CA1158054A - Wall drainage system - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure A wall drainage system for protecting foundations and basement walls from water contact and seepage and including a water-impermeable synthetic resin backing plate adapted for securement to a surface to be protected and defining drainage channels along one side thereof facilitating drainage of water downwardly along the backing plate through the channels. A water-permeable synthetic resin strainer film is secured to the backing plate across the drainage channels. A synthetic resin water-receiving footer structure is connected to the lower end of the backing plate and includes a foraminous,synthetic resin bead pack and a perforated drainage pipe at least partially surrounded by the bead pack.

Description

1 1S8~5~

~1~L,L DRRIN~Gr~ SYSTEM
Bclckc.lroulcl of the :t-nvent:Lon [` eId of tt-~e Invelltiol1 Tllis inventiol1 relates to proteetive drai.nac3e deviees used ~or proteeti.ng masonry wal:Ls from moisture eonkc:let- and inf;Ltra-'i t.ion, anc1 more partic~1]arl.y, to drainacJe plate system; usefu1.
for proteeti.ncJ oun(Icltions and baseme~nts Erom cJround water eontaetillcJ and infi:ltratillg sueh foundatiolls ancl basement wall ~truetures.
srieE Description o the Prior ~rt In p~oteetincJ the walls of basemellts, or other below-~Jrac1e foullclat.ion wal.lc;, Erom del.eteriou.c, contact w:i.tll ground watel^, ~ari.olls proposals have beell adval1eed for shi.e].dillg these strue-tures. In the simL)lest Eorm, it has been proposed to:coat them wi.th tar or a vi.scous, settable or thixotropic sealant: material wlli.ell seals the pores o:~ the masonry and ~revents water infiltra-ti.on. Some of tl1ese :Eilms or coati.llcJs have hyclrophobic cl~arae-ter.isties whi.eh tend to t~rn away or repe1. the water whieIl eoI~!es in eontaet tl1erewi.th, ancI thus ef:~eetively shi.eld and proteet tlle below-grac1e foulldatioll or basement. wall..
In other arranc~emellts, some o:E wh:i.ch have been patented, .it is proposed to place adjaeent the portion oE -tlle wa:ll wi1ieh i3 below grade, a synthetie r.esin structure whi.eh bl.ocks the water from eontaet wi.tll the wall, ancl a:~fords vert:ieal. ehal1nels to allow the water to drain downward:Ly to the bo-ttom of the wall wIlere :it

2~ is tllen earriec1 away .in a perEorated footer pipe, or some s~ ilar , ~

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?, 11~8~54 ~-~ater-collectincJ struct~lre. In somc-~ types oE construct:iorl the perforatecl footel pipe p:Laced at tlle l:)OttOIII o:E tl-~e ~oundation or ~asement wall ;.s eml~edded in a be<l o:E grave:l. p:Lclce(l in a pit below the protectecl wall S Olle ar-rallclelllent whicll has been pltel-lted ancl whi.ch is of the general character clescri.bed is the vertical drainaye systerrl shown in U. S. Patellt 3 704 362. ~lere a mat or body of thermoplastic filalllents is placed over the coated outer side of a basement wall between the wall and the earth. Waker drains downwardly throuyll 10 these filaments to a perforated pi.pe disposed a-t the l.ower end of the filamellt rnat and this pi.pe collect.s the percolating water ancl drains it away r:rom the protected wall.
A protective membrane havinc3 corrugations formed therein for spacing the membrane from a foundatioll wal.]. to be protected and 15 to provide air challnels betweell a protective slleet and th~ founda-tion wall is i].lustrated and described in U. S. Patent 3 888 087.
Small vertical ribs are provi.ded on the rnembrane to provicle water challllels to allow the ~ater to drain down the membrane to the bottom of the founclatioll wal.L. A drainage pipe is located adjacent ~0 the footing at the bottom oE the foundation wa].l for pickiny up and disposing of water whic}l has drainecl down the pro-teckive membrane.
Another patent sllowilly a structure of this yenercll type :is U. S.
Patent 4 142 344. ~ channelized p:rotective s-tructure advocated for attachment to basennent and foulldation wall structures to pro-25 tect them from rnoisture is a]so ShOWIl in Agro et al. U. S. Patent , ~. . .. . ....... . .. _ ,. ,.,.. _ .. . , ..... ._.__. _ .. .,, ,. . ___ _,_ , .
' 1 15805~

3 561 177.
In t1. S. Paterlt ~1 015 96~ a su1.~tc1^ra11(a1l panel clrain i.s ~ stratecl ~h:ic11 i.nc].udes a u1l;.tc1ry prefabricate(1 pare:L havi1l~
a series of serpe11ti1le shaped vert:ical.ly ~tendi1lcJ corrucJat;.ons r> in the parlel whicll are open to recei.ve water mi.cJratinc~ toward a .fou1lclation to whi.ch the subterra1lea1l panel is attachecl. A con-ve1ltio1lal drain pipe is pl.acecl at the base of the Eour1dation and is embedded in a yravel pack or body of crushed stone. The cJravel pack e~tencls over the ].ower portion o.E tl1e pa1lel drain 1nember so as to receive water drainin~ there:Erorn.
In 1~. S. Patent 3 563 038 a panel is provided which includes a loncJitudi1lal ~ater cha1lneli.nq core havincJ - ser:ies of vert;.cally e~tendi1lc~ chanr)e].s formec1 tllerein. These channeIs are covered by a water-impervious sheet of materi.al which preve1-ts chokiny or blocki1lcJ o~ the channels by paSsaCJe of earth or parti.c.Les of dirt tl1roucJ1l tl1e sheet material. At the I.ower end o:E the channe].s a perrcorated t~1bular structure i.s formed intecJrally wi.th the channel-Carryi1lCJ dra;n U11i.t to reeei.ve water w1-ieh drains downwardly in the cha1l1lels~ ~not11er patentecl structure quite simil.ar -to th~t shown in U. S. Patent 3:563 038 is the subterranean wall drain :1 illustrated and descr:ib:ed i.n U. S. Pate1lt 3 654 165.
In U. S. Patent 3 2g7 866 vert:ical drainaye channels are formed within the fou1lclation wall itse].f and at the lower encl of these channels they open out into a gravel pack i.n which a per-forated drain pipe ~s ].ocated.

5~

~ nother construction for protecti.rlg a subterranean basem~nt structure at a l.oeation wllere th(~ hyclrostati.e heclcl oE cJrourld water is ~re~test i.s sllown in U. s. Pal~ent 3,283,460. ~lere an L-shapecl body of a synthetic resin mal:erial is eollstrueted to Eit between the :lower par~: of t}~e basemc?tlt wall arlcl the underlyinc3 footillg. The L-shapecl clraina~Je member :is provided with ehannels wl~ieh are also L-shaped, and whichreceive any water which has in-filtrated the basement wall to the inner si.de thereof, and drain this water from acljacent the :Eloor slab to acJravel paek ancl drain-ac3e pipe laid under the floor sk.~b.
In all of tl~e cited patents, the systems in use ~enerallyre~uire some form of seeurement of an external bloek or plate, havi~ rooves and ehallnel.s Eormed therein, to the surfaee of the basement or founclation wall, and ~thell the establishment of communi-eation of the lower end of this plate with a ~ravel pack. The bedoE ~ravel must be speeially laid and poaiti.oned for reeeivincJ a perforatecl draillage uipe to eollect and remove the water from ad-jaeent the lower pal-t of the :Eounclatioll wal]..
Brief Deseri~ioll of the Present Invention ~n The present invention provi.des an i.mprovecl wall drainaqe system for proteetillg sub~cJrade founda-tions and basement walls from eontaet with water and :Erom moi.st~lre seepage. The system ineludes a water-impermeable synthetic resin backirlg plate whi.eh is adapted for seeurement to: the surface to be protected, and whieh defines drainage ellanl~els aloll~ one si.de of the backin~ plate to facilitate .. /

1 ~58,054 gravity clrainage o.~ water. ~ water-permeable synthetic resin strainer fi].m is scurcc1 to the hacki~ p:Late across the drainage clla~ els to permi.t water to rnove Erom the ea:rtil into the drainacJe channels, yet p.rcvent cli.rt Erom choking these channels. The bac~ing plate al-ld protective strainel- Ei.lm combination is secured at its lower end to a syntlle-tic resin water-receiving footer struc-ture adaptecl to recei.ve water from the drainage channels. The footer structure i.ncludes a .~oraminous, ~ynthetic resln bead pack and a perforated ~lrainage pipe which is at loast partially ernbedded in the bead pack, and may be completely surrounded by the bead pack.
The bead pack includes a plurality of syllthetic:resin particles ranging in size Erom pea-sized to peanut-sized, and~is permeable to water drainage between tlle heads. WaLer can Elow through the - bead pack to the perforated drainage:pipe from the drainage plate structure. :
~ significant advantage o:E the presen-t inventi.on is ~the susceptibility of the system to placement so as -to afford full :~
protection to a basement or. sub-grade foundation wall and removal oE water from the p.ro~imity of the wal], wi-thout the:nccessl-ty to haul k~rge and heavy ]oacls oE gravel, and to provide equipment~
or m~npower for positioning the gravel~;n a: trench provided~for its accommodation and for receipt of ~the perforated drainage~plpe~
within the gravel bed.
An object of the invention is to provide a wall:drainage system which can be very quickly p]aced in a pro~tective posi-tion ~: ~

: ~ :

' 1 15BO$4 on a sub-cJracle r~rasonry stxucture, and can be accornmodated in its shape and conficlurGItion to variolls types oE ~ooti.ngs ~"hich s~lpport such struct-ure.
~dditional objects ancl aclvanta~Jes of the i.nvent.ion will b~come apparent as the Eo.llowi.rlcl detai.lc?d description of the invention is read in conjuncti.on with the accompanyi.ll~ drawings which illustrate a preferrecl embodiment of the invetltion.
Gellerc~ D c~ 0n~ E~A~
Fi~ure 1 lllust:rates a sectiona]. view through the earth and through a foundation wall, a portion of which is hroken away, and illustratincJ, in secti.on, the wall drainacJe system o:E the present invention pl.aced in an operative positi.on adjacent.:the basement wall.
Figure 2 is a sec-tional view throuc~h a po.rtlon of the base-ment wall and throuc3ll the wal]. dra.inage system o.E the iriveiltion, illustratiny the appearance oE this assembly in cross-secti.on.
Figure 3 is a perspective v:iew of a portion oE the wall ~lrai.na-Je system of the invention with a part o:[ ~he~water-permeable synthel:ic resin stra:iner fi.lm or sheet broken away to 5how the manner :in whi.ch the water-i.mpermeable hac]ci.n-~ plate is constructed.
Fic3ure 4 is a view si.rnilar to FicJure 1 but il.lustratincl a modified embodiment of the inventi.on. . ::
Detailed Desc_iption of Prefer:red ml~ h~ In~n~ion ~eferring i.nitially to Figure 1 of tl-le drawings, a basernent .

wall 10 extends vertically clownwardly i.n the ear:th 12 and rests UpOIl a footill~J`L4 wllich, in adclition to supportin~ the baserrlent wall, partially supports a floor or slab 16. In ordc.r to pro-tect the foundatioll wall l() :From deleterious contact with ground water percolatincl througll the earth 12 into contac-t with the wall, the wall draina~e system l.8 of the present invention is provided.
The wall draina~e system lS incLudes a water-impermeable, synthetic resin backincJ plate 20 which is preferably configured as a ri~ht parallelepiped. The water-iinpermeable backing plate 20 can typically be betweerl about 1/2 inch and 2 inches in thiclc-ness and is suitably formed from a closed-cell resin, such as closed-cell. polystyrene ~oam. The back:in~ plate~20 inclu~es an inner side or sur~ace 20a and an outer si.de or surface 20b. The outer side of the back;.ng plate 20 is formed or molded~ to provide a plurality of ver-tically extendin~ channel.s or indenta-tions 22.
In the illustrated embod.iment of tlle invention, these channels 22 ;~: :
are forMed by embossiri~ a plurality of raised rectangular protu- ;~
berances 24 on the side 20b o~ the backing plate. ~ ~ :
Superimposed over the outer side 20b of ~tl~e b~ack~ny plate 20 is a water-permeable syntlletic resin strainer film or sheet 26. :~
The water-permeable synthetic resin f.ilm 26 is any suitable syn~
thetic resin or plastic ~hi.ch is permeab].e to water by means of a~
plurality of very smaIl capillaries which extend through the Eilm.
This construc-ti.on a].lows water to pass -through~the strainer film 26 but prevents dlr~t from pass~ng :~through -the film so as to clog ~ i : ~ -7- ~ :
: ~

'' : ~:~
.~' ' , 1158~54 or choke the challnels 22.
Adjacent the lower portion o~ the backilly ~:Late 20 and the stra;.ner .~llm 26! a s~ntheti.c res.i.!l water-recei.viny footer struc~
ture is attacllecl to the plate ancl film and :is desicJnated gellerally by re.Eerellcc numel-al:30. ~rhe footer structure 30 is comprised of a body of beads or cliscrete particles of synthetic resin which are honded to each other at peripheral poin-ts of contact to form a synthetic resin bead pack 3~ rhe bead pack 32 is porous ancl facilitates water drainage dc)wnwa~dly between tlle beads compos;.ng the pack. The synthetic resin beads~.i.n the bead pack 32 can range in size from that approximating a pea -to a size approximatillcJ that of peanuts. Styrofoam parti.cl.es are~suitable for~the formation of the bead pack.
rn the embodlment oE the invention iLlustrated in Flgur~e;l the strainer film 26 is brought dowll~aroulld -the~outer`s~ide of the bead pack 32 and:terminates adjacent the lower end of -tlle beacl pack. The lower s~.de of the bead pack 32 ls ;yeometricall:y;con~
fi~ured to define a semicylindri.c~a~l cJroOVe or ~chanllel~34.~ The~
semicylindrical channel 34 is complelnentary~ configuration~to a perforated dralnage pipe 36 o:f conven~tional construotlon.~ The~
drainage pipe 36 has a plurality of radial perforati.ons extendlng~
through its wall ~from the ho:]low .interior~thereof for;~recelvlnq water from the zone aroulld the dr~a.inage p.ipe.
~ Below the drai.nage~pipe 36 a gravel bed 3~ of conventional character is provided and suppo.r~ts the drainage pipe i~n~a location:~

115~054 at the lower sicle oE the beacl pack 32.
The nature o the ~eac1 l~ack 32 ls such that it may be pre-formed to it a particular foo~in(J and baseme~nt ~la].l at a line of .intersection, or, alterllati~ely, it may be cut and shaped at the S constructiol~ site t:o achieve tlle desired fi.t for a particular structural confic~uration. It should be no-ted, however, that the bea~s in the bead pack 32, in ac1~i.tion to heing bonded pe.ripherally to each other so as to provide .intersti.tial space between the beads, are also boncled to the lower end of the backiny plate 20. It should further be noted that in some forms of construction, it will be de-sirable to e~tend the backing plate 20 all the way to the upper side of the footer 14 so as to completely mask or protec-t the base-ment wall 10 down to lts point of support upon -the footer. This construction is il.lustrated in an alternate embodiment~of ~the in-1~ velltion shown i.n FicJure ~1.
In illustrati.nc] an al~ernate embodiment of the invention inFic~ure (~ of the drawin~s, identica~l~ reference numerals~have been employed to identify ident.ical structures and elements where~such a.re used and correspond to structures and elements s~hown~In Figure~
20 1. In t~e embodiment hexe illustrated, a backing plate ~0 is con-figured and constructed substantially identi.ca]ly to ~the backing plate 20 shown in Figure 1 except tha-t the backing pla-te ~0 ex-: tends downwardly into contac-t with the footing 14. ~ water permeable syntheti.c res~n strainer film 42 i.s secured over the outer side oE the backing plate qO to cover and protect vertical ::

g .

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,,~ .. . .. _ __ ~ .__ .......... . ... . _ __ _ .__.. ~... _, ._______ ,,_"____ _ :`

o 115~054 ehannels formecl t}lere.in in a Eashion s.i.m:ilar to th~ manner of covera~e and protection of the vert.ical ehannel~s i:L].ustrated in t1~e emboc1imel1t~ o~ Fi~ures .1-3. rrhe strainer film 42 ineludes a lower end portion whicll .is divert~d ou~warclly from tlle baeking 5 ~ ate (10 and )Oillt~d to the upper end portion of a bead pack '14.
1~e ~ad paek ~1~1 is construet~d substantia].ly iclentieally to that deseribed in c1iscussing -the embodiment o:E ~'i.gures 1-3, and is thus provided at i.ts lower end with a semieyli.ndrieal ehannel or groove 46 for receivinc1 the upper portion o -the cylindrieal perforatecl drainac~e pipe 36.
In the embodiment o:~ the .invelltion shown in Figure 4, a lower or supportin~ bead pack 50 ~is provided to support the per-forated drainac~e pipe 36 and is emplaeed in a suitable di-teh or exeavation 52 forn1ed in the earth 12. The upper surface oE the lS supporting bead paek 50 is planar anù is adapted to mate with ~ ~
the planar lower surfaee oE the beacl pae]c 44. Moreover, the : ~ ;
upp~r side o~ the supporting bead paek 50 is semi.eylindrieal].y ~rooved so as to provide support ~or the drainacJe pipe 36~in the man1ler s1~own.
Tlle wall drainage system illustrated in E`igure 4 is placed:
in pOSltiOn similarly to that shown in Flyure 1.~ Ini~tlal1y, how~
ever, the supportincJ bead pack 50 will he plaeed ln a prepared exeavation or diteh and the per~orated dr~ai.nacJe pipe 3~6 laid in pOSitiOIl in the semieylindrieal groove provided there:~or in the ~upportlng bead pae]c. The upper~porti.on o.E the~wall dlalnage ~ :

:
:
.~ .

1158~5~

system is then fittec'l over the supporti.n~3 bead paek 50 and drainage pipe 36, ancl the h.lckincJ plate ~0 is then bol-ded hy an adequate mastic or adll~asive ~o the basernellt wa].1 lO in the manner hereillbe:Eore describecl.
It wi.ll be pereei.ved from the Eorec30i,ng deser.ipti.on of the invention th~t the wall clra;mage system of the invention provides effeetive protection to sub-fJracle founclat.ions or basement walls and prevents ground water from eontaet;.ng and infi].trati.llcJ these struetures. The system is meritorious with respeet to the prior art sinee it ean be quickly and easi.ly installed ancl utilized without the neeessity for speci.al tools and without the necessity to haul larc,le amounts of gravel or agCJregate. Moreover, by the intecJral Eormation of the bead pack with the drainage ~la-te and its overlying strainer film, the installer can quiekly and easily complete tl~e proteetion of the sub-grade wal.l.~in one installation operatio~
~ltllough preerrecl embodi:ments Or the invention have been hereill illustrated and described, it wi.ll be uriderstood that various ehan~es and innovatiolls in the illustrated s~trueture ean be effected without cleparture from the basie principles which underlie the invention. Changes and innovations of th~s -type are therefore deemed to he circ,umscribed by the spiri.t and scope of the invention exeept as the same may be necessarily limited by the appended elaims or reasonc!ble equivalellts therefor.
What is elaimed is:

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Claims (12)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A wall drainage system for protecting foundations, basement walls and the like comprising:
a water-impermeable synthetic resin backing plate having a first side adapted for securement to a surface of the structure to be protected and defining drainage channels along a second side thereof opposite said first side;
a water-permeable synthetic resin strainer film secured to the backing plate across said drainage channels to prevent dirt from clogging said channels; and a bead pack assembly connected to the lower por-tion of said drainage plate for receiving water from said drainage channels, said bead pack assembly including:
a plurality of discrete synthetic resin beads peripherally bonded to each other to form a porous bead pack; and a perforated drainage pipe below, and at least partially surrounded by, said porous bead pack for receiving water therefrom.

2. A wall drainage system as defined in claim 1 wherein said backing plate is closed cell polystyrene in a rectangular parallelepiped configuration.

3. A wall drainage system as defined in claim 1 wherein said bead pack includes upper and lower portions positioned above and below said drainage pipe, respectively, and together enclosing and surrounding said drainage pipe.

4. A wall drainage system as defined in claim 1 wherein said resin beads range in size between pea size and peanut size.

5. A building structure comprising:
a vertically extending sub-grade wall projecting down into the earth;
a footing supporting the wall;
a protective wall drainage system including:
a flat, rectangularly configured drainage plate extending downwardly along the wall to a location adjacent the footing and having one side surface bonded to the wall to position the drainage plate between the wall and the earth;
means defining earth-free drainage channels along a second side of said plate opposite said first side facilitating gravitational drainage of water downwardly along said second side; and a bead pack of multiple, discrete, inter-bonded synthetic resin beads connected to the lower end portion of the drainage plate for receiving water and having one side abutting said footing; and a perforated pipe for receiving water percolating through said bead pack to the lower side thereof.

6. A building structure as defined in claim 5 wherein said channel defining means comprises a water-permeable sheet secured to said second side to protect said second side from water contact, and projecting to, and secured to, said bead pack.

:

7. A bead pack assembly for providing a water drainage path adjacent a subgrade structural member comprising:
a plurality of discrete synthetic resin beads bonded to each other at peripheral contact points to form a water permeable bead pack body, said body having an upper side and a lower side, and said lower side of said bead pack defining a pipe receiving recess;
a perforated pipe in said recess with the perforations therein positioned to receive water from said bead pack body; and means attached to said bead pack body for locating said body adjacent the lower portion of a subgrade structural member.

8. A bead pack assembly as defined in claim 7 wherein said locating means comprises a water permeable strainer film having a first portion extended along one side of said bead pack body and secured thereto, and a second portion adapted for securement to a backing plate mounted on the subgrade structural member.

9. A bead pack assembly as defined in claim 7 wherein said locating means comprises a neck formed on said bead pack body and including discrete synthetic resin beads, said neck having a configuration to fit over a footing forming a part of said sub-grade structural member.

10. A bead pack assembly as defined in claim 7 wherein said synthetic resin beads range in size from about pea size to about peanut size.

11. A bead pack assembly as defined in claim 10 wherein said locating means comprises a water permeable strainer film having a first portion extended along one side of said bead pack body and secured thereto, and a second portion adapted for secure-ment to a backing plate mounting on the subgrade structural member.

12. A bead pack assembly as defined in claim 7 and further characterized as including a second and lower bead pack body positioned below said perforated pipe and including a recess in the upper side thereof for receiving and supporting a portion of said pipe.