The Drain Tile Hall of Shame

A newer drain tile installation overflowed the black transistion channel sending water all over this basement floor.

Iron Ochre is a growing bacteria that sets up like Jello and clogs the whole drain tile system.

This is very common, dirt and sand flow in with the water and plug the french drain.

The basement water discharge is draing a few inches from a foundation crack.

Sand and Dirt Comes in With the Water and Could Clog the System.

Sand and dirt particles will eat away at the pump impeller eventually causing it to stop pumping.  It might sound like it's on but the pumping has stopped.

Asbestos Floor Tiles need to be removed properly, not broken out like this company did.

Plastic Sheets and Dimple Board can be Breeding Grounds for Mold & Mildew When Used to Waterproof Walls

Dimple Board should never be used on inside walls.  If it is it should be fully sealed to keep mold, mildew and nasty dank smells from your basement.

Water is coming out of the wall about 3' up from the sump pump.  This system is plugged with sand and dirt and is will be nearly impossible to fix from the inside.

Drain tile works great with high water tables but most basement water issues we see are from rain or snow.  These blocks are probably filled with sand and dirt and even with this new system, the path of least resistance is straight through the blocks.

Water isn't the only thing that comes in your basement, sand and dirt follows and will clog the entire system.

This home had several walls cracks and the amount of water overwhelmed the system so the installer started pumping the water into the floor drain

The yellow indicates a high mineral content in the basement water which eventally clogs up the entire drain tile system, the pipe is already over 1/2 clogged and it sets up like concrete.

We call this recirulation, the water gets pumped out and immediately goes back into the wall.

Another very common complaint is the drain tile system is dry.  Inside drain tile is rarely effective with poured concrete or stone walls, the path of least resistance is straight through the wall bypassing the whole system.

Sand, dirt and minerals come in with basement water clogging and choking off the underfloor pipe system.  Installers usually put the pipe openings down where this material sets up.

This undersized sump pump discharge is pointed straight at the house where a lot of the foundation cracks are letting the water right back in.

Sometimes the path of least resistance is straight through your basement walls, bypassing the drain-tile system completely

This is starting to get popular, spray foam for insulation used on basement walls.  In most cases it will hold water in until enough pressure pushes it on the floor.  I can imagine this was a very expensive mistake when you add the cost of the foam to the drain tile system.

Exterior French Drains are also likely to fill with sand and dirt like this one.  Now the water will empty out next to the foundation.

Drain tile waterproofers have no interest in fixing the problems.  This homeowner has a lot of foundation damage in the corner right next to a downspout but all of this was ignored when the sump pump was put in.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out the water is coming through above the floor and will never make it to the drain tile and sump pump.

The darker stains tell me there's probably a lot of sand, dirt and minerals coming in with the water which plugged up the drain tile system and pushing the water through above the basement floor.