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Installing Systems to Keep Water Out of the Basement

Larry Janesky of Basement Systems reviews the work being done to cut a drainage trench in the concrete around the perimeter of the basement floor. Water will be channelled through the trench to a sump, where it can be pumped out of the home. The sump hole was dug at the lowest spot in the basement as determined by laser level. CleanSpace is being installed over the walls as a vapor barrier to drain water from the walls to the drainage system. It is possible to install CleanSpace in crawlspaces as well as in basements to prevent water buildup in underground walls and eliminate rot and mildew. Janesky recommends taking these two steps in securing the drainage of a home and to secure against all outside air leaks. The final step is to dehumidify the crawlspace. Janesky points out a corner of the basement where the Thermal Dry Wall System has been installed. This product goes behind finished walls and drains water like CleanSpace but also reflects heat generated in the basement back into the basement. Janesky then shows a portion of the floor where the Water Guard Drainage System has been installed in the drainage trench and secured with cement.

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Clip Transcript For:

Installing Systems to Keep Water Out of the Basement

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" OK well let's go inside the basement and talk about all the other complexities."

" Yeah we'll. Night."

" All right so this is the top part of the job isn't it Larry it is we gotta break the concrete out to get a trench all the way around the perimeter -- drainage system and what's here is not a six inch slab is just an inch in an effort to and there's no. Reinforcing rod or steel so -- not the end of the world but it stealth is still messy work right and this trench will be around the entire perimeter you already have it coming towards us and then what what happens here. Well this is a hole for the sump and now what we're gonna do is. Channel all the water from the perimeter drainage system to this location and pump it out and -- now -- I would have thought the sump would want to be in a corner all on the front. Elevation of the house. And -- and why -- it back here. Well what we did when we arrive at the house is we checked with a laser level to see -- low spot is and we found that this spot. With two inches lower than the highest -- now and then the water will be piped out of here. The water the sump will go here and the pump will pump it out we'll have discharge pipes running out front now okay now these guys are bringing in. A different product here what's what's this for. Well the stone walls are are damp and they can actually leak water so what we're doing here is we're putting a product called clean space on the walls. And this is a vapor barrier. So. Water behind it down into the drainage system."

" OK so they're just."

" All right so these are installed every couple of feet and then you've got you know have to worry about the sheeting. Falling off at night and and then any water that collects behind there would drip behind it into the trench that's right and we'll talk about the tragedy in a minute but I want to ask you about crawl spaces now is this a product that you can use -- across space it is in fact we we line a lot of crawl spaces with this and dirt crawl spaces is a big problem these days people are realizing that the moisture comes up from the earth. Is causing such a problem with mold and you know rodents and -- and -- yeah. I mean a lot of new houses that have just gone up in ten or fifteen years because a lot of the technologies that have been brought in. You've got very tight. Housing envelopes that are creating moisture situations and cross bases. Can really be -- night."

" with rot yeah yes so there's four steps to solving that problem the first step is to get the groundwater problem. If there is one and -- crawl space under control with drainage and sump pump systems like we're doing here from me the second step is to line the crawl space. -- material we call this not clean space and the blue side goes down on the white side goes up and we line this in a crawl space across the floor up the wall goes totally impermeable no moisture can get through it right and it totally isolates the house from the earth. The third step is to seal all outside air leaks and we do that by sealing any vents that the crawl space may have. And any other ways that outside on condition there can get into the crawl space."

" So the thinking is that you want a completely sealed space you don't want any ventilation going through there that's right just like your living space would -- and and a fourth step. Is to dehumidify the crawl space okay. All right well we are in a part of the basement that will not be conditioned space that's where the furnaces and is just going to be kind of like. Mechanical room. -- like where you're standing. Where in the area that becomes. I guess the bathroom and the laundry room down here right and I guess the wall is the difference is right here what's the shiny product is -- yeah. The we use this right now on sinister because as bright white and nice to look at but this is what we put behind finished walls and this is called thermal drywall system. And it'll drain water like the clean space will help prevent water vapor from evaporating into the basement space like the other well but this does something the other doesn't and that is. It's a radiant barrier it'll reflect. The heat that's in the basement back into back into the conditioned space so that's it's an energy conservation idea and here you've got a portion of the perimeter that's already been. Completed. I explain what we're looking at here."

" Yeah we've -- into the trench our Waterguard drainage system and it has holes in the back of it. And a flange that sticks up above the floor. So that's so we're looking at a section of what's down there that's right and the holes in the back of it what do they do of course well they'll let all the water from underneath the floor from the footing wall joint. And from the walls into that conduit and drain it -- it'll be pitched off to the -- that's right and then the final step is just putting some cement back in place that's right. Well it's an elaborate system but I know works it's sure great thanks there I think."

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