Water is a powerfully force of nature that we we all deal from land, sea and air. It is responsible for billions of dollars in damages each year but mainly we are focused here on your home and the essentials of proper drainage. Every home built by national code requires footing drains to installed to remove any unwanted water from your foundation walls and footings. Without the application of footing drains you run the high risk of water infiltration and potential water pressure buildup that can potentially stress the integrity of your structure causing immense damage. Hydrostatic pressure is one of natures most powerful forces to your home where raising ground waters push up surrounding first under your home and keeps rising to your foundation walls. Between ground water and runoff combined the water psi keeps rising putting great strain on homes structure. Footing drains greatly reduce the amount of water around your home and removes water before it can cause potential damage.

What is a footing drain?

Footing drains essentially remove water from around the perimeter of your homes foundation. Hydrostatic pressure against your foundation walls  and basement floor can reach a staggering 33,000 psi. If not relieved it has the potential to cause major damage and complete failure to your foundation and interior of basement. Most common signs of footing drain failure is to look for evidence of water infiltration. This can be noticed where interior foundation wall meets concrete floor. To fix failing footing drains, the footing drains must be excavated from the exterior of foundation to install new corrugated pipes, filtration system and aggregate. 

What is a curtain drain?

Curtain drains are essentially trenches filled with gravel covering perforated pipe acting like a gutter system to remove unwanted water away from your home. The trench is lined with filter fabric to ensure that the perforated pipe with remain free of clogs from dirt and silt over the years.

Why you might need a curtain drain:

• Areas of your property where you have unwanted water pooling

• Water issues in your basement(curtain drains work great in conjunction with you homes footing drains)

• Remove water away from retaining walls and driveways

With any drainage project performed by WMB Construction , we always use more gravel than necessary. Gravel is natural drainage that quickly moves water from your perforated pipe and away from your home. Many drainage contractors skip this step leaving your curtain drain system practically useless in years to come as the dirt and silt infiltrates your corrugated pipe clogging it.

How we install a curtain drain:

• Dig a trench 18"-24" deep in the ground(extreme water conditions near foundations may go as deep as homes footing)
• Line trench with filter fabric
• Install a 4" perforated pipe in ground pitched out to daylight(some applications with nowhere to drain water, a dry well may need to be installed)
• Fill trench with 3/4" gravel
• Regrade dirt

 WMB Construction specializes in:

• Curtain drains
• Footing drains
• Sump Pumps
• Foundation sealing
• Gutter downspout underground extensions
• All phases of Home Improvements