Imagine walking into your basement to find water seeping in through the walls. What’s causing it? If you live in an older home, it’s likely waterproofing and weeping tile are missing. They go hand-in-hand to prevent basement leaks. Chris Cavan of City Wide Group tells us about advances in weeping tile and why your home should be properly retrofitted.
Exterior weeping tile
Why your home needs new weeping tile
Cavan says homes built with block, stone or brick foundations are susceptible to water seepage for two reasons: it either wasn’t waterproofed when it was built, or if it was, it likely has the original weeping tile from early construction, which isn’t built to perform the way new products on the market are today.
“It’s the old clay style which gets clogged quite rapidly,” says Cavan. “It’s simply one foot-long section of 4-inch clay pipe put against each other.” The spaces leave enough room for debris to fill them.
Advancements
Weeping tiles have come a long way and are built to prevent any clogging. “Nowadays, weeping tile is one continuous piece of ABS pipe with fine perforations and a filter cloth to prevent debris from getting into it,” Cavan explains.
Its purpose is to collect any ground water that penetrates the soil. This could be rain water or melting snow that will try to find its way to the bottom of your home’s foundation. “Weeping tile collects all that water and leads it either to a storm drain or brings it inside the sump pump,” he says.
When City Wide Group uses weeping tile in the waterproofing process, they go above and beyond standard building code buy using stronger materials that are built to last. Cavan says the minimum requirement as per building code when waterproofing a wall is to use foundation tar and a drainage membrane.
“A lot of our competitors use a product that’s a liquid rubberized coating, but deteriorates over a rather short period of time,” says Cavan. “It becomes almost non-existent after five or seven years.”
City Wide uses a rubber primer which acts like an adhesive, followed by a peel and stick rubberized membrane, says Cavan.
“The advantage of using this combination is that it’s a sheet versus a liquid that’s rolled onto the wall,” he says. “There’s no room for evaporation or degrading over a period of time. It’s tight to the wall and keeps the wall sealed and water tight.”
Can’t picture where weeping tiles are situated in a waterproofing process? This illustration can help:
A home that’s properly waterproofed with adequate weeping tile has better drainage and more longevity, as these systems are designed to last up to 50 years if installed correctly, says Cavan.
Want to learn more about City Wide Group‘s company? Hear about it from Cavan himself:
And here are some shots of the City Wide team’s projects:
City Wide Group can tell if your home has its original weeping tiles or none at all. Contact them for a free estimate on your next weeping tile and waterproofing projects!
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