Anyone here have experience using Waterguard perimeter drainage channel or similar engineered PVC products for interior french drains? I’m getting ready to pour a new basement floor and wondered if this or similar products were worth the extra $$.
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I thought they were called "freedom drains" now.
Can't have a Freedom Drains
I've been told I'm a socialist... or was it a marxist... or communist? Either way, I think I'm on the Freedom Drain blacklist.
If it is interior, it is not a french drain.
New construction or just a new floor?
I looked a the Waterguard web site and it looks like the prduct is for use with block foundation walls.
Is that your case?
BTW piffen is correct. French drains, strictly speaking are exterior surface water drains. Your post heading was wrong because your content descibes a perimeter foundation drain.
New floor, old house
I'm installing a new floor in an addition built on our house back in 1924. We're taking an old below-grade garage, removed the driveway, put in place concrete retaining walls and will be creating a below-grade patio. The old floor was in sorry shape and the new floor allows us to install radiant heat. The space will be used for my new home office.
Basement walls are old CMU. I'm looking to install some type of perimeter foundation drain that will lead to a sump.
Someone suggested I look at hte Waterguard product.
Looks like you found a good product for your application. You get the perimeter drain beneath the slab and the weep channel at the CMU walls in case they leak.
I've not used it, so know nothing about it's real world perfomance.
One caution when pouring the slab to something like Waterguard. It looks like the weep channel at the walls could be easily glogged with concrete slurry durring the pour and finish. I think I would run some tape over the edges. the peel it off as soon as the finish work is done.
What about Radon in your area? Those open weep chanels at the wall could become a direct vent to your new space if you have high raddon levels. Something to think about.
Radon, hmmm?
I hadn't thought about that. We trested afer we bough the house 10 year ago and the levels were very low. But that was in a different portion of the basement which will maintain it's existing floor.
Thanks for the reminder.