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Basement GurusLANCASTER, PA
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Lancaster County · 22 years

Drainage Solutions in Lancaster, PA

Move the water before it reaches the wall.

The cheapest waterproofing is the water that never gets to your foundation. Exterior drainage is where we start on most Lancaster County properties, and sometimes where we finish.

(800) 834-6584
Moving water away from the house, outsideExterior profile. The house wall and footing are at the left, with its eave, gutter and downspout, and the grade falls away to the right across the whole width, dipping through a swale. A gold dashed line shows the old grade falling back toward the house and a gold arrow shows water running that way. Beside the footing, a green fabric-lined gravel trench holds a green perforated pipe seen end-on. A buried green line carries the downspout's water right, picking up a green yard drain grate at the low point of the swale, and daylights at a green outfall near the right edge, well away from the foundation.Gutter and downspout, buried and extendedOld grade fell toward the houseSwale and yard drain at the low pointExterior French drain, fabric-linedDaylight outfall

What's included

The actual scope

  • Exterior French drain and interception
  • Downspout extension and burial
  • Yard and swale drainage
  • Threshold and hardscape drains
  • Grading correction

How it runs

Start to warranty

  1. Walk the property and find the path
  2. Design the route and outfall
  3. Install and restore the yard
  4. Warrantied workmanship

Terms, plainly

Free estimate. No money down. Financing available. Lifetime warranty on waterproofing systems, and it transfers when you sell.

How the system works

Interior drainage, in cross-section

Not to scale · every install is sized to the house
Interior drainage, in cross-sectionCutaway through the soil, the block foundation wall and the basement floor of a house. Rainwater falls from a downspout and seeps down through saturated soil on the left, pressure arrows push it sideways against the wall, and a drainage system set into the floor on the right carries it away. Five numbered callouts. One, gold: rain and snowmelt saturating the soil against the wall. Two, gold: water forced through the block and in at the cove joint where floor meets wall. Three, green: a perforated drain pipe in a gravel bed at the footing, below the slab. Four, green: a sealed sump basin with a cast-iron pump and battery backup. Five, green: the discharge line running water away from the foundation.12345GradeWall vapor barrier
  1. The problem: Rain and snowmelt saturate the soil against the wall. Downspouts and grade decide how much arrives.
  2. The problem: Pressure pushes it through the block and in at the cove joint where floor meets wall.
  3. The system: A perforated drain in a gravel bed at the footing intercepts the water before the floor does.
  4. The system: It runs to a sealed sump basin with a cast-iron pump and battery backup for outages.
  5. The system: Discharge is routed far enough from the foundation that it does not simply come back.

Where you live changes the job

Drainage Solutions on limestone is not drainage solutions on red shale

Lancaster County has four distinct ground conditions, and each one changes how we size and place this work. Your town page has the specifics.

Limestone valley floor

Interior French drain tied into a sealed sump basin with a battery backup, because the volume shows up fast and all at once. Wall vapor barrier where the block has been wicking.

Northern red shale and clay

Interior drain at the footing to relieve the pressure, plus wall reinforcement (carbon fiber or steel) anywhere the block has started to move. Exterior grading and downspout extensions to stop feeding the clay.

Southern schist uplands

Drainage on the uphill side first — interior drain plus exterior interception where the grade allows — and a discharge line routed far enough downslope that it does not simply return.

Susquehanna river terraces

Sub-slab drainage with a high-capacity sealed sump and battery backup, mortar repointing on stone walls, and encapsulation where the space is unfinished.

Other things we fix while we are there

Get a real price on drainage solutions.

Free estimate anywhere in Lancaster County, and an honest answer about whether it can wait.

(800) 834-6584