Crawl Space Floor Drainage System
A crawl space drainage system is an important part of your crawl space. If you’re thinking about adding a drainage system, here’s what you should know.
What Does Crawl Space Floor Drainage Look Like?
- CrawlDrain
AquaStop CrawlDrain is a type of interior drain system that is buried below the ground along the perimeter of the crawl space. It works to soak in the excess water or moisture from the soil in your crawlspace and drain it away from your home, to a safer area.
- Drainage Matting
Drainage matting is a dimpled plastic matting that lies between the crawl space floor and crawl space liner. The raised dimples create a path and direct water towards a crawl space sump pump or drainage system.
- Sump Pump
The AquaStop™ Sump Pump System is the most powerful crawl space sump pump on the market. It is fully compatible with our complete crawl space vapor barrier system because of its unique lid.
How Can a Crawl Space Floor Drainage System Help You?
There are several benefits to a crawl space floor drainage system. Some of them also aren’t extremely obvious. These are just a few ways that a floor drainage system can make your crawl space healthier.
- Less Indoor Humidity
When you have a crawl space floor drainage system, you’ll often end up with less indoor humidity. This is because it will give you the tools you need to avoid permanent flooding throughout the crawl space. Without regular issues with flooding, you’re going to end up with less evaporation, which lowers the humidity in the crawl space.
- No Worries About Flooding
Flooding can be a frustrating problem to worry about in your crawl space. A crawl space floor drainage system is an extremely useful method if you want to make sure you have no worries about the possibility of flooding. When you have a crawl space floor drainage system, floodwater will flow out into the drainage system instead of staying in the crawl space.
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When Should You Take Action And Get a Crawl Space Drainage System?
An expert may point to several things indicating that a crawl space floor drainage system is needed. Here are the most common elements you may need a crawl space drainage system to deal with.
- Standing Water
A crawl space floor drainage system is necessary if you tend to have a lot of problems with standing water. Especially if the standing water comes back over and over again, you might need a long-standing crawl space floor drainage system that can help you avoid standing water as a whole.
- Hydrostatic Pressure
When water and soil press in on the foundation walls, you’ll see an increase of hydrostatic pressure all around the walls. That hydrostatic pressure can be incredibly profound. Think about how much weight a single gallon of water can apply in a jug. Then, consider what it would be like to have that water all around your crawl space foundation.
That hydrostatic pressure is an important element of your crawl space health. The sheer weight of hydrostatic pressure on your crawl space’s walls can cause all sorts of problems, ranging from foundation settlement to concerns with your crawl space waterproofing process. Hydrostatic pressure is an important element of a healthy crawl space, and it might require a crawl space floor drainage system.
- Severe Weather
You especially may need to install a crawl space floor drainage system to ward off bad weather. That may include things like flood crawl vents, which can allow water to run through the crawl space so it doesn’t impact the foundation.
If you do happen to have regular issues with the weather in your area, you’ll want to make sure you give your crawl space its due diligence. Talk to a crawl space repair expert to make sure your crawl space can stand up to severe weather.
FAQs About Crawl Space Floor Drainage Systems
Many different crawl space floor drainage systems may work well if you’re looking for a way to maintain the space as a whole. Here’s what you need to know about these different types of drainage systems.
- Many Ways to Manage Your Drainage Needs
Crawl space drainage systems are varied because there are so many different ways to manage a crawl space’s drainage. For example, a small crawl space that allows for grading may work well with just a sump pump, while one that doesn’t have a lot of drainage opportunities may require a perimeter drain for better functioning.
The best way to determine whether you need a crawl space floor drainage system is to talk to an expert. A professional may just be able to adjust your current drainage system to suit your needs more effectively. Alternatively, they may suggest a new system that will be better for the problems you’re experiencing.
- Interior Drains vs. Other Basement Drain Options
Interior drains do tend to be one of the most prominent drainage options, but there are also other crawl space and basement drain options that might be effective and useful for your unique crawl space needs. The best way to choose a great basement drain option is to talk to a crawl space expert, who can help you personalize your crawl space needs.
Because there are so many different ways to manage your crawl space health, it’s a good idea to talk to an expert before you move forward with any crawl space changes. A crawl space repair expert will help you maintain your crawl space according to its needs, which might be very different from other crawl spaces.
Some homeowners wonder whether they need a crawl space floor drainage system. If you’ve never noticed anything wrong with your crawl space, it’s easy to avoid the need for one of these systems. However, a crawl space floor drainage system can be immensely helpful for a variety of reasons.
- Removes Standing Water
One of the biggest benefits of a crawl space floor drainage system is that it removes standing water [add link] from the crawl space. Essentially, a drainage system helps you funnel standing water into a sump pump more effectively, even if you only have a very small amount of standing water.
This includes standing water that may come from anywhere. For example, if a pipe bursts in your home as a whole, it’s extremely possible for you to experience problems with standing water due to that leak. Outside flooding and heavy rainfall can also lead to concerns with standing water. It’s important to think about all the ways standing water can come about before you consider whether you need a crawl space drainage system.
- Increases Your Crawl Space Health Overall
Increasing your crawl space health is always a good endeavor. When you have a crawl space floor drainage system, you’re increasing the air quality, its resistance to pests and mold, and its ability to keep out other invasive bacteria. It ensures that you don’t have standing water in the crawl space and reduces your risk of flooding, both of which are very beneficial for the crawl space.
A crawl space floor drainage system might not be part of the bare minimum for your crawl space health, you should never be looking for just the bare minimum. Rather, you should always be looking for the maximum health, both for the wellbeing of any residents in your home, but also because a crawl space floor drainage system can be a great way to maximize your space.
Many homes can benefit from a crawl space floor drainage system. The best way to tell whether a crawl space floor drainage system is right for you is to talk to a Groundworks expert who can tell you more about your unique crawl space health needs. Here are a few things that can indicate the usefulness of a drainage system.
- Strangely-Shaped Crawl Space
If you have a strangely-shaped crawl space, you’ll likely end up needing a crawl space floor drainage system. That’s because a crawl space with an odd shape is more likely to have many areas that will collect water, which can make it difficult to rely exclusively on a sump pump with a graded floor.
The qualifications for a crawl space to be considered “strangely-shaped” may vary dramatically. Different crawl spaces will have different shapes naturally, depending on the structure of your home and the layout of your foundation. However, crawl spaces that have a lot of corners are at a higher risk for issues with crawl space drainage than spaces that don’t have as many corners.
- A Crawl Space That Collects Water Around the Edges
Have you noticed that your crawl space tends to collect water around its edges? If this is something that you’ve seen in your crawl space, a floor drainage system might be the perfect option for you. This way, you’ll have a place for that water to go, rather than just constantly leaving it to collect around the edges.
Crawl spaces can collect water around the edges for several different reasons. It’s very common for hydrostatic pressure to be an extremely serious problem that crawl spaces run into. That pressure can cause water to come up from underneath the crawl space and start to pool around the edges of the space.
Choosing a crawl space floor drainage system can be a complicated process. If you try to do it all on yourself, chances are that you’re going to feel very confused and uncertain about it. That’s why it’s a bad idea to take it entirely on yourself.
- The Downfalls of DIY
Although there are many different DIY projects out there for your home, it’s important to remember that a crawl space floor drainage system should not be a DIY project. The crawl space is often part of your foundation, which means messing around with it is a no-go. You’re as likely to cause problems as you are to fix something.
Fixing your foundation isn’t something you can do in an afternoon. It’s also definitely not something you can do on your own. You need the help of an expert when it comes to foundation problems. From crawl space water problems to basement cracks, an expert should be the only person you trust to fix your problems.
- The Benefit of an Expert
Because there are multiple different crawl space floor drainage systems out there, you want to talk to a crawl space repair expert to make sure you’ve got a crawl space floor drainage system that will work best for your needs. A unique solution will always be better than a cookie-cutter one, and an expert can help you create that unique solution.
A Groundworks repair expert can help you with your crawl space needs. Just schedule an appointment with an expert today to learn more about your options. It might surprise you how many options you have available when it comes to fixing your crawl space’s problems.
Maintain Your Crawl Space Drainage System with an Expert’s Help
When you’re thinking about your crawl space health, it’s important to think about the different ways in which water in the crawl space might have an impact on the crawl space and the rest of the home. That’s why a crawl space drainage system may be important for your home’s crawl space health. However, you can’t install it on your own.
This is where a Groundworks expert will come into play. With the help of a Groundworks expert, you can choose a crawl space drainage option that works for your unique crawl space drainage concerns. Just contact a Groundworks expert today to learn more about how you can craft a crawl space drainage system that works for you.