Exterior Perimeter Drain Installation Services

Prepare The Home's Perimeter

First, the perimeter of the home must be prepared for the excavation, which will require digging out around the foundation to expose the wall and footing.

Any obstacles along the edges will need to be eliminated that would obstruct our access. In most cases, it will be necessary to to remove garden beds, steps, porches, walkways, and other landscaping.

We take great care and consideration in the preservation of your property whenever possible. We do recommend that you remove any garden items or shrubberies that you'd like to restore after work is completed.

Excavate The Exterior Perimeter

Next, we will bring in heavy equipment to dig down around the perimeter of your home.

Drop cloths are placed on your landscaping to receive all excavated soil, protecting your yard from the dirt and debris as it's removed. If you have a previously installed perimeter drain system, we can remove that as well during this step.

Our goal is to completely excavate around the exterior perimeter of the foundation, fully exposing the walls to accept our waterproofing and board system, while also allowing us to install a French drain system along the foundation's exterior footer.

Prepare The Foundation Walls

Next, the foundation walls will need to be thoroughly cleaned in order to be able to accept our waterproof coating.

While most contractors will either power wash the foundation (or not clean it at all), we at Island Basement Systems prep the exterior foundation walls with a grinder. This is an important step that really makes a difference!

A grinder is a mechanical piece of equipment that is used to strip concrete -- eliminating the rough surfaces that can capture deeply set dirt and debris. This maximizes the open pores of the concrete to receive the waterproofing coatings during application.

Waterproof The Walls' Exterior

Next, we spray-apply the Watchdog Waterproofing Membrane on the foundation walls.

Most contractors use an inferior damp proofing spray instead of true waterproofing. However, standard damp-proofing coatings are not effective protection against water infiltration.

Basement Watchdog provides a tough, durable 40-mil barrier that's up to three times more able to resist hydrostatic head pressure than competing brands. This product can also bridge gaps and cracks in the concrete -- offering comprehensive waterproofing solution.

Watch the Basement Watchdog Product Video

Install A Drainage Board System

Once the Watchdog system has cured, we install a dimpled, air-gap membrane on the exterior of the foundation to serve as a drainage board system.

This system is wrapped around the exterior of the foundation, covering the walls with a durable, protective barrier for the concrete surfaces.

The dimpled membrane keeps the damp soil from sitting against the wall and creates a drainage plane to allow water to drain to the pipe laid below.

At Island Basement Systems, we've chosen Delta-MS Drainage Board, which serves as a full-coverage, below-grade waterproof membrane.

Install A Perimeter Drain System

Next, we install a perimeter drain system to direct water that's building around your foundation away from the home. The drain is pitched downwards and away from your home, using gravity to naturally direct the water.

To protect your drain from clogging with dirt and debris, we create a bed of fresh stone around each drain system. The stone is washed, so no new sediment is introduced as it's installed.

For additional protection from clogging, a layer of filter fabric is placed around the drain system. Any fine sediments that make their way though the stone will be held back by this protective layer.

Backfill & Extend Gutter Downspouts

After the installation, we will "backfill" all soil that was removed during the excavation process, placing it back on top of the system.

To prevent settlement that would create a grading issue in your yard in the future, we compact the soil carefully while returning it around your foundation.

As per building code. we also install a separate solid 3" or 4” rain water collection system that connects to, ideally, the storm sewer.

In homes that don’t have a storm system, we may need to install an exterior sump system to move the water away from the home.