What Is an Interior Perimeter Drainage System?

Interior perimeter drainage is one of the most important parts of a waterproof foundation. Many homeowners focus on just getting rid of standing water in their basement, but a lot more than that is needed to keep a foundation healthy. An excess amount of groundwater surrounding your foundation can lead to hydrostatic pressure, foundation settling, and excess amounts of moisture in a basement. While a sump pump can drain the groundwater that surrounds a foundation, it can’t cover every single side. An interior drainage system that runs along the perimeter of the foundation needs to be placed in order to handle the groundwater the sump pump is not in position to deal with.

At Foundation Recovery Systems, we offer the homeowners of Des Moines, IA BasementGutter™, a reliable interior drainage solution. The BasementGutter™ drain pipe is placed inside a trench that runs along the perimeter of the basement. After installation, the trench is covered up and the floor is left looking completely untampered with. The reason the drain pipe is placed there is because it’s the best position for the drain to collect groundwater that flows into the basement. The wall-floor joist is one of the most vulnerable parts of a basement, which is why many homeowners have flooding problems with water that comes from this specific area.

From this position, the drain is also capable of collecting moisture that runs along the wall, a useful feature if you have problems with a leaky window or water vapor. It also works incredibly well with a vapor barrier, since the plastic sheet can help guide the water down to the interior drain. BasementGutter™ can connect to the basement’s sump pump so that all the water collected gets drained out properly. An interior perimeter drain is more affordable than traditional exterior drains because it doesn’t require excavation. All in all, there’s no reason not to get an interior perimeter drain given all the benefits it provides.