# French drains in basement



## concretemasonry (Oct 10, 2006)

Is this a "real" French drain (under the slab and along the bottom of the footings) or just a cheap plastic molding at the base to collect the water that has already leaked in?

Dick


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## Daniel Holzman (Mar 10, 2009)

Perhaps you could tell us what you are trying to do, I could not understand your post. Are you concerned about water in the basement, and are wondering how to control it? Are you concerned about the possible effect of French drains on your walls? Or is this post about how to finish the basement?


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## Sephora (Apr 13, 2009)

They are real frech drains that look like they were built into cement along the bottom. They are a dark color.

I am asking that if we want to put up walls what do we have to do. 

For the record, we don't get water in our basement. We have a sump pump on the other side of the basement that has never been plugged in. Supposedly, the last owner said he got it installed as he started to remodel it down there and never finished.


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## concretemasonry (Oct 10, 2006)

Any drain that you can see is not a real French drain, that must be installed at the level of the footing and under the slab.

What Sephora is describing is just a collection system inside the basement that may have been installed after construction or as cheap last minute addition when the slab was poured.

Anything in or on the slab is just a collection system for water that has already leaking into the home. A real French drain collects the water from below and lowers and eliminates the water table around the house, reducing the pressure on the foundation and limits the amount of water that could find its way in if exterior waterproofing is not adequate.


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## Sephora (Apr 13, 2009)

Ok, they told us it was French drains when we bought the house. Regardless, we still need to put up walls on 2 sides that have these "drains". What do we need to do in order to do this?


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