The Concrete Truth

When it comes to downspout extensions, longer and bigger is better. Keep it clean guys! This is a serious subject! Consider the size of your roof area. Now, think about just how much rain water can be collected by your roof. The larger the roof, the more water that is collected and deposited at the perimeter of your foundation via the downspout. In most homes, the downspouts are located at the outside corners. If you have a crack in the corner of your foundation wall, or as with a majority of homes with basements, a window well located near that corner, you are susceptible to water infiltration problems. Most of the flooding window wells I’ve encountered were a direct result of their proximity to the downspout.

In the mid west, particularly in the Chicago suburbs, the land is ridiculesly flat. As a result of this phenomenon, the majority of rain water deposited by the downspout, remains near the foundation wall. This is the major cause of window well flooding. Want to know if your window well has ever flooded? Just look at the glass in the window. If you notice a “water line” left after the water has receded, or if you see leaves or other debris deposited on the sill, then your window well has flooded at least one time. The problem here is that when most homeowners discover that they have taken on water in their basement, it is after the fact. Usually by the time the discovery is made, the water in the window well has receded and they’re left scratching their head. Most homeowners believe that they must have a leaking crack in the wall. So without the know how to troubleshoot the problem, they call a basement waterproofing company. Most companies are savvy to this issue, and can diagnose the problem very quickly. Others, may suggest that you remove some of the drywall in the area to see if a crack does exist. Don’t be so quick to remove the drywall. If there is a crack in the area, it will be visible on the outside of the foundation wall. If you walk around the outside perimeter of your home, look carefully at the top of the foundation wall. If there are any cracks in the wall, you will see these cracks at the top of the foundation wall. When concrete cracks, it cracks from top to bottom, inside to outside. The paradox here is that concrete usually cracks at the weak link in the wall. Under windows, at I-beam pockets, and sewer lines are the normal weak links. So the conundrum is, did the window well flood, did an existing crack leak, or both? Look for the water line. You may have to go through a process of elimination, but don’t be so quick to remove the drywall. It may not be necessary, and it will never look the same after the drywall repair is made.

When installing a downspout extension, do not, I repeat, do not use the perforated drain tile! The perforations will allow the water to leak out of the tile right where you don’t want it, at the corner. You must use solid tile to insure that the water is carried away from the foundation. I would also advise against buying one of those cute little 6′ extensions available at the hardware store. They are not long enough. They will give you a false sense of security. I have found that the best way to install downspout extensions is to bury them. The water can be deposited at either a lower elevation or empty into a dry well. Note that I’m not an advocate of dry wells, but if you have no other choice, then a dry well it must be.

If you have a finished basement, downspout extensions are a must! You may not need them in every rain event, but it’s the 100 year rain that we seem to be getting every year you need to guard against.

If you have any questions about this or any other topic I’ve written about, feel free to ask in the comment section at the bottom of each post. Until next time, stay dry, stay warm, and most of all, stay safe.

“There’s only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give everything”      -Vince Lombardi

admin Concrete Repair Downspout Extensions, Downspouts, drain tile, window well flooding