Installing a Weeping Tile System
Adding a weeping tile system is one way to prevent water from entering your home and causing structural damage. However, you’ll want to install wiping tiles correctly to get the most value from them.
Below, learn more about weeping tile installation and how a professional can help. You’ll also discover an alternative to weeping tiles that might be even more effective for removing water from your home.
What Is a Weeping Tile System?
A weeping tile system, also known as a drain tile system, helps to keep your property dry. It consists of small pipes, usually around four inches in diameter, with slits or weep holes that redirect water from around your foundation.
Weeping tiles can prevent common water intrusion problems in your home, such as floor cracks, efflorescence, and bowing basement walls.
There are two types of weeping tile systems:
- Interior weeping tile systems: Also known as a basement weeping tile system, an interior weeping tile system is installed along the perimeter of your basement floor. It redirects water that has already accumulated around your foundation to a sump pump and discharges it away from your property.
- Exterior weeping tile systems: This type of system is installed outside of your foundation, normally near the footing. It collects water before it reaches your foundation and channels it away.
How To Install Weeping Tile Systems
Installing a weeping tile system is pretty tricky, so you’ll probably need an expert to do this for you. Here’s how professionals typically install interior and exterior weeping tiles:
Interior weeping tile installation
This process involves:
- Creating an opening in a concrete basement floor
- Digging a trench in the gravel below the concrete
- Pouring gravel into the trench
- Laying pipe on top of the gravel and wrapping it with landscape fabric to prevent obstructions
- Filling the rest of the trench with gravel
- Pouring concrete on top of the gravel
Exterior weeping tile installation
This process involves:
- Digging a trench around a home’s outside perimeter
- Adding a few inches of gravel to the trench’s base
- Laying pipe on top of the gravel and wrapping it with landscape fabric
- Filling the rest of the trench with gravel or a mixture of gravel and sand
- Adding dirt with sod to the top of the trench
Alternative To Weeping Tile Installation
Installing a French drain is another way to keep your home dry and safe. This is something Groundworks can do for you.
A French drain is a perforated drainage pipe that we place in a trench. When water enters the trench, it flows into the pipe before entering a sump pit or basin, which is located at the lowest point inside a home. A sump pump, located inside the pit or basin, then moves the water away from the home via a discharge line.
French drains might be more effective than weeping tiles for these reasons:
- Installing a French drain requires less work compared to weeping tiles. It involves digging a trench, filling it with gravel, installing the pipe, and then filling the trench. Unlike an interior weeping tile system, no concrete is needed.
- You can use a French drain almost anywhere outside your home that experiences water buildup, such as your yard. That makes it more versatile than weeping tiles, which can only be placed around your foundation.
- Because French drains are suitable for different outdoor areas, you can prevent soil from becoming oversaturated, which often leads to water intrusion in your home.
Trust Groundworks for French Drain Installation
Installing a weeping tile system can help you manage water that gathers around your foundation. However, you might want to opt for a French drain instead, which is easier to set up and more versatile.
Groundworks specializes in French drain installation, helping Toronto homeowners like you prevent water intrusion. Contact our team to learn more.
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