Right Way to Put a Drain Tile in an Old Basement

Break up concrete and remove it from the area around the perimeter of the basement floor where the drain tile will be placed. Use a jackhammer or concrete saw to break up concrete only from the slab. Avoid damaging the footing, which must remain solid and intact to support the basement walls. Break up the concrete slab to allow the creation of a trench between the perimeter and the sump pump.

Dig a trench next to the footing where the drain tile will be placed. Use a mattocks and hand trowel to create a trench about 6 inches wide and 6 inches deep. Take the location of the sump pit and depth of the inlet on the sump basket into consideration, as the tile must slope slightly to meet this inlet.

Drill a series of 3/8-inch deep holes along the bottom of the wall using a rotary hammer if the wall is made from concrete masonry units or otherwise has an open interior.

Line the trench with filter fabric or landscaping cloth, if needed, to keep silt from clogging the tiles. This may only be necessary if the underlying soil has a silty nature.

Place an inch or two of coarse, clean gravel in the bottom of the trench. Fill in any space created around the sump basket below the inlet.

Install the drain tile on top of the gravel. Make sure the drain tile is sloped slightly towards the sump system and adjust the underlying gravel as needed to correct the slope. Drain tile or other types of drain piping can be used. If necessary, install a connector pipe to attach the drain tiles to the inlet.

Place a metal or plastic flange so it extends up the basement wall to the trench. A flange is designed to leave a small gap along the wall to force water that is seeping through or flowing down the wall to the drain tile.

Fill most of the remainder of the trench with gravel. Cover the gravel and tile with landscaping cloth or filter fabric if there is a possibility that water flowing into the drain tile will carry any sediment into the drain.

Add additional gravel atop the drain area, leaving only space necessary to accommodate the depth of the concrete patch.

Apply concrete patch on top of the new drainage system to match the existing slab. Prepare and place the concrete patch according to the manufacturer's instructions. Only the top of the flange must remain visible.