| Is a french drain really necessary? I know I know... A french drain should always be installed to be sure to keep the basement dry. But my house was built in the 1940s. And in my neighborhood they didn't installed french drains when the houses were built.
It's been 5 years that I own this house. I've opened some drywalls in the basement and there's no apparent humidity problems... In fact, my basement is always around 20% humidity in winter and around 35-40% in summer. I live up an hill and when it rains, the water goes fast downhill so there's no water that stays around the house.
In the summer I will be doing some landscaping around the house and it will be pretty much permanent... Do you think I should be thinking about installing a french drain before? I'm on a tight budget and I'm hesitant about this whole thing...
Thanks for your advices... |
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robbinPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX
kudos:1 | Will you be installing any new irrigation with the new landscaping? |
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 jjoshuaPremium
join:2001-06-01
Scotch Plains, NJ
kudos:1 | reply to french_drain
said by french_drain :I know I know... A french drain should always be installed to be sure to keep the basement dry.
Not true. If the water table never reaches your basement, your soil drains well, or you just don't get a lot of rain, then you don't need one. |
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 tp0dyabbazooiePremium
join:2001-02-13
Carnegie, PA
kudos:2 | Agreed with jjoshua, theyre not mandatory.
But, if you want to use your basement for any _dry_ activities, it is a very good idea to have a french drain. Its on my to do list here, as I have a sometimes damp basment.. yay.
-j
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if it aint broke, tweak it!!
currently on FiOS (kick aZZ!) |
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| reply to robbin
said by robbin:Will you be installing any new irrigation with the new landscaping?
I'm just planning to adjust surface levels so water is directed away from the house. |
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| If you're not experiencing any issues, it's not absolutely mandatory, but it's a nice "insurance policy". If you have the resources and plan to keep the house for a while, you might as well do it. |
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| reply to french_drain
said by french_drain :I know I know... A french drain should always be installed to be sure to keep the basement dry.
We don't have one and our basement is dry as a bone, except around the well pump tank area but this is due to condensation on the pipes. |
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