Interior Drainage

This is the main system people are talking about when they say ‘basement waterproofing’, and it has a number of names:

• interior Drain

• Basement French Drain

• Perimeter Drain

• Interior Footing Drain

All foundations nowadays get built with footing drains, which are an essential part of the waterproofing system. ( think french drains but next to the footer of the foundation). But older houses were built without them, and many of the footing drains on older houses have failed.

When these fail, water can get into the basement. Because excavation can be disruptive and expensive, a new footing drain is installed on the interior of the basement instead of the exterior. This is the purpose of a basement waterproofing system, often called an ‘interior french drain.’

On top of slab vs next to footing

We can do both, but…

National chains and franchises advertise their ‘patented systems’. There is nothing special about these systems - any one can buy the components. We also can install top-of-footing systems, but we don’t guarantee them. And I would suggest reading the ‘guarantees’ offered by these companies. It’s more of a marketing ploy than anything else, and you’re not even sure what they’re saying by the time you get done with the fine print. They do love to sell you those ‘upkeep’ packages though.