Basement Waterproofing Using Above Floor Channels and Dimple Board

Basement waterproofing using a channel installed at the floor level dates back to the late 70's, around the same time drain-tile started gaining popularity on existing homes with wet basements in Minnesota. These are commonly known as beaver dam or cove waterproofing systems and a lot of home owners went with the system because of it's low cost. The popularity really dropped after the 90's but we're seeing new versions of this system start to pop up again.

Great Lakes Waterproofing has installed similar beaver dam systems in industrial settings, but these are a really bad idea for wet basements. For industrial applications, ripping out 18" thick concrete for drain-tile is not possible, it's thick for structural reasons and you wouldn't want to compromise the foundation. They are not covered with new walls so they are easy to maintain if a leak occurs.

The beaver dam system consists of two pieces of plastic, screwed to the wall allowing water to flow to a sump basket, or sometimes they just flow to the floor drain (this is a code violation). Special corner pieces and seam covers help keep the water in the channel. Holes are drilled into the wall so water can escape the hollow wall and drain into the beaver dam system. After the system is installed caulk is used to seal all of the joints, and there can be a lot of them.

The main problem with a beaver dam waterproofing system is there's no slope! Most of the time it will have standing water in it, the blocks will also not be fully able to drain and can have close to a gallon of water in them before they drain into the channel. Guess what, your wet basement now smells like a moldy, musty, mildew'd rag. This is also a perfect place for basement mold and mildew to grow.

This parking ramp in Roseville Minnesota has a beaver dam waterproofing system but see that stream of water under the gray box? The water has gotten so high because the system has gotten clogged with sand and dirt. There's even an underfloor drain-tile system, that's where the vertical pipe is coming from. Other areas of the system are also leaking because the caulk has gotten old and is no longer keeping the seams dry.

For some reason this system has started coming back and we're seeing more installs of it, a lot of contractors will bury it behind new walls put up in basements and you won't know you have it until it starts to stink or leak, both which will happen. Contractors are also putting up dimple board water channels or plastic sheet on the vertical basement walls to channel the water down, we like to call these mold factories, this is not waterproofing and we highly advise against it.

After using the other systems, these wet basement projects went with Great Lakes Waterproofing to solve their water issues. Great Lakes Waterproofing believes in Real Waterproofing, stopping the water before moves through the wall by creating a barrier with all-natural Bentonite.

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