stop leaky basements with a drainage system

[homealone]

Controlling water above ground will often prevent water from leaking into your basement, as well as preventing possible structural damage to your home. If the soil pressure is pressing against your basement walls this can lead to shifts,collapses, cracks and various structural problems.
Getting water away from your home is a huge first step in stopping basement problems. This is why downspouts should extend several feet away from your home.
Make sure your gutters are clean and be sure they are functioning properly.Just like the roof of your home is sloped, the ground around your home should also be sloped.
Soil against the house frequently settles and this causes water to run towards your home rather than away.A gentle slope away from your home of about one inch near the walls is enough of a slope to carry water away from the downspout pipe end.
You may also want to install a drainage system below ground. Having a drainage system installed at the homes foundation and under your basement floor will keep your basement dry and stop saturated soil next to the walls.

Over 85% of homes which have a leaky basement along with a drainage system are because of improperly installed drainage.
Proper drainage systems include drainpipes alongside the footing, with the top of pipe below the top of footing. Drainpipe should be installed on both the inside and outside of footing.
If you plan on installing drainpipe only outside the footing, a two inch diameter weep hole through the footing are a must every six feet. The drainpipe must be sloped one inch per twenty feet, Unless your home's perimeter is less than two hundred feet, then less of a slope is needed.
The use of several inches of a granular material is required around the drainpipe to ensure proper flow of moisture through the soil to the drain. Also place a filter material between the drain and the granular material to prevent any blockages in your drain. This is essential to keep the drainage system working properly for the life of your home.
A good drainage system should include a layer of gravel under your basement flooing of about 5 inches, and the soil under the gravel should slope to meet the drainpipe installed along the inside footing.If this is not installed then water may seep up through your homes basement flooring if the water table is high.
The layer of granular material will reduce the possibility of water vapor or moisture from entering your home. More than six gallons of water vapor can enter a home per day from wet soil. This moisture carries minerals such as salts and will damage concrete.
Salt that is carried like this will leave a white material on the floor or walls where the moisture is evaporating. To prevent this from happening place a vapor retarder such as a six mil polyethylene film on top of the gravel layer under your concrete flooring. Be sure to install window wells with drains to carry water to the foundation drains. It is very important that a drainage system is installed properly.