Water-Proof
Water-proofing a house consists of applying two layers of a fibreglass material on the exterior foundation and then being covered with a thick tar product. The fibreglass is usually a bright colour to ensure that when applying the tar you are able to determine if you missed any spots and to ensure that it is fully applied.
Drainage Board
Drainage board is a hard plastic wrap that covers the exterior foundation from the footing up to the top of the tar line. This board has small dimples applied all over it to ensure even water flow down to the weeping tile.
Spray Tar
The tar that is sprayed on the foundation wall is a company product which ensures that the foundation is damp-proofed. It prevents the water from building up on the foundation wall. It is applied with a spray truck with a hose and a spray nozzle, if applied properly it will be straight and cover right up to the ground height.
Bucket Tar
This tar is applied by hand all over the foundation wall. It is used to ensure that the foundation is water-proofed by covering the fibreglass in a thick layer of this tar.
Damp-Proof
Damp-proofing a house is when the exterior of the foundation is covered in a sprayed-on tar product. This product keeps the water from building up on the exterior of the foundation.
Stone
The stone is applied over top of the weeping tile at least one foot all the way around the house. This keeps the dirt away from the weeping tile and allows for better water flow.
Sump Pit
A sump pit is a low space that collects any often-undesirable liquids such as water or chemicals. A sump pit can also be an infiltration basin used to manage surface runoff water and recharge underground aquifers. One common example of a sump pit is the lowest point in a basement, into which water that seeps in from the outside weeping tile system. If this is a regular problem, a sump pump that moves the water outside of the house may be used.
Sump Pump
A sump pump is a pump used to remove water that has accumulated in a water collecting sump pit, commonly found in the basement of homes. The water may enter via the perimeter weeping tile of a basement waterproofing system, funnelling into the pit or because of rain or natural ground water, if the basement is below the water table level.
Weeping Tile
A weeping tile is a perforated cloth covered pipe used for underground drainage. The pipe is typically plastic with small slits cut lengthwise into it. It is then buried and surrounded by gravel. The gravel prevents excessive soil from falling through the slits and clogging the weeping tile. This allows for water in the surrounding soil above the weeping tile to flow into the weeping tile. The cloth covered weeping tile then drains into a storm sewer or a sump pump pit.
Concrete Forms
Concrete forms are when the foundation is made up of poured concrete that is assembled by pouring the concrete into large forms which make up the shape of the foundation. Forms have a better ability to keep water out since they are solid concrete the whole way through. But they can crack, in which case the water will seep into the crack and show up in your basement and continue to do so until repaired with water-proofing. To repair a cracked form, all you need to do is dig a hole to the footing on that form and repair the cracked form.
Block Foundations
A block foundation is an older way of building houses; it is where the foundation is made up of concrete block walls, just like a brick wall is made, with mortar and blocks. The downside to having block walls is that if you have a crack in one block, the water can travel through the holes in the middle of the blocks and end up coming out into your basement in a totally different spot. For this reason, you would have to dig up the whole wall or the whole house in order to properly repair a block wall.