If basement flooding is a regular occurrence in your home because you live in a low-lying area, there is still hope for your flooded basement, through a trench drain. A trench drain will allow the water to flow from your flooded basement through a drain hose, towards a lower level area in your property. Trench drains are also called French drains. A trench drain acts as a moat that protects your house or your yard from surface or sub-surface water.



Constructing a trench drain in your flooded basement is easy. If your basement floor is made of concrete, you will need some digging tools; a drain pipe, about 6 inches in diameter that is long enough to run from inside your basement all the way to the garden; and gravel for covering the pipe.

Of course, when you do this your flooded basement should not be flooded - right now, that is. Don't wait until the next flood to construct your trench drain. As soon as the rain stops and your flooded basement is cleaned out, water-free and dry, that's the time to do it.

First, survey your basement and decide where you want to place your trench drain. It should be close to the wall, and the path of the drain should be as straight as possible. Too many twists and turns will slow down the flow of the water.

Survey the exterior of your house next, and decide what path the drain will take. You want to end up in an area in your property that is lower than your flooded basement and far enough from the house so that the water will not flow back towards it.

Measure how much drain pipe you will need, and make sure to add an allowance just in case your measurement was not accurate. Estimate the amount of gravel you will need to cover up the pipe. You want to use gravel - about 1-inch diameter stones - instead of soil because water will run through the gravel stones easily. If you use soil, you're going to end up with mud on your trench drain, and soil will not be effective in removing the moisture from your flooded basement.

Your trench drain should be at least 6 inches wide and about 2 feet deep - wide enough so that the drain pipe will fit and deep enough so that the water won't overflow in your flooded basement.

Mark your excavation path so that you have a guide when you start excavating the flooring. You want it to look aesthetically pleasing, meaning your path is in a straight line. Then, start digging. You will have to break the flooring of your basement, and then dig out the gravel until you reach 2 feet. If you have access to an electrically powered trencher, that will make your work easier.

Put some gravel into your newly dug trench, about 2 inches deep. You can use the gravel you have just dug out as filling material, but make sure to use stones that are 1-inch in diameter or bigger. The spaces in between these stones will allow the water to flow freely through the drain.

Place your drain hose into the trench, and then cover it up with more gravel. One end of the hose should not be blocked - do not place it too close to the wall - so that water can go inside it. The other end- the one outside in the garden - should be pointing downwards.

Now you can either cover the trench drain in your basement with concrete, or some vinyl matting.

The next time the rains come, your flooded basement will be flooded no longer. The water in the basement will flow towards the trench drain, and run out of the basement towards the end of the drain hose.