Which French Drain System Works Best For You?

Each of our drainage systems is designed to address a different, unique challenge that you may be facing. Some of these challenges involve the way your home has been designed, while others address unusual basement water issues, such as iron ochre.

We offer our customers the following five French drain systems:

 

1. 

WaterGuard® Below-Floor Drain

For a typical basement, our WaterGuard® system is the ideal choice for waterproofing. This French drain is designed to be installed below the floor slab, resting on top of the foundation footing. This keeps this drainage system out of the "mud zone", where drains can clog.

Installation involves removing a section of floor around the perimeter and creating a drainage trench. Sections of WaterGuard® are then placed within the trench, resting on a bed of drainage stone, and the floor is restored.

A wall flange extends 3/8" above the floor, allowing the drain to collect water leaking from the basement walls.

 

2. 

DryTrak® Baseboard Drain Pipe

Most foundations come in three pieces: walls, floor, and footing. Other foundations (called monolithic foundations) come with the floor and footing as one piece, and the walls are installed on top as a separate piece.

Monolithic foundations have exceptionally thick floors around the edges. Jackhammering through these thick concrete floors is very time-consuming and creates a lot of dust!

To avoid these issues, we recommend the DryTrak® Baseboard Drain Pipe System. This unique drain system installs above the floor, eliminating the dust and labor of jackhammering.

 

3. 

FlowGuard® Thin Floor Drain System

Sometimes the concrete floor in a basement is too thin for a drain to be installed on top of the footer. If we did install it on top of the footer, the drain would stick up past the concrete slab.

We usually address this challenge with our FlowGuard Thin Floor System. This system is designed to sit in front of the footing in a bed of drainage stone. After installation, the concrete floor is restored over it.

Like our other drain systems, FlowGuard includes a wall flange, which extends up the wall to direct any leaking water to your sump pump system.

 

4. 

WaterGuard® IOS Perimeter Drain

If iron bacteria is present in your water, it will create a gelatinous, rust-colored substance known as iron ochre.

This unpleasant material is notorious for smelling terrible, staining everything it touches and clogging drainage systems.

Our experts tackle this rare problem with our WaterGuard® IOS Basement Drain. This product is a modified version of our WaterGuard® system that includes an extra-wide drain channel, and larger drainage openings. To allow for easy drain system maintenance if clogged, the drain system also includes an exposed, removable lid.

 

5. 

TrenchDrain™ Grated Drainage Pipe

Our dealers often meet with homeowners who would like us to prevent water from flooding from an outer entryway (hatchways, garage doors, under doorways, etc.)

In cases like this, our dealers will often span the opening with our TrenchDrain Grated Draining Pipe. The grated opening of this system is designed to accept water from the floor, where it's then directed to your perimeter drain.

Like our other drain systems, TrenchDrain is compatible with a radon mitigation system. If this is a concern for you, ask your specialist for details on how TrenchDrain works in a sealed radon mitigation system.

 

No matter how your house was constructed or what kinds of problems you're facing, our waterproofing products can be combined to create a solution that's ideal for you!

 

The Basement Systems line of drainage products has been used in warrantied systems for hundreds of thousands of homes worldwide!