Bob reviews two types of water barriers installed in the basement to prevent water intrusion. The water barriers block moisture that comes through the walls and channel it into a perimeter drainage system in the floor. Larry Janesky of Basement Systems reviews the WaterGuard system and explains how the pipes are set to a proper elevation by backfilling with crushed stone. Pitching the pipes makes the water drain into a sump hole where it can be pumped out of the home. Janesky shows Bob the WaterGuard ports that open into the embedded channels for inspection or cleaning, and provide a drainage outlet for the dehumidifier. Janesky then reviews the TripleSafe Sump Pump and how it works to pump collected water out of the home. The system uses three pumps to minimize the risk of flooding by pump failure. The primary pump has a secondary backup pump in case the it fails or becomes overloaded. Both pumps are hardwired into the home's electrical system. Each pump has its own discharge pipes so that the system will not be overloaded by increased demand. A third pump is battery-operated in case of power failure. An alarm sounds when the battery-driven pump kicks in to alert the homeowner so that power can be restored before the battery runs down. IceGuard fittings have been put on the discharge pipes outside so that water will clear the home even if the underground discharge pipes are frozen.

Foundation repairs are expensive; help avoid major problems in the future by doing a regular checkup on your home. Inspect foundation walls for cracks; these can be caused by settling, expanding tree roots, or improper drainage. Inspect and clean out your gutters regularly and be sure that the drains direct water away from the foundation.

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.

Bob talks with Howard Brickman about the challenging soil conditions on this project, where a high water table and impermeable soils must be considered for the foundation. To alleviate these problems, several tons of inch-and-a-half crushed stone were trucked to the job site. The footings for the foundation were placed to support the load-bearing walls. Waterproof Fab-Form plastic footing forms were used instead of typical wood forms because they will keep the water out and away from the footings. A plastic membrane was placed on the inside of the Fab-Forms to further protect the footings from water. The forms are connected and braced for the pour with stakes that are screwed into the forms with threaded wallboard screws. When the stakes are removed, the screws will be snapped off. Using this method has removed two of three steps in the standard footing construction process. The forms double as the drainage-pipe material and will stay in place after the pour, eliminating the need to remove the forms once the concrete is set. In a typcial footing pour, the forms would be stripped away from the footings before the drain pipe was placed. With Fab-Forms the slab and the footing with integral drainage can be poured at the same time, using a smaller footing than traditional installations.

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