Waterproof and French Drain a House Foundation

My house's foundation started leaking really bad recently, so I brought you along to see how I fixed it. House repairs are definitely an ongoing situation if you own a house. But remember that owning, in most cases, is better than renting.
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Matthew 7:25

[@KrahlingFamily]

Great video. Adding an addition to a house which has an existing French drain system. Thie existing system has performed for over 24 years with no water in the basement ever. The house is built on a slope btw in a watershed area. Engineer and the contractor for the new addition wanted me to install gutters. No way! I have never had standing water and the drains flow out very slowly as they should. I am having French drains tied into the existing system for the addition. This video is the real deal. This guy is spot on.

[@baltimorejoker]

Most folks here are pieces of work. The guy really did a great informative video.

[@inspiringbuilds]

Nice job! Speaking from experience keeping gutters clean, downspouts running away from your home, and having your yard graded away from the house with the highest point up against your house are 3 of the best tips. Keep up the great work as the goal is for us to continue to inspire others to build something awesome! 👍🏼

[@SpecificLove7]

Thanks for the tips!

[@jimivey6462]

Thank you so much for this video. I am helping a client with her drainage problem and this has been very helpful.

[@CScav243]

Added protection is 6” 2B / #57 across the footing with Geotextile covering. Promoting proper drainage to any water following the foundation wall down to the footing then over to your SDR-35 4” perf. Nice video. Real good. We have used bentonite in powder form to corral and control water problems, as well. None the less I give you an A+ on this video. Side note is I’m up in Pa where we do encounter a lot of clay soils. We do perc tests and design and install Storm Water management systems of all kinds. Again. Nice job

[@JG24AJ]

Great job, very informative. We live in a mobile home and I thought about something like that 16 years ago. There's a rubber hose where the air conditioner condensation from inside drains exterior, I took a section or two of PVC pipe a fixed it to that with an L and then covered it up outside of the house and had the opening to water my sugar cane rows with. So some great ideas encourage other ideas. Be safe God bless all and always thanks for sharing.

[@SpecificLove7]

Anthony, that is a very ingenious idea. I'm going to have to think of a way to do something similar.

[@jimsvideos7201]

Good show, thank you for sharing your project.

[@kaycox5555]

Zowie! You amaze me as to what a hard working, yet always smiling man, you are! Well well done. This French drain is a terrific investment in home safety. Blessings.

[@SpecificLove7]

Thank you very much. I'm trying to stay positive through all of life's challenges.

[@downunderfulla6001]

Zowie? I thought his name is Clinton. It’s not the 1st or 21st time I’ve been wrong 😲

[@SpecificLove7]

It is Clinton 😁

[@downunderfulla6001]

I thought so from watching you for the past couple years 🍺🍺

[@TheLightHouseLady]

Very interesting & a lot of work. Glad you were able to get it done.

[@SpecificLove7]

Thank you, as long as it stays dry, it was definitely worth it.

[@danbelzile4203]

It's a.good thing to spot the big leaks. Well done.🇨🇦☕🍿

[@SpecificLove7]

Thanks Dan

[@melb3513]

I had to do this to my home in Maine as my basement would flood. It is a LOT of work, but it totally works.

[@SpecificLove7]

Thanks for letting us know, Mel

[@DavidNash-ot1jr]

Great video! Where did you bring the drain pipe to? Did you use an outdoor sump basin?

[@johnwealthy6044]

Great video!! The trench, wall and soil type is almost identical to what I have dug up at the moment. The only difference is that I have a garden wall that I want to sand/cement render. Will the asphalt emulsion prevent damp from rising? ie where the asphalt line stops, I can render above this without the render failing.

[@christianraccuglia6009]

Great video!! I have 2 cracks in my foundation on opposite walls. Negative pitch, but I also would like to add a French drain like you did. But where did you hook that drain up to? And where is it draining to? I appreciate it!

[@penman1289]

Show us where the French drain went

[@xxbalboaxx]

From other videos I've seen, the drain will be on the outer edge of footer and slightly lower.

[@eliofernandez8448]

Your advice came to me just in time, I have the same problem, but worce, I have 6 air vents unde rground, so I need to protect the vents from the water, I will create a safe heaven fo the vents, and put the pipes a little differet, but your Idean is not only great, but it is the cheapest wat to resolve water under the house. Thank Sir, God Bless,

[@sef2273]

Air vents for radon?

[@AlexeiTetenov]

You should dig a swale on the side of the house where the hill slopes toward your house. This will collect rainwater and divert it down the swale, parallel to your house, and then past your house.

[@dennisschickling2249]

Nice work. #STAYSAFE

[@ROFLgator1]

How long were the sections of perforated pvc? Did you use glue to connect them with a coupling or elbow?

[@pauloliveri9621]

Once you put the PVC in, where does the water drain to? Also, how long did this take?

[@samuelburrows2767]

I thought that the weed barrier had to just go on the bottom. When you wrapped the pipe entirely in the protective fabric barrier I wonder how water is getting in? I thought this would block the water too?

[@samungubeni9438]

Impressive if you ask me👌

[@joshperloff9179]

downspouts can also be a cause. you should use downspout extenders to take the water away from your home. I prefer the premise sections you can buy from any home store like a home depot or Lowe’s. next you also need to pay attention to the grade of your land and make sure it grades away from your home. if it doesn’t make sure you trim your downspout so when you reattach your downspout elbow and then the downspout extender. you have the correct slope to take it to a point where the water will not slope back to your house. side note you want to put a sone or paver where the extender stops. Other wise you are likely to get a hole in your yard from all the water pouring out of your gutters. hope this helps.

[@SpecificLove7]

Thank you for all of your helpful advice. I hope it benefits many people.

[@electricamir248]

Would be good to see the outlet of your drain. On my house I will have to put a basin and pump it away

[@terristroh3965]

Now that your crawl space is dry, you need to treat for mold whether you see it or not. And, of course, do a video for us.

[@gckshea]

I did not see any mention of terminating the perforated pipe, either into catch basins, or exiting to daylight. It is good to mention a french drain system as an option, but the whole property slope has to be considered with respect to where is the collected water intended to go? The overall slope to keep 1% grade dictates every aspect of its design. This makes it look like just use a pipe; one and done.

[@pocnad4762]

Can you please make a horizontal Murphy twin bed without expensive hardware with a full tutorial and cut list

[@alexandsimba]

Everyone goes to interior draining right away, but you will pay in the long run when you got to keep replacing the sump pump and the electric bill that goes with it. Interior drains should only be used for flooding where even the city stuff is overflowing or the ground is covered in snow.

[@Rwycki10]

How much would this project cost?

[@angelicsexton5277]

Great video! Thank you. Question: Where is the perorated pvc pipe draining to?

[@SpecificLove7]

Just downhill into my backyard

[@johnb7053]

Do you put a one way valve or some sort of cover at the end of the pipe that lets water out but nothing to enter?

[@MaDGriZz78]

I have alot of clay where my foundation sits aswell. I was advised against a french drain as they clog easily in areas with alot of clay did this happen to you yet? did you run your pipe to daylight or to a pump?

[@sef2273]

If you’re concerned about clogging why not put a clean out or put more gravel up the wall?

[@tm-ln4hj]

Clay holds water ?

[@sekarsuram3457]

Good job! If I do this can I remove the sump pump permanently. I just don’t want sump pump in my house

[@joeshmoe7789]

It depends where the water is coming from. Get rid of the roof and steep hill water first. Make sure patios, driveways, etc send water away from the house. Why would you want to remove it? It's the last level of protection and while under the correct circumstances, with everything else done right it, it shouldn't run much, if at all, just leave it. They're cheap enough to replace if the pump fails. It's a very expensive installation, so if it's there, while possibly overkill, it's now a free back up. Also, the french drain will not work as well, if at all, after the fabric clogs.

[@c19comandante57]

It is faster to power wash the blocks instead of using a brush.less work.and faster .

[@Weewah404]

Can you put the liquid rubber/black tar in a power wash?

[@sef2273]

@@Weewah404lol no

[@afinecupofcoffee8476]

How will I know how far down to dig? If I look inside of my crawlspace there is a clear separation of the brick façade and the foundation. Do I dig to there or below that? Thank you!

[@SpecificLove7]

You might want to get some professionals to give you an evaluation.

[@davemeiser521]

Have a 120 year old house, rubble stone foundation with lime mortar joints, also clay soil and high water table Basement moisture has always been an issue and there is no inexpensive way to moisture proof it $50,000 estimate!!

[@SpecificLove7]

WOW that is expensive

[@W4TRI]

Whereabouts are you in GA? East TN here but lived in Dekalb co for many years. Great videos!

[@SpecificLove7]

We live west of Atlanta on a very quiet road.

[@W4TRI]

@@SpecificLove7 Know it well. I lived on a similar road in Dallas GA for 5 years.

[@user-zp4hf9bc4q]

Do you have to go all the way down to the footer for this to work?

[@SpecificLove7]

That is my understanding

[@joeshmoe7789]

Yes.

[@ef7496]

Where does the water go after? It enters that French drain you didn’t show us that

[@hoodedcoolkid1]

Do I need to dig the 5 feet to the footer for my house? Or can I go a foot or 2 feet down??

[@SpecificLove7]

Everything I read and heard, in preparation, said that the French drain pipe had to be just below the footer.

[@joeshmoe7789]

The water in the stones will still be against the foundation. Very hard job to do with houses with basements, easier near crawl spaces or slabs. Get rid of roof water and other sources first.

[@joeshmoe7789]

I would've moved the outlet of that downspout and waited a good number of storms before doing all that french drain work.

[@raymitchell9736]

It was interesting to see how you fixed that, BTW: you have a beautiful house and yard... so green and lush! Here in Calif. we have a nasty drought, no rain most of the year and we can't water our yards and as you expect we've got dead grass most of the year (except for our "rainy" season approx Nov thru Mar). The only thing that's green on my lawn are those danged weeds... yep _those_ miserable weeds... LOL.

[@SpecificLove7]

Thank you very much Ray. Sorry to hear about your drought, I really hope it gets better for you soon.

[@ef7496]

I would like to know what happened to the excess water that get collected and the pipes where does it go?

[@SpecificLove7]

I have it flowing out in my yard

[@ef7496]

@@SpecificLove7 using gravity or sump pump

[@aBoogivogi]

You can never use enough layers of the sealer

[@jamesalanstephensmith7930]

How did you remove the water ? From the pipe

[@SpecificLove7]

It drained out

[@Nick-tq6vf]

Know where your water line goes into the house so you don't dig into that...

[@steveolsted6378]

Ledge. Portions of our foundation are literally in a large bowl of granite. Yikes!

[@seanc5827]

You should have tied in the gutter downpipe into your french drain! The way you did it is much sloppier.

[@sef2273]

No he should just bury a pipe away from the house for the downspout . Less water going to the footer

[@maxwynn7980]

If you are in the South you have destroyed termite barrier.(Eastern Subterranean Termites & Formosan Termites)

[@sef2273]

What? How did he destroy this barrier?

[@maxwynn7980]

@@sef2273 By disturbing a chemical barrier(insecticide)in the soil. This was the only effective treatment for these until the last few years.

[@BOBBY-et9xb]

Why not build a concrete apron sloping away from the house.

[@SpecificLove7]

The wife would definitely not approve of that. 😁

[@brucerockwell9281]

Nice video, except all that clay is just going to clog up your filter fabric, and then you're back to a wet crawl space. It's more expense, but for such a labor-intensive job, the only thing you should ever consider is to remove the clay from the site, and backfill with 3/4" gravel or some other approved backfill material for your area. Never clay.

[@sef2273]

I was wondering why he didn’t do stone up to the surface .

[@evanzhang445]

You’re right

[@chinov9445]

What a waste of hard work u barely put any gravel I did the same thing at my house 🏡 put about 1 1/2 inch of gravel on the bottom laid the schedule 40 down n put 6 inches of gravel on top of the pipe as advice by a professional draining friend for good water drainage 🤦🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️🤣

[@ctg18158]

You started off good but dropped the ball quickly. You did a lot of work digging but failed to properly seal the foundation and properly install the foundation drain.

[@sef2273]

How did he fail to seal?

[@evanzhang445]

@@sef2273maybe he means put another layer of water proof membrane

[@thecataclysmitician4661]

You have done all that work for nothing! Putting that fabric on your drain pipe will cause it to fail by getting plugged up with the clay.... Water will not pass through the fabric.... You'll be back at square one....

[@Allin1mom]

Yes, he needs to throw gravel before filling with dirt.🫤 Maybe he forgot that step.

[@sef2273]

So where do you put the fabric ?

[@thecataclysmitician4661]

@@sef2273 You don't use fabric, just the 3/4 gravel.... It lets the clay/silt pass through and drain away....

[@skyhighactiondrones5453]

@@thecataclysmitician4661 nope, watch the French drain man

[@jimkane9832]

@@thecataclysmitician4661 gravel will also get clogged with silt