Fix Your Drainage!

The best way to prevent major water damage costs for your home: Fix your drainage! 

Improper drainage leads to gradual foundation damage.  You can go for years and barely notice a problem.  Then you reach a tipping point, and foundation damage can be a costly nightmare.

Foundation drainage problems can result from too much moisture.  Standing water around your home, large amounts of water dumped by gutter downspouts, or a negative slope of the area around your home can cause saturated soil, which seeps into, and eventually erodes, your foundation.

Do you see excessive puddling or ponding around your home after a heavy rain?  Do your basement walls dribble water?  Do you have small yet slowly growing cracks in your basement walls?  All of the above questions are warning signs of foundation issues.

Solve Your Drainage Issues

Do you notice puddles or standing water that takes too long to drain on your land?  Integrity Drainage Solutions can help solve drainage problems—from minor, nagging standing water issues to major drainage problems. We offer experience as exterior drainage specialists to deliver you cost-effective results.

Creating a Precision Pitch

Efficient use of a drain tile system is an excellent approach to supplement the benefits of proper grading.  A 4" drain tile backfilled with Limestone chips will absorb seepage under the center of a swale or other appropriate areas.  Considering these pipes may freeze in typical Wisconsin winter, they should be used as a secondary drainage solution.

By using precision tools, we ensure 100% accuracy during the design and implementation of an efficient drainage system.  Integrity Drainage Solutions are drainage experts who get it right the first time!

Spring Tips for Exterior Drainage

At this time of year, during the Winter thaw and the Spring rains to come, it is very important to check a few items around your home. 

 

Make sure gutters and downspouts are attached properly to the home.  Tighten any loose gutters and reconnect any unattached downspouts to help keep water away from the house.  It is imperative that gutters and downspouts are clear and free-flowing.

If there is standing water against the home's foundation, eventually it could find its way into your home.  Have a drainage professional re-grade around your home’s foundation.  Creating a positive and lasting pitch away from the home is important.  It is a gradual pitch that an exterior drainage specialist can measure for you.  It is never recommended to landscape around the home’s foundation without a proper pitch and grade.

Spring Thaw...Choose to Enjoy It or Dread It.

Winter in Wisconsin brings a lot of snow.  In early March, when the thaw begins, the sound of water draining from the gutters is a welcome sound of Spring for some homeowners.  For others it is followed by the dreaded sound of a sump pump running...and running...and running.  If the sump pump cannot keep up, water backup can occur.  Often this is mistakenly diagnosed as an interior water issue.  However, it is also likely to be an exterior drainage issue.  Integrity Drainage Solutions specializes in moving water away from your home's exterior foundation.  Ensuring a positive pitch away from the home's foundation is key.  This can be accomplished in many ways, from a swale to a drain tile system. 

Redirecting water away from your home and yard can turn the Spring thaw into an exciting experience in the anticipation of enjoying your yard all Summer long.

      

Downspout Extensions

The goal of your gutter/downspout system is to deliver water from the large roof area away from the foundation of your home. To aid in this goal, we recommend buried downspout extensions on all downspouts.

We use a High-density polyethylene (HDPE) which is a very strong and corrosion-resistant piping.

Our Mission

Our mission statement: To offer practical solutions to a variety of drainage problems using a precise and technical approach. Our goal is to educate and help our customers prevent future damage to their home and to enjoy their property more.

It's Freezing!

It's cold out!  Things will freeze.  Be aware of some items on the exterior of your home that could be potential problems.

Ice dams occur when snow collects on your roof and a cycle of melting and refreezing occurs.  This can cause a lot of water damage inside your home.  Keep gutters clear as best you can.

Sump pump discharge pipes cannot freeze.  Backup of the sump pump can cause flooding into the basement and also burn out your pump motor.  Check this every few days to be sure that your water is running out and away from the home's foundation.  Sometimes burying this pipe and routing it away from the home's foundation is a good option.

Keeping window wells as clear as possible will help with keeping water out of your basement as well.  Covers over the window wells in the winter is not a bad idea to keep water from leaking through the windows.

   

A Bit About Window Wells

Window wells are necessary when basement windows are fully or partially below the grade of your home.  

Some of the problems a homeowner may encounter include: clogging, poor drainage and old age.  This can cause foundational problems and water in your basement.  

One of the best things you yourself can do to protect against these situations is to take a walk around your house on a regular basis and clean out the window wells.  Wear gloves!  Window wells tend to collect all sorts of unappealing goodies such as leaves, garbage, and even animals that cannot escape. 

 

Ideally, the bottom of the window well should contain nothing but several inches of gravel to allow water to drain from the well.

 

If you are experiencing poor drainage issues, it is best to ask an expert to check your window wells and the pitch around your home to ensure proper drainage is happening.  

Drain Tiles

An efficient use of a drain tile system is an excellent approach to supplement the benefits of proper grading.  A 4" perforated drain tile backfilled with limestone chips will absorb seepage (underground water) under the center of the swale or other appropriate areas.  Considering these pipes may freeze in a typical Wisconsin winter, they should be used as a secondary drainage solution.

New Office, New Yard - Part 4

Our new sign is finished and our building is getting a new paint job.  It's a great look!  For the sign, we used Olde Quarry Stone with a Copthorne inlay.  This is a great representation of the style of work we do.  Once again, there is more to come.  Our yard is going to be a stunning showroom of all the types of projects we are capable of doing.  Stay tuned...

Memorial Day Special!

In honor of Memorial Day, all veterans will receive a $200 discount on any work signed and completed during the month of May. For those of you who are not veterans, receive a $100 discount. You must mention this post at the time of scheduling your free on-site consultation & "Like" us on Facebook to receive this discount.

A Positive Pitch

Ensuring a positive pitch away from the home is very important.  To control this or pooling lawn areas, the creation of an efficient swale may be required.  Swales are an excellent technique in harvesting rainwater.  They capture surface runoff and allow underground nourishment to trees while also reducing erosion.   By redirecting the water we can prevent pooling (breeding ground for mosquitoes) and help make your yard more enjoyable.  Contact Integrity Drainage Solutions to receive a positive pitch!

Concerns of Water Problems

Integrity Drainage Solutions provides accurate information and advice regarding exterior water problems.

Concerns of Water Problems include:
-Water Damage
-Toxic Mold
-Foundation Issues
-Damp Walls or Basements
-Ponding or Mushy Lawn Areas
-Settling Patios/Walks

Foundation Issues

Mold and structural foundation damage are problems that may occur in homes with improper drainage.  A negative pitch of the grade provides a direct path for water toward a home while adding harmful hydrostatic pressure and voiding home foundation warranties.  During the winter months, water near a foundation wall will freeze and expand, therefore providing additional damaging pressure.

Standing Water

Eliminating standing water in your yard is important.  Standing water inhibits the use of your yard and creates the perfect environment for mold, mosquitoes and other pests.  Integrity Drainage Solutions recommends you inspect your property when it rains this spring!

Why Choose Integrity Drainage Solutions

Drainage problems may be seasonal or develop over time.  Typically, homeowners can go years before they even realize they have a persistent problem.  These drainage issues will continue to get worse as water settles home features such as lawn areas, patios, driveways, and foundations often causing a preventable damage and expense. 

At Integrity Drainage Solutions our approach is simple.  Water flows downhill.  We simply create a path of least resistance to control or move water away from its undesired location using a precise and technical approach.  Considering surface runoff is the most common drainage problem, adjusting the grade is typically the recommended primary drainage solution.

#AtoZChallenge - T is for Toxic Mold

Toxic mold can be the terrible result from ongoing unresolved drainage issues. Here are some key warning signs that you have toxic mold challenges:

1. Unexplained allergic reactions. Sneezing, sore eyes, runny nose, and nasal congestion are common reactions to mold in your house.
2. Smell of mold. That musky, moldy smell is a sure sign, don’t ignore it.
3. Visible signs of mold growth. It might look like soot or dirt, but closer inspection may reveal it is mold.
4. Past water damage. If you have had exterior drainage problems that led to water in your basement, you probably have mold from that water seepage.
5. Water leaks. If you have water trickling down from your basement windows or dribbling down a basement wall, you more than likely also have mold growing in your basement.
6. Past Flooding. If your basement ever flooded, you probably have mold growing somewhere in your basement.

Toxic mold symptoms include headaches, trouble concentrating, shortened attention span, memory loss, and dizziness. If you are experiencing such symptoms, see a doctor. And contact Intergrity Drainage Solutions to solve your exterior water drainage problem, and to help clean up your toxic mold problem.

#AtoZ Challenge – B is for Basements

Your basement can become a money-pit nightmare if you ignore the early warning signs of incipient drainage problems. Do you see wetness or sweating on your basement walls? Do you see minor water damage issues around your basement windows? Do you see small patches of mold growing? Do you ever see puddles in your basement after a rainfall? Call Integrity Drainage Solutions today for a free evaluation. Before your basement becomes a real problem.