About Silver River Basement Systems in Lake City, CO

Exterior Drain Tile Systems in Colorado & New Mexico

Illustration of an exterior French drain system installed around the perimeter of a home

Cutaway of a French drain system installed on the outside of the concrete footing of a home foundation. A discharge line would also be included to send the water away from your home.

Shown in this photo are the French drain itself (filled with water), a fill of stone, and the backfilled soil.

One way of basement waterproofing that many contractors will suggest for waterproofing a basement is to install a french drain system along the outside perimeter of your home.

To install an exterior French drain, the contractor will take the following steps:

  1. First, the entire perimeter of your home must be cleared. Gardens, steps, porches, etc., must be removed before the work can begin.
  2. Next, the contractor will dig out the perimeter of your home. Excavated dirt will be heaped around the house.
  3. The drain will be laid in a bed of stone along the bottom. The stone, and possibly a layer of filter fabric, are there to protect the drain from clogging.
  4. The excavated soil will be "backfilled" on top of the system. In a year, this soil will settle, and the contractor will need to return to fill in more soil.

At Silver River Basement Systems, we do not recommend this type of drainage system installed in your home. Instead, we suggest installing an interior basement drain along the inside perimeter of your basement or crawl space. For a free waterproofing quote in the Colorado & New Mexico area, call or e-mail us today!

Getting Ready To Install an Exterior French Drain

A home before a french drain installation
You Will Need to Remove:
  • Trees
  • Shrubberies
  • Gardens
  • Porches
  • Steps
  • Sidewalks
  • Patios
  • Driveways
  • ..And More

You can expect the contractors to create huge heaps of excavated soil all around your home, creating a mess.

On top of that, the process is extremely expensive, costing $15,000 to $20,000 per installation.

The installation time is twice as long or more than if you choose to have an interior system put in.

Failing French Drains in Colorado & New Mexico

clogged french drain found in Hotchkiss, Colorado & New Mexico

Exterior french drain systems can easily clog with dirt and other debris, as seen above.

French drain systems have been installed on the outside of homes since the 1920s, and if they were the best way to dry a basement, Silver River Basement Systems would be installing them, too.

Unfortunately, placing a French drain or exterior footing drain along the outside is a recipe for failure. When you put a drainage system several feet under the earth, even in a bed of gravel, it will eventually clog with dirt, roots, and debris.

Sometimes, a contractor will try to stop this by laying down a layer of filter fabric around the drain. In this case, instead of the drain clogging, the filter fabric does and won't let water into the pipe. Other problems such as freezing pipes and improperly sloped lines are also common. This type of exterior drainage commonly will not handle water that collects under your basement floor, in which case you'll still need a sump pump inside your basement. Some contractors even connect the exterior drains to the sump pump inside. Now that's sure to clog!

What happens when your drainage system clogs? It will need to be excavated and you'll have to start over. Who wants to do that again?

For a FREE waterproofing quote, call or e-mail us today!

We service the Colorado & New Mexico area, including Gunnison, Florence, Fruita, Monte Vista, Kirtland and nearby.

Looking for a price? Get a no cost, no obligation free estimate.

Serving CO & NM including the Greater Grand Junction area
Our Colorado & New Mexico Service Area
Cities in Alamosa County, CO
Alamosa
Hooper
Mosca

Cities in Archuleta County, CO
Arboles
Chromo
Pagosa Springs

Cities in Conejos County, CO
Antonito
Capulin
Conejos
La Jara
Manassa
Romeo
Sanford

Cities in Delta County, CO
Austin
Cedaredge
Cory
Crawford
Delta
Eckert
Hotchkiss
Lazear
Paonia

Cities in Dolores County, CO
Cahone
Dove Creek
Rico

Cities in Fremont County, CO
Canon City
Coal Creek
Coaldale
Cotopaxi
Florence
Hillside
Howard
Penrose
Rockvale

Cities in Gunnison County, CO
Almont
Crested Butte
Gunnison
Ohio City
Parlin
Pitkin
Powderhorn
Somerset

Cities in Hinsdale County, CO
Lake City

Cities in La Plata County, CO
Bayfield
Durango

Cities in Mesa County, CO
Clifton
Collbran
De Beque
Fruita
Gateway
Glade Park
Grand Junction
Loma
Mack
Mesa
Molina
Palisade
Whitewater

Cities in Mineral County, CO
Creede

Cities in Montezuma County, CO
Cortez
Dolores
Lewis
Mancos
Mesa Verde National Park
Pleasant View
Towaoc
Yellow Jacket

Cities in Montrose County, CO
Bedrock
Cimarron
Montrose
Naturita
Nucla
Olathe
Paradox
Redvale

Cities in Ouray County, CO
Ouray
Ridgway

Cities in Saguache County, CO
Crestone
Moffat
Saguache
Sargents
Villa Grove

Cities in San Juan County, CO
Silverton

Cities in San Miguel County, CO
Egnar
Norwood
Ophir
Placerville
Telluride

Cities in Rio Arriba County, NM
Abiquiu
Alcalde
Canjilon
Canones
Cebolla
Chama
Chimayo
Cordova
Coyote
Dixon
Dulce
El Rito
Embudo
Espanola
Gallina
Hernandez
La Madera
Lindrith
Los Ojos
Medanales
Petaca
Tierra Amarilla
Truchas
Vallecitos
Velarde
Youngsville

Cities in San Juan County, NM
Aztec
Blanco
Bloomfield
Farmington
Flora Vista
Fruitland
Kirtland
La Plata
Nageezi
Navajo Dam
Newcomb
Sanostee
Sheep Springs
Shiprock
Waterflow

Our Locations:

Silver River Basement Systems
P.O. Box 905
Ship:1871 North Hwy. 149
Lake City, CO 81235
1-970-238-8873