DIY Network

Breaking Ground: Establishing Grade of Property and Installation of French Drain From "Home IQ" episode DHIQ-102

In this final segment, viewers re-visit the site before the footer is poured to see how Brad and the site supervisor establish the final grade of the property. Slope and curves are added for a natural look. Viewers also see the installation of a French drain, which helps drain water out from the interior of the footer and helps thin out cancer causing radon gas.

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	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

• Before the footer was poured, the grade of the property had to be established by the builder and the homeowners. How the contour of the ground around the house is angled away from the foundation is very important. This is known as "the grade for the property."

• The placement and slope of the dirt around the house -- or the "grade" -- is important for more than one reason:
  1. The builder needs to create a path (figure A) for machines and workers to maneuver around the property.

  2. Slopes and curves are added for a natural look, giving landscapers a creative place to work when the house is completed.

  3. The grade of the property should move rain water away (figure B) from the house.

• To achieve the proper placement and slope of the dirt around the house, the excavators angle the ground away from the house.

• And in addition to sloping the ground, the builder can control rain water by installing a French drain (figure C), also known as the home's drain tile. It's simply a perforated pipe and a layer of gravel placed around the exterior perimeter of the footer. A similar pipe is placed on the interior perimeter of the footer as well. This serves two purposes:
  1. The first is to help drain water out from the interior of the footer.

  2. And the second purpose is to help vent out any cancer-causing radon gas. Note: Radon occurs naturally in some parts of the country, so many places require a system to remove it from the basement. Later a vent will be added to help draw out any of these harmful gasses.

• Any water that enters the French drain naturally is routed out to the back of the property. This is an inexpensive, yet highly affective, system for managing the ground water around the house.

From clearing the trees and excavating the ground to pouring the footer and installing a water-resistant system, the construction of the Oberg's home is well underway. In the next episode, you'll follow the Oberg family as the footprint of their custom-built home rises from the ground and becomes the foundation. You can see how the home begins to take shape and what role the homeowners play when the foundation is built!

RESOURCES :

Tuff-N-Dri® Basement Waterproofing System
Tremco Barrier Solutions, Inc.
Website: www.guaranteeddrybasements.com

Land Excavation
Crea Excavating, Inc.
1315 Pleasant Hills Rd.
Wexford, PA 15090-6807
Phone: 724-935-2959

GUESTS :

Brad and Lynn Oberg
Homeowners
Company: IBACOS (Brad)
Title: Co-Founder/Chief Technology Officer
Website: www.ibacos.com

Henry (Hank) Swierczynski
President
Hendolhurst Homes
955 Markman Park Rd.
Baden, PA 15005
Phone: 724-935-5658
Fax: 724-935-0884
E-mail: buildm@zoominternet.net

Greg Allen
Site Supervisor
Hendolhurst Homes
955 Markman Park Rd.
Baden, PA 15005
Phone: 724-935-5658
Fax: 724-935-0884
E-mail: gcrbs@adelphia.net

Debbie Mondell
Mortgage Consultant
Sky Bank
700 Lawrence Ave.
Ellwood City, PA 16117-1932
Phone Direct: 724-758-1722
Phone: 724-758-5568
Fax: 724-758-0279
E-mail: mondel@sky-bank.com

Jim Sperdute
Surveyor / Project Manager
Sperdute Land Surveyors
108 Deer Lane
Harmony, PA 16037
Phone: 724-452-4362
Fax: 724-452-9357
E-mail: pasurvey@zbzoomnet

Anthony Grisolia
Building Performance Specialist
IBACOS, Inc.
Website: www.ibacos.com