Exterior Drain Tile Systems in Michigan
Pros and Cons of Repairing your Wet Basement with an Exterior French Drain
Cutaway of a French drain system installed on the outside of the concrete footing of a home foundation. A discharge line would also be included to send the water away from your home.
Shown in this photo is the French drain itself (filled with water), a fill of stone, and the backfilled soil.
One way of basement waterproofing that many contractors will suggest for waterproofing a basement is to install a french drain system along the outside perimeter of your home.
To install an exterior French drain, the contractor will take the following steps:
- First, the entire perimeter of your home must be cleared. Gardens, steps, porches, etc., must be removed before the work can begin.
- Next, the contractor will dig out the perimeter of your home. Excavated dirt will be heaped around the house.
- The drain will be laid in a bed of stone along the bottom. The stone, and possibly a layer of filter fabric, are there to protect the drain from clogging.
- The excavated soil will be "backfilled" on top of the system. In a year, this soil will settle, and the contractor will need to return to fill in more soil.
At Ayers Basement Systems, we do not recommend this type of drainage system installed in your home. Instead, we suggest installing an interior basement drain along the inside perimeter of your basement or crawl space. For a free waterproofing quote in the Michigan area, call or e-mail us today!
Getting Ready To Install an Exterior French Drain |
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You Will Need to Remove: |
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You can expect the contractors to create huge heaps of excavated soil all around your home, creating a mess. On top of that, the process is extremely expensive, costing $15,000 to $20,000 per installation. |
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Failing French Drains in Michigan
A clogged French drain systems found installed around a home in Reed City, MI.
French drain systems have been installed on the outside of homes since the 1920's, and if they were the best way to dry a basement, Ayers Basement Systems would be installing them, too.
Unfortunately, placing a French drain or exterior footing drain along the outside is a recipe for failure. When you put a drainage system several feet under the earth, even in a bed of gravel, it will eventually clog with dirt, roots, and debris.
Sometimes, a contractor will try to stop this by laying down a layer of filter fabric around the drain. In this case, instead of the drain clogging, the filter fabric does and won't let water into the pipe. Other problems, such as freezing pipes and improperly sloped lines are also common. This type of exterior drainage commonly will not handle water that collects under your basement floor, in which case you'll still need a sump pump inside your basement. Some contractors even connect the exterior drains to the sump pump inside. Now that's sure to clog!
What happens when your drainage system clogs? It will need to be excavated and you'll have to start over. Who wants to do that again?
For a FREE waterproofing quote, call or e-mail us today!
We service the Michigan area, including Big Rapids, Grand Haven, Coldwater, Ionia, Charlotte, Ludington, Cadillac and nearby.
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Installation of waterproofing systems around the perimeter of the basement... -
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Old stone foundation in Grand Ledge, Michigan was cleaned up... -
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"These are two guys you want working for you."
Testimonial by Alyce A. from Kalamazoo, MI
Barton City
Black River
Curran
Glennie
Greenbush
Harrisville
Lincoln
Mikado
Spruce
Cities in Allegan County, MI
Allegan
Dorr
Fennville
Hamilton
Hopkins
Martin
Otsego
Plainwell
Pullman
Saugatuck
Shelbyville
Wayland
Cities in Alpena County, MI
Alpena
Herron
Hubbard Lake
Lachine
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Cities in Antrim County, MI
Alba
Alden
Bellaire
Central Lake
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Ellsworth
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Cities in Arenac County, MI
Alger
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Omer
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Turner
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Cities in Barry County, MI
Delton
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Freeport
Hastings
Hickory Corners
Middleville
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Woodland
Cities in Benzie County, MI
Benzonia
Beulah
Elberta
Frankfort
Honor
Lake Ann
Thompsonville
Cities in Berrien County, MI
Benton Harbor
Coloma
Saint Joseph
Watervliet
Cities in Branch County, MI
Bronson
Coldwater
Montgomery
Quincy
Sherwood
Union City
Cities in Calhoun County, MI
Albion
Athens
Battle Creek
Burlington
Ceresco
East Leroy
Homer
Marshall
Tekonsha
Cities in Charlevoix County, MI
Bay Shore
Beaver Island
Boyne City
Boyne Falls
Charlevoix
East Jordan
Walloon Lake
Cities in Cheboygan County, MI
Afton
Burt Lake
Cheboygan
Indian River
Mackinaw City
Mullett Lake
Topinabee
Tower
Wolverine
Cities in Clare County, MI
Farwell
Harrison
Lake
Lake George
Cities in Clinton County, MI
Dewitt
Eagle
Fowler
Lansing
Saint Johns
Westphalia
Cities in Crawford County, MI
Frederic
Grayling
Cities in Eaton County, MI
Bellevue
Charlotte
Dimondale
Eaton Rapids
Grand Ledge
Lansing
Mulliken
Olivet
Potterville
Sunfield
Vermontville
Cities in Emmet County, MI
Alanson
Brutus
Carp Lake
Conway
Cross Village
Good Hart
Harbor Springs
Levering
Oden
Pellston
Petoskey
Cities in Gladwin County, MI
Gladwin
Rhodes
Cities in Grand Traverse County, MI
Acme
Grawn
Interlochen
Kingsley
Mayfield
Old Mission
Traverse City
Williamsburg
Cities in Gratiot County, MI
Alma
Elwell
Middleton
Perrinton
Riverdale
Sumner
Cities in Hillsdale County, MI
Allen
Camden
Hillsdale
Jerome
Jonesville
Litchfield
North Adams
Osseo
Pittsford
Reading
Waldron
Cities in Ingham County, MI
Dansville
East Lansing
Haslett
Holt
Lansing
Leslie
Mason
Okemos
Onondaga
Stockbridge
Cities in Ionia County, MI
Belding
Clarksville
Hubbardston
Ionia
Lake Odessa
Lyons
Muir
Orleans
Pewamo
Portland
Saranac
Cities in Iosco County, MI
East Tawas
Hale
Long Lake
National City
Oscoda
Tawas City
Whittemore
Cities in Isabella County, MI
Blanchard
Rosebush
Weidman
Cities in Jackson County, MI
Brooklyn
Clarklake
Concord
Grass Lake
Hanover
Horton
Jackson
Michigan Center
Munith
Parma
Pleasant Lake
Rives Junction
Spring Arbor
Springport
Cities in Kalamazoo County, MI
Augusta
Climax
Fulton
Galesburg
Kalamazoo
Portage
Richland
Schoolcraft
Scotts
Vicksburg
Cities in Kalkaska County, MI
Fife Lake
Kalkaska
Rapid City
South Boardman
Cities in Kent County, MI
Ada
Alto
Belmont
Byron Center
Caledonia
Cedar Springs
Comstock Park
Gowen
Grand Rapids
Grandville
Kent City
Lowell
Rockford
Sand Lake
Sparta
Wyoming
Cities in Lake County, MI
Baldwin
Chase
Idlewild
Irons
Luther
Cities in Leelanau County, MI
Cedar
Empire
Glen Arbor
Lake Leelanau
Leland
Maple City
Northport
Omena
Suttons Bay
Cities in Lenawee County, MI
Cement City
Cities in Manistee County, MI
Arcadia
Bear Lake
Brethren
Copemish
Eastlake
Filer City
Kaleva
Manistee
Onekama
Wellston
Cities in Mason County, MI
Branch
Custer
Fountain
Free Soil
Ludington
Scottville
Walhalla
Cities in Mecosta County, MI
Barryton
Big Rapids
Mecosta
Morley
Paris
Remus
Rodney
Stanwood
Cities in Missaukee County, MI
Falmouth
Lake City
Mc Bain
Merritt
Cities in Montcalm County, MI
Carson City
Coral
Crystal
Edmore
Fenwick
Greenville
Howard City
Lakeview
Pierson
Sheridan
Sidney
Six Lakes
Stanton
Trufant
Vestaburg
Cities in Montmorency County, MI
Atlanta
Hillman
Lewiston
Cities in Muskegon County, MI
Bailey
Casnovia
Fruitport
Holton
Montague
Muskegon
Ravenna
Twin Lake
Whitehall
Cities in Newaygo County, MI
Bitely
Fremont
Grant
Newaygo
White Cloud
Cities in Oceana County, MI
Hart
Hesperia
Mears
New Era
Pentwater
Rothbury
Shelby
Walkerville
Cities in Ogemaw County, MI
Lupton
Prescott
Rose City
South Branch
West Branch
Cities in Osceola County, MI
Evart
Hersey
Leroy
Marion
Reed City
Sears
Tustin
Cities in Oscoda County, MI
Comins
Fairview
Luzerne
Mio
Cities in Otsego County, MI
Elmira
Gaylord
Johannesburg
Vanderbilt
Waters
Cities in Ottawa County, MI
Allendale
Conklin
Coopersville
Grand Haven
Holland
Hudsonville
Jenison
Marne
Nunica
Spring Lake
West Olive
Zeeland
Cities in Presque Isle County, MI
Hawks
Millersburg
Onaway
Posen
Presque Isle
Rogers City
Cities in Roscommon County, MI
Higgins Lake
Houghton Lake
Houghton Lake Heights
Prudenville
Roscommon
Saint Helen
Cities in Saint Joseph County, MI
Burr Oak
Centreville
Colon
Constantine
Leonidas
Mendon
Sturgis
Three Rivers
White Pigeon
Cities in Van Buren County, MI
Bangor
Bloomingdale
Covert
Decatur
Gobles
Grand Junction
Hartford
Lawrence
Lawton
Mattawan
Paw Paw
South Haven
Cities in Wexford County, MI
Boon
Buckley
Cadillac
Harrietta
Manton
Mesick
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