Hi… Finally getting around to pouring a concrete floor in this 180 yr old house of ours. Typical damp/musty dirt floor basement w/ rubble walls to enhance the dungeon like effect. This will never be used for living space, however I would like to address continual moisture issues. Most of the basement dirt floor is bone dry. There is minor dampness evident after a prolonged or especially heavy rain fall around the perimeter base (approx. 45%). I am considering some type of dimpled or corrugated strip around the wall base @ these areas that I would allow to drain into a shallow trench of crushed rock over perforated drain leading to a small sump well. We don’t experience anything close to flooding, I’d be surprised if the well got more than a gallon. I plan to lay 6 mil poly over the dirt before pouring 4″ of concrete. The area is 41.5’x26′. Are there any other prep issues I should consider? Any products I could use to accomplish this. I did see a dimpled type strip on line but can no longer locate it.
Thanks for any and all help!
Replies
Do a perimeter drain tile around the whole basement and empty it into a sump crock.
Do a search on drain tile installation and you will find a lot of details on the web. If the search function is working right on this site you can also get a lot of information from older threads on this topic.
My personal choice would be the perimeter drain tile in a fabric sock, covered with clean crushed stone, and if you can afford a few inches less head room a layer of the same crushed stone under the whole slab. This would be followed by 6 mil. poly with all seams tapped and then your concrete pour.
Although it may seem logical to only provide drainage at the damp or wet area of your basement, I would consider going the full perimeter drain route as well, drained to a sump pit. What did you have in mind for floor drains?