Because the floor of a crawl space is often made of soil, they commonly become wet, humid, and even moldy. Even if your crawl space floor is concrete, water can still seep in through the foundation walls, causing those same excess water problems. These problems can lead to severe water damage, rot, and pests. Rot can impact the structural stability of your home, pests can eat away at the floor joists, and mold can affect the air quality in your home, which can affect your home environment and even make your family sick.
A French drain is a trench lined with an aggregate of some kind, like sand or gravel, that diverts sub-surface water to another location. Some French drains also contain a perforated drain pipe to handle a larger capacity of water; this pipe is typically wrapped in a special filter fabric material to avoid drain failure or clogging.
This style of the drainage system has been used by farmers, gardeners, and construction experts alike for over 150 years. They can seem like a low-tech solution to a common problem, but in fact, they are sophisticated and reliable crawl space drain solutions that can alleviate your waterproofing issues.
To find out if you need a crawl space drainage system, take a look around for the following signs.
Your crawl space is the area between the first floor of your home and the soil beneath. Crawl spaces are a great way to access floor joists, wiring, and pipes for repairs, but when they accumulate moisture, you can run into serious issues.
The French drain is a reliable, cost-effective crawl space drainage solution for several reasons:
When we perform crawl space repair, we focus on drainage and waterproofing. Adding a French drain is the first step.
First, we determine where to install your drain. French drains in crawl spaces are sometimes referred to as perimeter drains because, typically, the edges of the crawl space are the best place for them. This allows the drain to collect water that seeps up through the floor and through the walls. However, French drains work via the power of gravity, so if the lowest point of your crawl space is not the perimeter, we can adjust the placement of your drain to best suit your home.
Once we finalize a location, we dig the drain’s trench and add in the pipe.
French drains typically use perforated corrugated pipe or PVC pipe. Corrugated pipes allow for greater flexibility but can be prone to cracking, while PVC pipe is stronger but can be harder to manipulate. To address these issues, Helitech recommends using the HydraDry drain system in place of those traditional options.
The HydraDry is made of thermally bonded plastic and needle-punched fabric. This construction allows the drain to take in more water than traditional French drain systems, thereby removing more water than those typical pipes can. The HydraDry is highly resistant to clogs and has a 0% failure rate, making it the obvious choice for crawl space drainage you can trust.
Once we install the Hydraway drain, we cover the rest of the trench with more aggregate, like rocks and gravel.
This French drain is just one part of our crawl space waterproofing system. We design the trench and pipe to divert to a sump pit and the Super S1 sump pump. This system is a guaranteed-dry solution; when you combine with our encapsulation system and crawl space dehumidifier, you’ll never have to worry about crawl space drainage issues again.
If you notice one of the problem signs mentioned above, the first thing you should do is call us to discuss your options. We’ll set you up with an appointment with Project Specialist who will come to your home, assess your damage, and give you a free quote for a crawl space drainage system that works best for your home.
We’ll explain how we use French drains, the Crawl Space Encapsulation System, and dehumidifiers to create a perfect match for your wet crawl space repair.
Contact Helitech to get your free crawl space drainage quote today!
All three members of your crew were very friendly, professional and explained the process as they went. They even allowed a couple neighbors to come in and see the progress. They also did a wonderful job on the cleanup. Ian even laid down in the mud to tunnel under the sidewalk that was just laid the day before.
St. Louis, Missouri, USA