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Water Removal
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...a dry crawlspace does not only apply
to the aspect of not being able to visually observe standing
water, but, it deals more specifically with the amount of water
levels within the air space of the crawlspace (humidity) and the
subterranean water traveling underneath the home's
foundation.
With regard to wood
or paper decay, it typically occurs in the form of mold and
bacteria. Most home's air conditioning systems supply and
return ducts are located within the crawlspace. These ducts
are typically not sealed at their connections of assembly.
Specifically, the return ducts are negative in pressure by design
and are infiltrating the mold, bacterial and humidity from the
crawlspace into your home. Odd as it may seem, during the
summer months, homeowners are paying their local electric utility
companies to provide power to operate the cooling aspect of their
air conditioners and to extract or reduce the objectionable levels
of humidity from within the home. However, simultaneously in
the operation of cooling and dehumidification, the water or
high humidity of the crawlspace is being introduced back into the
home each and every time that the system
operates.
Case in point; two
homes with equal footprints of foundation & equal water impact,
however, one home is built with higher exterior foundation
walls. The home with the higher foundation walls will have a
lesser volume of water vapor (humidity) per cubic foot; simply
due to the increased interior volume in which to dilute the water
into. That being said; it is easy to understand the scenario
that a home on a sloped lot will have increased levels of humidity
on the end of the house that has the lesser amount of crawlspace
elevation. And normally, the lower end the home will be
adjacent to the driveway or garage (since this end of the lot is
more nearly flush with the driveway entrance) so as to
benefit automobile ingress and egress. It is this
lower end of the home that is at a greater potential risk of failure
due to high levels of humidity, simply by its physical
design.
From a concept of
an interior moat, along the inside of a foundation's perimeter
footing, and sloped from a higher elevation to a lower elevation
collection point, we install a "sediment free" coarse aggregate fill
and sediment fabric with a smooth walled PVC piping system that is
mechanically connected throughout its length. The advantages
of a sediment free & large aggregate collection system, as well
as, the smooth conveyance piping means that the water will enter the
system faster and travel restriction free to its terminal
location. Many contractors use a flexible corrugated drain
pipe. This pipe does not have a defined carrying weir (bottom)
and is inundated with friction / resistance corrugations along its
interior. Our pipe is designed with inlet openings along each
side, about 1" above the bottom weir, and is mechanically glued ...
so as to form a smooth solid bottom conveyance system.
At
this terminal location, an electrically powered mechanical sump
& pump will be installed to receive the water and to pump it
over the foundation footing.
For purposes of
cost reduction / profitability, some (most) drainage contractors
choose to leave the excavated materials on site and interior of the
crawlspace; and to cover the removed materials with plastic.
These soils are bacteria filled and saturated with water and gaseous
smells. With regard to a Molescapes
drainage installation, these soils are exported off site as
they are excavated.
We provide an
underground external discharge conveyance system for the primary
water. This piping is typically terminated at the curb, or
possibly in an attempt of cost management, to an acceptable
natural bedding location as an alternate location.
Within the design and installation of the discharge piping, and with
the premise & possibility of a power failure (where feasible),
we install the origin of the drain pipe atop the foundation footing;
so as to provide for an "overflow relief" ... much like that similar
to a bathtub overflow.
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