Building Homes or Extensions/Do I need weeping tile?

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Expert: - 6/2/2011


Question
Building a new home with a walkout basement. Property slope front to rear. Land was backfilled with blasted rock to gain height to keep main floor 1' above road grade(8' basement). Rock depth varies from 5' to 9' front to rear under basement slab (walkout frostwall built 4' under). Test holes for septic system came back with excellent drainage(6' under pre-existing grade--13' under existing grade). Heavy rains the last few days resulted in no standing water around footings or property. Would weeping tile be beneficial or not? Thanks

Answer
footing drain
footing drain
Hi Trevor, if by "weeping tile" you mean "footing drain around the foundation" then yes, all basement foundations should have footing drains around their perimeter.  This is another form of defense from ground water.  You may have good percolation now but as granules of soil infiltrate under your house over the years the percolation you have now may be compromised allowing water to build up against your basement wall leading to water intrusion and in extreme cases wall breach.  A good foundation drain, when done at the outset, is not a big expenditure and will reap rewards over the years by keeping your basement dry.  A good footing drain is 6"-8" perforated PVC pipe positioned as near to the footing elevation as possible and routed around the house.  It is set in a gravel bed and covered with ground cloth or filtration paper.  The exterior of the basement wall is waterproofed, footing drain installed, backfill.  The piping is routed down both sides of the house and far enough away to allow the water to be expelled without causing erosion issues.  I am attaching a simple sketch..I hope this information helps please feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com

Bruce E. Johnson

Expertise

I can answer any construction related question in regards to carpentry, concrete, drywall, masonry, structural elements of any type of building, residential or commercial. Interior or exterior.

Experience

Custom Commercial and residential buildings. Churches, theaters, schools and auditoriums. Most recently I am working with the Catholic Church on several design build committees. I have a website related to scheduling and project supervision. Although my expertise is more related to multimillion dollar commercial, educational and theatrical projects my generous credentials in residential and remodelling construction make me a viable source of information regarding all forms of building questions.

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