How to Cut Grooves in a Basement Floor for Water Trenching

Remove all objects from the basement, including window treatments and any fabric, since the process of cutting through the floor creates a large amount of dust. Open any external facing windows or doors to assist with ventilation. Close all internal-facing doors and tape plastic tarps over them so no cracks remain exposed.

Wear a dust mask, work gloves and safety glasses to protect from flying bits of flooring material and dust.

Walk to one corner of the basement floor and place the tip of a cold chisel directly onto the joint between the floor and the base of the wall so that it straddles both.

Hit the top of the chisel firmly with a hammer or a 3-pound sledgehammer to begin cutting away at the floor material. Continue chipping until you have a 1-inch-deep hole.

Chisel out the groove along the perimeter of all of the basement walls, using the method in step 4, until you reach your starting location.

Pick up all of the larger chunks of flooring and place them into a 5-gallon bucket. Take the bucket outside to a dumpster and throw the material away.

Sweep the groove thoroughly, using a broom, to dislodge any remaining bits of concrete and dust, and discard them as well. Vacuum the entire groove with a shop vac to suck out the remaining dust inside the bottom of the groove. Proceed to cut a sump pump pit in one corner of the basement floor that the water from the grooves drains into.