It’s that time of the year again in the UK. Spring moving into summer and that can only mean one thing. Inches of rain. Like many household owners, rainwater can cause numerous damage to your precious London home. None more so than your basement. It can be a real nuisance, here we have a step by step guide and how you can be rainproof this summer.
Get digging a trench
It’s time to dust off the cobwebs in the man cave, sorry we meant shed. Start off by digging to the footers of your London property around four inches wide. You will also need a secondary trench away from the foundation. This is called a percolation trench. Once you’ve done that you will need to add perforated piping on the percolation trench.
Time to fill
Get your hands on some filter fabric. This can be purchased at all the major DIY outlets across London and the UK. The average price is £35 per 100 metres. You need to unroll the filter fabric ensuring it is right up against the side walls of the foundation. Make sure it’s covered every part of the trench leaving no exposed gaps.
Stone + Pipe
Now here comes the fun part. Cover the whole of the filter fabric with crushed stone (average price £40.99). Once that is done get your hands on a perforated pipe (average price £13.99). Begin laying it around the whole perimeter of the trench. Don’t forget to fix it in place with a solid PVC tee on each corner or angle. Once done cover up with the remaining crushed stone.
Make it look good
It is recommended you then fill the recently filled trench with coarse sand (average price £25). It’s extremely absorbent and will prevent unwanted soil getting to your piping. The last step is to layer over fabric soil across your newly formed trench. Pop to your local garden centre and plant some eye-catching plants to brighten up your handy work. Job done.