ASHWORTH DRAINAGE BLOG
Proper drainage around your swimming pool is important to keeping sanitary; you don’t want to let soil and debris flow into the water you’ve spent so much time and money cleaning! “Proper drainage” means getting rid of any standing water around the pool and deck and preventing pooling in planters, garden beds, and lawns that surround a below-ground pool.
Water coming into a basement doesn’t only damage the structure of a home and what’s inside – it can cause dangerous mould growth, too. Mould and mildew start growing within 24-48 hours of even the smallest amount of water exposure, and if left longer than two days, the problem can spread far beyond where the water damage is taking place.
Keeping a basement dry means keeping moisture off the outside of the concrete foundation. For this, many homeowners turn to a waterproofing membrane. How are these products made and will they stand up to the pressures surrounding your basement?
Spring and winter are the seasons with the most water, but summer poses unique challenges for your foundation and basement. Here are the three most common drainage problems warm weather poses for inside a basement, next to foundation walls, and on the lawn of homes around London!
Weeping tiles are an important part of your foundation, as they drain excess water away from the walls. But weeping tiles aren’t only found there – they are key to septic systems, too! For homes with a septic system, you may know them as “leaching lines” that send liquid to what’s called the tile bed, leaching bed, or leach field.
You see storm drains every day, and you know that they link up to the sewer system. Did you know that this system is different from the one that connects to your home? While it’s easy to assume that all underground pipes use the same system and head to a treatment plant, most cities have two drainage systems – one for rain and meltwater and another for waste.
One important part of foundation repair is the layer of tar we spray on the walls. This common exterior layer is made of a petroleum-based asphalt, sort of like what goes on a roof. It is resistant to moisture penetration, making it very good for repelling moisture that makes it to your concrete foundation and helping that water drain away.
While this bituminous material is an important part of waterproofing a foundation, it’s not the only layer of protection you should trust. Read on!
Bags filled with sand and soil often make emergency floodwalls and rough shelters like military bunkers. But the same idea is becoming more popular among DIYers looking for natural building materials. A sturdy process known as “earthbag construction” is the preferred solution!
Earthbag construction is getting a lot of attention as a low-cost, low-impact, durable form of building, and it is being used to make everything from small huts to full-sized homes!
Window wells are a small but important part of protecting the inside of your basement. If water is leaking in from your windows, the problem might be with the window well – or lack thereof. If you don’t have wells around your basement windows, what’s the cost of having them installed? A lot less than the cost of the damage caused by leaking water!