French Drain Innovations - Out With the Old, in With the New
With the advancements made in basement waterproofing, the old ways are rarely the best ways. French drains used for basement waterproofing will eventually fail and are rarely the best way to keep the area dry all the time.
| Comments on article "French Drain Innovations - Out With the Old, in With the New" |
| Name |
Views and Comments | Date |
| Steve A |
First, Basement Systems needs to do research to back what they are saying. Let's reason about this.
1) A WaterGuard System (or any system that is placed on the footer) cannot collect water from under the slab. Physics does not allow water to jump up on the footer.
2) Yes, Steve Andras was a Basement System Dealer (in fact he won Basement Systems Integrity Award and Top Dealer in The World Award in 2002) Who would know better about whether a system works. (Steve's company installed over 20 miles of WaterGuard in one year.
3) WaterGuard works if your leak is coming from the wall floor joint, however when water follows a water or sewer pipe which is encased in sand it cannot collect the water from under the slab. In 2002 - Steve realized that the WaterGuard system had a defect because it could not take care of the water that sometimes comes up from under the basement slab.
4) The French Drain was named after Henry F French who took the principals from farm drainage and applied them to cellar drainage around 1854 in his house in Exeter, NH. (BS needs to do further research about his french drain, the principals are still applicable today. Unlike what they website says the french drain was not developed in the 1920's but rather in the middle of the 1800's.
5) Richard F is right - a drainage system that is put along side the footer instead of on the footer is a more labor intensive system for the contractor. If this is so then why is it that BS dealers charge so much to put in their inferior drainage system that doesn't work all the time.
6) Ask any BS dealer what they do when the WaterGuard does not work and he will tell you that he installs a "french drain" perforated pipe along the footer. (the same system they say clogs. The truth is out and people will not believe the lies told by a company who is only interested in how mauch profit they can make.
7) Isn't it worth a litle more to do the right thing for the customer.
8) Why do they continue to advocate an open backed drainage system that promotes Radon and soil moisture up into the home.
9) Closed Drainage systems will cost slightly more - but a consumer will reap the benefits of lower heating and cooling costs. With a closed system a customer's dehumidifier will have to run less.
10) Consumers should be told the truth - WaterGuard does get clogged (even though it is on the footer. I have plenty of pictures to show Iron Bacteria clogging a WaterGuard System. If BS says that that is not true then why did they recently develop a system called WaterGuard IOS (which is a WaterGuard system that one can flush out when it gets clogged.
11) Since I'm on a roll - Why do they promote a "closed SuperSump" which does not promote radon, oders, etc. and then they install an open backed system around the whole basement.
I believe the time has come for consumers to look beyond all their marketing BS and go with systems that help their customers to improve their quality of life by improving they health. After all isn't that what a company should strive to do.
I left Basement Systems in 2006 because they would not listen to their single largest purchaser of their products. Can you believe I purchased 1.6 million dollars worth of their products and when I mention to their owner the need to change their system in order to protect ALL of it's customers, I was no longer wanted in their network, so we parted ways. I just want to help all my clients and I don't believe the WaterGuard system is in their best interest. I do believ the system is the most profitable one for a contractor who doesn't care about all his customers. That is why I left their network. |
7/4/2009 |
| Richard F |
For nearly 20 years Basement Systems dealers have been installing the WaterGuard drainage system on the footer and this has proven more effective than traditional French drain systems in that it is highly clog-resistant as typical French drains are not and, to date, this has never weakened a single foundation wall -- thousands of bridges all over the world with concrete foundations sit in water every day.
For clarification: Steve A happens to be a competitor, and actually a former Basement Systems dealer, he is trying to sell against Basement Systems’ WaterGuard system. He sells a competing system, that he designed around the WaterGuard patent. His system is more labor-intensive to install and thus a more expensive system — this explains his comments above.
Basement Systems, a national network of dealerships, competes with him in the community where he installs his system, and homeowners make educated purchasing decisions. The Basement Systems international contractor network has been honored with many awards for business integrity over the years, and as always, believes an educated consumer is our best customer. |
2/12/2009 |
| FM |
How do you prevent basement floor wetness? I live on the lake and the floor gets wet/moisture spots in random areas coming from the ground underneath the concrete floor. The basement has new waterproofing system around the perimeter that does not help this issue |
9/16/2008 |
| Steve A |
This is marketing BS to get people to beleive that an on the footer system is better than a "french drain" The problem is the in Basement Systems "Disneyland" - contractors are trying to convince homeowners that their on th efooter systems are better for them. The truth is that their on the footer systems are best for the BS Contractors because it is much less labor for the contractor yet they charge the same as "french drain contractors who install a system that is along the side of the footer. To install a proper drainage system it should NOT be placed on top of the footer because systems like this will trap water against the concrete wall and will eventually weaken the foundation wall. BS is passing along a lot of BS - thinking the average consumer will believe their BS. For more on "Open Backed Systems" just goggle search open backed drainage systems. |
9/14/2008 | |
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