, drainage is mandatory.
3. If the site is on a slope or in a lowland.

A bit about other types of soil

If the site is on gravel, gravel or sandy soil, a complete drainage system is not necessary. It is enough to make a good storm sewer, which will be able to divert water from all the buildings in a timely manner during the rain. But this can only be done if you know the type of soil and the depth at which the water lies.

If construction takes place in a new area, the first step is to conduct geological surveys. With their help, you can correctly choose the type of foundation. In addition, these studies will decide if a drainage system is needed. And if possible, do a site survey. This will help in the future when building various objects on it.

Types of drainage

Let's briefly review the main types of systems. In total, several drains can be made, the choice of type depends on various parameters of the site. First of all, pay attention to how deep the water lies.

If separation is carried out by this parameter, then two types of drainage under the foundation can be distinguished:

1. Surface.
2. Deep.

Each is also divided into closed and open type. It’s much faster and easier to do outdoor drainage, as you know. The surface system is characterized in that all its components are at a relatively shallow depth. It is this fact that significantly limits functionality.

The easiest way to do outdoor drainage. This is a system of grooves whose walls are reinforced with clay. Typically, open drainage has a depth of about 50 cm. It can be used in areas where flood water often stagnates. If necessary, you can increase the depth and width of the trenches, and lay concrete trays at the bottom. Of course, such modernization will allow to divert a larger amount of water, but it can be done only if the area allows.

A few words about the surface system

Such a system is the simplest, the costs are minimal. In fact, this is a network of trenches that collect and divert excess water from the site. With its help, it is possible to divert melt and rain water from any building, as well as that which appears during washing or watering. But this type of system can hardly be called full-fledged. He is not able to protect the basement from water. Therefore, with a small depth of water, this type of drainage can be used, but only as an additional drainage system.

Stormwater - a great addition

In order to collect and drain water, which stagnates when precipitation occurs, it is necessary to rain. It is usually done for one purpose - to unload the drainage around the foundation, which does not cope well with the removal of water from the site. Stormwater is usually equipped with linear or point inlets.

Let's look at each of them in detail:

1. Point - sometimes it is called local, allows you to drain the fluid from a specific area. Its installation is made in those places in which a large amount of water accumulates - before entering the house, under a tap or drain, etc. For arrangement, it is necessary to dig a pit, install a storm water inlet in it. The latter must be connected to pipes leading to the sewer. The upper part of the entire structure must be covered with a grill. Please note that the pipe slope must be at least 5 mm per meter.
2. The linear water intake is characterized in that liquid is discharged into it from the entire site, and not from a separate part thereof. It is connected to a grid of channels, which must be independently developed and calculated. Typically, the network is installed around the perimeter of the structure. At the lowest point there is a sand collector - garbage accumulates in it. The entire system is connected to a stormwater drainage system that draws fluid to drainage wells.

Trays, which are intended for the manufacture of linear types of drainage systems, have different sizes. Therefore, this directly affects the throughput. These trays need to be selected based on the features of a particular system.

To make a linear drainage system, you need to dig a trench around the foundation. At its bottom, place concrete or plastic trays that will receive water. It is allowed to use the system open, but it will be much more beautiful if you close it with a decorative protective grille.

How to make indoor drainage?

In cases where the structure is installed on clay soil, it is possible to solve the issue of drainage of excess fluid in only one way. This is the installation of a functional complete system. The filtration properties of clay soil are very low, which prevents the leakage of fluid into the layers below. Because of this, even at a depth of 20-30 cm, waterlogging of the soil can be observed. But let's talk about how to make the foundation drainage and what types of it are.

The same picture can be observed in places where groundwater is close to the surface. It is this water that does not allow atmospheric and flood sediments to penetrate the soil. Quite often, they use combined systems in practice, which consist of storm sewers and drainage. And fluid from both systems is collected in one collector well. Two types of closed (underground) drainage can be distinguished:

1. Wall.
2. Annular.

In both cases, drainage is a network of perforated pipes laid underground. Liquid flows through them into the collector. The difference between the structures is how the pipes are located relative to the structure. The wall is very close to the building. And the ring - about a meter and a half from the foundation. The maximum distance is 3 meters.

Wall-mounted is most often used in areas where groundwater is located too high. But it will work well when building on clay soil. It is recommended to make such a system in cases where it is planned to build a basement. Ring systems are most often mounted on sandy, gravelly or gravelly soils. Or when there is no basement or basement.

When to do drainage?

All work on the arrangement of the drainage system is recommended to be carried out simultaneously with the construction of the house. This is especially true for the wall type. In this case, the installation is much easier to do than after the construction of the building. But if you change your mind only after you have built a house, you can still make the system, however, you will have to sweat a little.

But pay attention to the fact that wall drainage of the foundation is not recommended next to the finished building. If you interfere with the design of the base, this will affect its durability and strength. Both wall and ring drainage is made of pipes combined into one network.

System performance

The efficiency of the system is affected by two parameters - the angle of the pipe and the laying depth. The depth of drainage depends on how deep the foundation is. It is important to take into account one feature - the pipeline must be placed below the foundation by 50 cm. To ensure a good outflow of water, you need to properly position the pipes - observe the same slope. 1-3 cm per meter is enough for the water to flow freely through the pipes into the collector. But if you can’t make a slope, you will have to use pumps to force pump water. If you decide to install a pump, then in the manufacture of foundation drainage with your own hands it is not at all necessary to observe slopes.