Interior Footer Drain height
#1
06-20-15, 01:25 PM
Interior Footer Drain height
I have a house that has footers 3' below the poured bsmt floor. looking to have a new interior drain system installed to replace the failed system that was installed a few inches below the bsmt floor. Where should the drain be? I was under the impression the drain should be at the footer. a few companies have told me that it doesn't need to be that deep to relieve static pressure. This house has had water issues to the point where the bsmt floor has fallen 4 inches in a few corners. I have fixed all the downspouts and grading on the exterior now I want to fix the interior the correct way.
#3
06-20-15, 03:56 PM
It would be good if you could start from the beginning. What were the original water issues? Where was the water entering? You did the right thing with the pitch & the downspouts. However there are more things that you might be able to do before you have to replace sump pumps & whatever else is inside.
#4
06-20-15, 06:16 PM
Honestly I could write a book on this house. Here is where it stands. The entire interior perimeter has been cut and jack hammered 16" off the wall. All clay tile had failed due to the soil below the floor settlement. I believe the settlement is due to the poor water management on the exterior as well as the placement of the original drain tile just below the poured floor and not 3' down at the footer. The original sump has been dry for years. Its been dry because the original drain tile had fallen with the floor 4" in some areas. Water was trapped. I dug down in a few areas to find the footer depth at 3' below the basement floor. All cinder block weep holes were originally drilled at floor level. My question is where should the drain tile be located? My feeling is it should be next to the footer not 3' higher just below the floor. Once you dig down to a foot just above the footer there is water in some areas, particularly along the back wall. The front wall is below grade. The back wall is at grade with a patio slider walkout.
#5
06-20-15, 06:28 PM
Member
Almost never a good way to address a basement water issue from the inside.
To late once it's made it thorough the wall.
No outside french drain?
How thick was the slab?
Any drain tiles under the slab?
Sump pumps?
To late once it's made it thorough the wall.
No outside french drain?
How thick was the slab?
Any drain tiles under the slab?
Sump pumps?
#6
06-20-15, 06:48 PM
Okay, you answered my question in a round about way. It sounds like you have a high water table in which case, it becomes water management, from the inside. Now that we have that straight, I really can't grasp the concept, of the floor falling. From your description, the house seems to have the proper footings so I can't imagine why the floor fell unless the house was built on a river. Can you post some wide angled pics, from different angles, to give us a clearer idea, of what happened? That might help.
Another idea would be to talk to some neighbors, to see if they had a similar problem.
Another idea would be to talk to some neighbors, to see if they had a similar problem.
#7
06-20-15, 08:54 PM
@joecaption
No outside french drain? None
How thick was the slab? 3-4"
Any drain tiles under the slab? originally it was old clay drain tiles butt up against each other to a shallow 22" steel sump pit.
Sump pumps? one small 22"
No outside french drain? None
How thick was the slab? 3-4"
Any drain tiles under the slab? originally it was old clay drain tiles butt up against each other to a shallow 22" steel sump pit.
Sump pumps? one small 22"
#8
06-20-15, 09:10 PM
The first pic with the crack shows a hard fall from the first support post. From the crack area the slab falls 3 inches to the wall. Last pic is when we started demo of the worst area of the slab. We actually removed a section of the slab that had cracked and fallen in many directions. We demo'ed 1/4 of the slab.
The House backs up to a wooded area and then a small wet area. The back yard runs down hill toward the wooded area and keep running down hill toward the wet area. Standing at the back fence of the yard the fall is roughly 3'+.
Sorry Pics are not great. That's all I have and they were taken when we started this project.
The House backs up to a wooded area and then a small wet area. The back yard runs down hill toward the wooded area and keep running down hill toward the wet area. Standing at the back fence of the yard the fall is roughly 3'+.
Sorry Pics are not great. That's all I have and they were taken when we started this project.
#9
06-21-15, 05:53 AM
Wow, that's pretty bad. It could be more than a water problem now. The structure could have been compromised. Is the black stuff that I see on the wall, mold? It might be worth it to have an engineer look at it.
#10
06-21-15, 08:23 AM
Despite all the issues with the floor the walls and footers are in surprisingly decent shape. The footers have not been compromised. I want to ensure they stay that way which is why I proposed installing the interior drain down at the footer. This would mean an extra deep sump pit at right around 4' deep, 2 actually. So far the few companies I have contacted don't want to dig that deep.
#11
06-23-15, 01:03 AM
dig down to where you want the sump's bottom - that should be where the water's found,,, IF water's coming UP from under your footer, it will find its way to the collection pipe,,, locate the pipe approx 8" ( at the invert ) below the finished floor elevation,,, this means your trench should be 10" deep which allows for 2" of clean #57 stone for bedding the pipe,,, having cleanouts installed allows 1 to service the system by flushing out silt,,, using smooth s&d perforated pvc also helps ( install holes side down ),,, lining the 12" x 10" deep trench w/soil filter cloth is all recommended... other than that, not much else to worry about,,, we like zoeller pumps the best.
probably no one wants to dig that deep is because its not required in order to accomplish your goal,,, IF it were me, we'd dig til your $$$ money ran out,, so let's sum this up - you contacted a 'few companies' - they gave you solutions & costs - you're posting here for more clarification/help - yet you know more than the pro's ? sumthin' ain't right, casey
concerning the mold - get out the chlorox & clean that **** up !!!!!!!!!!!
probably no one wants to dig that deep is because its not required in order to accomplish your goal,,, IF it were me, we'd dig til your $$$ money ran out,, so let's sum this up - you contacted a 'few companies' - they gave you solutions & costs - you're posting here for more clarification/help - yet you know more than the pro's ? sumthin' ain't right, casey
concerning the mold - get out the chlorox & clean that **** up !!!!!!!!!!!
#13
06-24-15, 04:50 PM
have no idea - all's i know is what i read - ' floor the walls and footers are in surprisingly decent shape. The footers have not been compromised. I want t '
then again, words have different meanings to some folks
then again, words have different meanings to some folks
#15
06-27-15, 02:20 AM
i don't see a floating slab floor NOR do i see any footer,,, maybe, when i sober up later on today, i shall but doubtful 
doors still open & close upstairs ok ? fascia still fairly level ? windows don't look like a holler's cabin in wv ?
doors still open & close upstairs ok ? fascia still fairly level ? windows don't look like a holler's cabin in wv ?
