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Murfreesboro Foundation Co

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Foundation Drainage and Waterproofing in Murfreesboro

Grading, roof water control, footing drains, and sump systems, the work that removes the cause instead of managing the symptom.

Almost every foundation problem in this region has water somewhere in its history, which makes drainage the least glamorous and most load-bearing item on this list. The work runs from the roof down. Gutters that discharge freely, and downspout extensions that carry roof water well clear of the wall rather than dumping it at the corner, do more for a foundation than most of what gets sold as waterproofing. Below that, the ground surface needs to fall away from the house so surface water leaves rather than pools. Below that again, a footing drain in washed stone with filter fabric intercepts what still gets down there and carries it to daylight or a sump. Local conditions make this more than generic advice. Central Basin soils sit shallow over limestone, so water that gets through the topsoil often has nowhere useful to go and moves sideways along the rock surface, sometimes arriving at a foundation from well uphill. Add clay content that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, and a house on a lot with poor surface drainage is being pushed and released on a seasonal cycle for its whole life.

What the work covers

  • Roof water first: gutter capacity, downspout count, and extensions long enough to discharge well clear of the wall
  • Grade correction so the ground falls away from the house over the first several feet
  • Exterior footing drain in washed stone with filter fabric, run to daylight where the lot allows and to a sump where it does not
  • Interior perimeter drain and sump where exterior excavation is impractical or the water is already inside
  • Sump pump with a check valve, sealed lid, and a discharge line routed well away from the foundation
  • Battery backup pump where a power cut during a storm would mean water in the house
  • Exterior wall damp-proofing or membrane where the wall is exposed during other excavation work
  • Swales and surface interception where water is arriving from uphill rather than from the roof

Foundation Drainage: what homeowners want to know

What is the cheapest fix that helps?

Downspout extensions and grading, by a wide margin. Roof water is concentrated: an inch of rain on a modest roof produces well over a thousand gallons, and a downspout discharging at the corner of the house delivers a large share of it straight into the soil against the foundation. Extending the discharge several feet clear and making sure the ground falls away costs very little and removes the largest single input.

Interior drain or exterior drain?

An exterior footing drain addresses the water before it reaches the wall, which is the better engineering answer, but it means excavating around the foundation and is priced accordingly. An interior perimeter drain collects water that has already arrived and carries it to a sump, at lower cost and far less disruption. Landscaping, access, and the depth of the wall usually decide it more than theory does.

What does a drainage system cost?

Published figures put interior perimeter drain work at roughly $40 to $100 per linear foot and exterior French drain at $10 to $50, with a sump pump installation generally $1,000 to $3,000. One wall of an average house plus a sump therefore lands somewhere around $2,500 to $7,000, and a full perimeter costs a multiple of that. Grading and downspout work is a few hundred dollars and should be quoted first, because sometimes it is all that is needed.

Does a sump pump need a backup?

It depends on the consequences of it failing. The storms that produce the most water are also the ones most likely to take the power out, so a primary pump on mains power alone has a gap exactly when it is needed. If a failure means a wet floor in an unfinished space, most people accept the risk. If it means water in finished rooms or a mechanical room, a battery backup is inexpensive insurance.

Why does water show up at the same wall every year?

Usually because the lot delivers it there. Roof discharge, a driveway that sheds toward the house, a neighbouring slope, or water travelling along the top of shallow bedrock all funnel to a low point, and that low point does not change from year to year. Following the water uphill from where it appears, rather than starting at the wall, is what makes a drainage fix permanent rather than seasonal.

Related Reading

More on foundation drainage

Other Services

Repairs that usually come up alongside it

Foundation problems rarely arrive one at a time, because they usually share a cause. Water that has undermined a footing is the same water sitting in the crawl space, and a wall being pushed inward is being pushed by soil that is saturated for the same reason. Handling the related work in one visit is cheaper than returning for it.

  • Foundation Repair and Underpinning

    Piers that carry the weight of the house past unstable soil onto a firm bearing layer, with the settled section lifted or held where it stands

  • Crawl Space Repair and Encapsulation

    Support posts, girder and joist repair, moisture control, and full encapsulation for the space under the floor that almost nobody inspects

  • Foundation Crack Repair

    Injection and structural repair for cracks in poured walls and block, after the question of what caused the crack has been settled

  • Slab Foundation Repair and Leveling

    Foam leveling for settled slabs and piering for slab-on-grade houses, plus the plumbing check that comes first

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