Serving Kansas and Missouri

Drainage System Installation in Kansas City

​The number one cause of foundation damage and flooding basements is poor drainage. Just one season of overflowing gutters and downspouts not draining properly can do tens of thousands of dollars in structural damage to your home’s foundation. That’s why it’s important to ensure your property’s basement drainage systems, from your downspouts to the French drain around your perimeter, are installed professionally and free of defects.

To maintain a healthy environment and keep your home on a solid foundation, the best thing you can do is stay diligent in maintaining the exterior drainage of your home. In most instances, Foundation 1 is able to help homeowners stop water from infiltrating their basement or crawl space by installing basement drainage systems in their Kansas City home.

What Can Happen to A Home With Poor Drainage?

What are some potential problems associated with poor drainage? Here are a few:

Erosion

If water travels quickly through your backyard or lawn, it’s possible you may be experiencing erosion that is affecting turf and plant growth.

Root rot

If there is standing water in your yard or on your lawn, it could be threatening grass, trees, and shrubs vulnerable to root rot. This will mean those plants will eventually have to be replaced.

Mosquito infestation

Standing pools of water create the potential for mosquitoes to breed in your yard.

Mold/humidity problems

Too much humidity in an enclosed underground space like a basement creates an ideal environment for mold to grow, which can cause health issues.

Structural damage

Pools of water around your home can cause foundation damage, concrete slab issues, and retaining wall leaks, as well.

Basement Drainage Systems Installation in Kansas City

Basement drainage is a crucial part of having a strong and durable foundation and basement. At Foundation 1, our team of experts is highly experienced in installing basement drainage systems for any type of home. We offer solutions such as curtain drains, basin drains, and French drains to suit any property’s needs.

During our free evaluation process, our team will assess your current circumstances and discuss your specific requirements with you before suggesting the best solutions for you. Contact us today to benefit from our Basement Drainage Systems Installation services in Kansas City.

Our Drainage System Installation Process

At Foundation 1, we understand how important it is to ensure that drainage systems are installed properly and efficiently. Our drainage system installation process follows a well-established protocol that has been used for many years. We begin by scheduling an initial consultation with the client. Through this consultation, we identify the size and scope of the drainage project to be completed in respect to their individual needs.

From there, our technicians will assess the land and create a plan for installation. This plan includes an estimate of supplies needed, as well as constructing a drainage system according to local regulations and guidelines. Throughout each stage of this process, our team works together towards ensuring that all levels of drainage needs are met with precision and expertise.

Types of Residential Drainage Systems

There are various types of drainage systems installations for your Kansas City home—surface drainage systems designed to quickly displace water after rainfall, subsurface drainage systems that catch water that has already saturated your soil, gutter and downspout systems that protect your home’s foundation, among others. Often you will need multiple drainage systems working together to fully protect your foundation’s stability.

 

 

Downspouts and Gutter Drains

basin Burying your gutters and sump pump drains so that they discharge away from your home can move thousands of gallons of water away from your foundation every time it rains. 

Sump Pumps

Sump pumps are drainage systems installed to your home’s interior, often at the lowest point in your basement or crawl space. Sump pumps work by capturing water in what is referred to as a “sump pit,” then pumping the water out and away from your foundation. Sump pumps are crucial elements to other drainage systems, including basement perimeter drains.

Basin Drains

Basin drains can collect water in areas where water pools, such as landscape beds and places that are trapped between concrete and structures. Dry wells and catch basins are holes filled with gravel that hold water and allow it more time to soak into the ground, while box drains are grates connected to drainpipes and other systems that help move extra water. They may be helpful in dealing with a flooded walkway or as an alternative to using downspouts.

 

Drainage - Curtain drain 1

French Drains and Saturation Drains

French drains are also saturation drains and are commonly used to absorb water from the subsoil allowing for faster drying cycles, keeping the soil more absorbent for the next rain. French drains are often misused as a “fix all” and are often installed incorrectly, causing more problems for the property owner.

Curtain Drains

Our Curtain Drain is most suitable for the collection of water along a foundation or patio when it is not possible to create a grade that flows away from the structure.

Window Well Drain

A window well drain is essential for preventing your window well from filling with water and creating a basement leak. Window wells will often drain to your sump pump, though it is possible to drain your window well to daylight.

 

Grading (9)

Grade Correction

Correcting the soil around your home may be as simple as adding a few yards of clean topsoil to build up the existing grade or be more complex like cutting out the existing soil in order to create proper fall and keep water flowing away from a structure.

Swales/Dry Creek Beds

Many times cutting a swale or dry creek bed near the house is the easiest and most economical way of controlling surface water, by changing the grade around a structure we can control how the water will flow in or around your property. The average home will need to have some sort of grade correction every six years as part of its normal maintenance.

A dry creek bed is a ditch covered in rocks that mimics the look of natural creek beds. They’re usually viewed as a more attractive drainage ditch option, and they’re helpful on properties dealing with a lot of fast-moving water, such as areas that experience flash floods. A swale, on the other hand, is a ditch that is covered in turf or other water-loving vegetation. The only catch with swales is that they can be susceptible to erosion if the water is too fast-moving.

 

How Does Water Damage a Foundation?

It might be hard to imagine how too much water around your house could do more than cause a muddy mess in your yard. But excess water in the soil is a leading cause of foundation damage. What happens when the ground gets saturated with water is a drastic increase in the soil’s hydrostatic pressure. Water weighs nearly 8.5 pounds per gallon and one inch of rain falling on 1 acre of ground is equal to about 27,154 gallons of water – that’s about 113 tons. If your home rests on the average plot size of about .20 acres, you can expect about 22 tons of water to fall on and around your home. Without a proper basement drainage system, in Kansas City, all of that water will soak into the soil around your foundation and press inward on it. This leads to leaks, cracks, and buckling. Even once the soil dries out after being oversaturated, it is likely to shift, shrink, and pull away from your foundation. This shifting soil puts more of your home’s weight on your foundation walls instead of having it dispersed throughout the soil. The preventative maintenance of installing a proper drainage system is your best bet at preventing the complication and expense of foundation problems.

Reviews of our exterior drainage work

“I cannot tell you how exciting it is to look out and see no water running over my front sidewalk.  I was able to remove the snow without it icing over for the first time in years.  This is all because of your firm. “ – Michelle, KCMO

“I have as high an opinion of Foundation 1 after the job as I had at the start”. – Barbara, Overland Park

“We were very impressed with our experience with Foundation 1. We received quick responses to my multiple calls with questions.” – Geoff, Parkville

Call Foundation 1 For Drainage Solutions in KC

Whether you’re looking for exterior drainage systems or basement waterproofing, Foundation 1 is here to help. Since 2001, we have designed and installed drainage systems on thousands of homes and businesses. Call us today to schedule your free evaluation, during which we can help you find the best drainage solution for you needs.

Drainage Systems FAQ

Is my home’s grade really that important?

Yes it is! So much so that international building code calls for a 6” drop in the first 10 feet away from the home. Fixing grade is not fun, but something homeowners can easily do. Spending a few dollars (or hours) on basement drainage systens for your Kansas City home can save thousands of dollars on expensive foundation repairs down the road.

How often should I monitor and maintain my grade?

You should look at it closely at least once per year. Dirt around your foundation can, and often does settle. So you can be fine one year and have big problems the next year. In fact, we suggest you have the grade professionally altered about every five years. Foundation 1 can help with this service.

How important is a properly functioning gutter system?

It is huge. During heavy rains, your roof can collect hundreds of gallons of water. Without proper guttering – and drainage away from your home, that water can be deposited right at the base of your foundation. This leads to additional expansion and contraction of the soils around the home, and can lead to inward pressure on the foundation walls and foundation settling. Water is your foundation’s enemy. You want the water to have a pathway to get AWAY from your foundation.

So this thing with cleaning leaves out of the gutter is important too?

Absolutely. A perfectly designed guttering system can be completely ruined if it is full of leaves. This highlights the importance of cleaning the gutters and/ or having a system to keep the gutters clear. During rains, you should be able to watch the water flowing through your guttering and drainage systems and going where it is supposed to go (and you should know this so you can monitor it). If you see water spilling over the gutters and/or just rolling off the roof, you can be certain this will create much larger problems that cleaning, maintaining, or fixing your guttering systems and/or drainage.

My neighbor’s drainage systems pour right onto my property. Is this a big deal?

It certainly can be. Unfortunately, in this case, they are simply shifting their problem over to you. We have seen many instances where this has created significant damage and required significant repairs. The best thing is to try to work with your neighbor to ensure they (and you) implement a system which addresses your water challenges, but theirs also. This can be delicate, but it is better to work together and address it directly.

How far out from my home should I make sure the water goes?

We always suggest at least 10 feet. The simple bases to put at the base of your gutter downspouts is not sufficient.

What is a Curtain Drain?

Curtain Drain is designed to help divert water. Typically, it will involve digging a trench with the specific goal of moving water from one part of your yard to another. A waterproof liner is put inside the trench, along with a perforated pipe which will help collect the water and transport it. The trench is then filled with gravel so the surface water can reach the pipe.

My window wells tend to leak. Is there something I can do with a drainage solution?

There is. We can install a drain into the window well. There are 2 possible places to take this drain. One is to connect the drain into our Interior DuraDry drainage system and then connect to a sump pump. While that option is most ideal, we can also connect a window well drain to and external “drain to daylight” solution. The goal there is to collect the window well water and divert the water at least 10 feet away from the home’s foundation, hopefully to negative grade away from the home.