We had a french drain installed this morning in our 1910 house. We had water leaking in from the foundation wall. We have a staircase, with a landing in the middle of the room, butting against the wall. Our contractor had agreed to take up the stairs and install the drain against the entire foundation wall, reinstalling the stairs after. Instead the french drain was installed against the wall until it hits the stairs and then it detours around the stairs and then back to the wall. I’m concerned that the detour and/or the space between the drain and the foundation wall (in excess of three feet) may impact drainage. Any thoughts on this? Thank you.
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Not sure specifically how that portion of the wall is with drainage, but I have a similar situation in my basement. Had a French drain installed about a year ago and they went around my oil tank just the same as your staircase, I have yet to notice any issues at all in that area.
Thank you for your reply, and I'm glad you haven't had issues. Unfortunately, there are some water stains on the wall in question.
I'd leave it as is with a caveat that the contractor come back and fix it if the problem remains within, say, a year. In my experience, just adding the drain is likely to relieve the pressure that's forcing water through the wall. Of course, that depends on the underlying soils as well.
Thanks Andy. I hope it does relieve the pressure and solve the water problem. I just wish there were a way to test the drain and know that it will solve the problem before we write the check. The contractor has guaranteed the installation will prevent water -- its even transferable. But that's only good if they're still in business.
It probably does depend on the soils. If you're soil drains freely, the water should be able to reach that drain without a problem. I just did some similar work in Connecticut, and that slab is right on a hardpan layer. The soil above is pretty sandy, but nothing drains through the hardpan so the water gets trapped in the upper soils. We haven't had a big rain in a couple of weeks, but the water is still trickling into the sump. Fascinating stuff!