We Don't Water-Manage, We WATERPROOF, Stopping Water Outside is REAL Waterproofing!
What the Heck is Drain Tile Wateproofing?
In the modern world, drain tile waterproofing is a method of moving water through perforated pipes under a basement floor, to a basket with a pump, and pumping that water outside. The end result should be a dry basement.
But! The history of drain tile systems goes back even further, some say hundreds of years. Most scholars agree that clay tile has been used to transport water around farms for decades and the idea to move water and other liquids using clay pipe expanded with growing cities and infrastructure.
Some of the earliest uses of clay pipe was the underground sewer systems of major cities starting with Washington DC in 1815. The clay pipe would start in the homes or buildings and extend to the street or main line sewer. At some point someone thought it would be a good idea to lay sections of pipe around the perimeter of the foundations with a little gap to allow water in and modern drain tile systems were born.
Wet Garden Level Basement in Eden Prairie
Age of home: Approximately 1970's
Interior Drain Tile: Yes
Foundation: Poured concrete
Type of basement: Garden level on the back
Wet basement issues: water is seen during rain storms, area is finished, drain tile works.
This typical Eden Prairie Home is built around a small lake to the right of the photo. During rain storms the owner was seeing water coming from the bottom of the wall flowing into the wet basement.
For this customer, they were quoted replacing the existing drain-tile system with a brand new system from the competitors. Great Lakes Waterproofing quoted exterior waterproofing using all-natural bentonite injections, stopping water outside the foundation for Real Waterproofing. The customer had pulled some of the wet drywall off the walls and observed water flowing through wall cracks above the drain tile system so replacing the drain tile system would not have worked.
Eden Prairie MN Wet Basement Wall in Rec Room
Age of home: Approximately Early 1970's
Interior Drain Tile: Yes
Foundation: CMU block
Type of basement: Full depth basement
Wet basement issues: water is seen during rain storms, drain tile works.
See the little white pipe by the front steps? It the discharge for the drain-tile sump pump system and while the system is working, it's either getting overwhelmed or water is moving through the wet basement walls above the basement floor.
About 60% of the homes we work on have a drain tile system but with any cracks above the floor or too much water, the system may stop working. We also see a lot of dirt and sand get into the system plugging it up.
Why let water to continue to damage your foundation? Stop the water with Great Lakes Exterior Waterproofing, targeting water at a fraction of the cost of a drain tile system.
Eden Prairie Wet Basement in the Winter Time
Age of home: Early 1980's
Interior Drain Tile: Yes
Foundation: CMU block
Type of basement: Full depth basement
Wet basement issues: water is seen during rain storms, drain tile works.
Again we see another Eden Prairie Wet Basement, most of the homes built after 1980 had a drain tile system installed per code when the home was brand new and this one does work.
We see rock landscaping, a perforated weed barrier and what's left of the original exterior asphalt waterproofing.
What's concerning is the cracks and hole in this area. With wet foundations, water moves through the basement wall holes and cracks. Drain tile doesn't fix the issue, it just pumps the water back outside, if any cracks develop inside or the hollow wall blocks fill with sand and dirt, they drain tile may stop working correctly.
