Basement drain question

bigal0043

My basement gets water leaking in from the outside. The previous owner poured a 3-4inch slab ontop of the existing slab and left the old slab on the permineter where it was. So i have a 3-4 by 3-4" open drain that goes to a floor drain. My question is that it is not sloped correctly, so water pools in certain areas... What would be the best way to slope that towards the drain? Also what would be the best way to make that more of a closed system....

If this all doesnt make sense i can try to type it again

Ron6519

Photos might help. No promises though.

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Ron
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
B. Franklin 1759

bigal0043

hellothere123

I have never seen that before. What is causing the water in the basement? Do you have proper drainage, weeping tile, condition of eaves? Or is it from a high water table?

bigal0043

We have to add some gutters on the house, but its clay soil so it doesnt drain very well outside.

AllanJ

1. Ensure that water does not puddle up against the outside of the foundation. You may need to regrade the land about the house and/or use gutter extensions to get the water discharge out further away from the house.

2. You might exploit the ditch around the perimeter of the basement as a weeping tile system unto itself. Dig a pit for a sump pump at one corner or side of the basement so most of the water drains off there. This is not a perfect substitute because it does not allow free desaturation of the surrounding soil into the ditch and then into the newly dug pit.

If you were to put in a real weeping tile system (subsurface French drain) you would have to choose one of wreck the poured slab on all four sides to put the tile system under the perimeter on the inside, or excavate the yard to footing level on all four sides of the house to put the tile system on the outside.

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bigal0043

for point 2, how could i enclose it better so standing water isnt exposed? could i fill it with crushed gravel and then put a thin coat of concrete on top?

hellothere123

good points Allan...interior weeping into a sump or 2, landscape and french drain any standing water...

tons of work though

AllanJ

Do not fill the ditch with gravel unless you put in a real weeping tile system.

If you want to hide the water you could get a rust resistant U shaped channel that fits upside down in the ditch and is flush with the top slab surface. The sides of the channel should be scalloped so water entering will make it tot he middle of the ditch.

Then put a vapor barrier over the slab surface and add flooring that is also supported by the perimeter upside down channel.

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The disadvantages of crab apple trees. In summer, the apples are too sour to pick and eat. In winter the birds come and leave dropping all over the place.

Ironlight

Two questions: where is the water coming from, and what do you want to make the basement suitable for?

Is the water coming up through the floor or is it coming down the walls? If the former then I don't think there is much you can do to regrade the channels so that the water flows to the drain. If the latter then you could probably "parge" the channels with mortar to get the levels so they flow.

As far as hiding it goes, I think Allen's U-channel idea is the way to go. That or fill them with gravel but don't seal them on top.