About The Lawn Magnum

A problem plaguing property owners solved: surface water collected from extreme rain storms by run off of downspouts and basement discharge pumps now drains directly to roots of vegetation and the water table aquifer. No longer will water be relocated to other surface areas and cumulate into large ponds or overburden municipal sewer systems. Researches show that professionally managed lawn care and above ground water discharge pose no significant threat to the environment. However, the public perception is that all lawn care and above ground water discharge is a primary source of contamination and surface flooding.

Research and Development

Researchers challenged to come up with solutions that reduce the risks of lawn care and surface water discharge pollution and flooding have designed a sub surface drainage and deep root irrigation device (the Lawn Magnum®) to eliminate contamination and surface flooding allowing a highly efficient recycling of water and nutrients.

Lawn Magnum Specs

The Lawn Magnum®, with similar installations since 1952, has a life expectancy of approximately 50 years. The unit is 28” in height, 161/4” in diameter and weighs about 150 lbs. and is manufactured from an inert carbon material and portland cement. It is now available exclusively through your Basement Technologies® dealer and should help alleviate lawn flooding. The Lawn Magnum® is a patented design set up to force water laterally under the lawn, recharging the aquifer. The discharged water is forced downward into the Lawn Magnum® and dispersed laterally into the subsoil and the aquifer, thus reducing the hassle and inconvenience of huge excavation sites and heavy equipment use. For severe flooding, multiple units can be installed.

Crawl spaces can be a homeowner’s unseen, forgotten nightmare. Water and humidity can destroy the structural integrity of your home. Bugs and rodents tend to enter your living space. Ignoring the issue is not a solution. Safe Crawl™, the crawl space specialists, specializes in solving this dangerous health and structural concern. Here is how the Safe Crawl works:

Step 1:

The water needs to be removed from the crawl space environment. Safe Crawl™ uses a patented technology for specialized crawl space use. It is a specialized low profile conduit, the Crawl Trek™, which transports the water that enters the crawl space and routes it to a drop off point where it is ejected from the home.

Step 2:

Our Bulldog Crawl Space Ejector™ accepts the water from the Crawl Trek™ and routes it to the outside of the home where it belongs. See our options for battery backups.

Step 3:

Seal all outside air infiltration in the crawl space area and install mechanical ventilation. Sealing the vents is a must. Uncontrolled ventilation causes the humidity and heat from outside the home to create a damp, humid environment in the crawl space area. Installing a vent to the upstairs living space helps circulation. Installing our unique Crawl Bon Air™ unit will draw escaping air from the roof area (that ultimately escapes through the roof) to the crawl space accomplishing several important goals.

a) Cool moist air gravitates downward, and condensation is worst at the lowest point in your home, i.e. your crawl space. The Crawl Bon Aire™ draws moist, stale, contaminated air to the outside vents via a quiet and powerful fan. This unique, revolutionary unit addresses air quality problems where they are created and exist.

b) The moist air is then vented to the outside of your home through a duct while being replaced with a flow of drier, fresh air drawn downward from the upper levels of your home.

Step 4:

Completely envelope (encapsulate) the dirt floor or concrete on the crawl space floor. Using an impenetrable 20 mil barrier that is professionally sealed to the walls and overlaps onto the floor. This barrier replaces the need to pour new concrete floors or patch walls. The process is clean and efficient creating a unique new storage area in your home actually replacing the need to pour a new concrete floor.

Want to learn more about Safe Crawl™? Click Here.

Another area of concern with exterior french drains is where the water should be drained. This can be a significant problem if the house is anywhere from 5’ to 8’ below grade and is running a pipe around the perimeter. This pipe needs to be pitched and dropped off to a point where the water may drain away. Some methods currently being used to accomplish this are dry wells, draining to a storm drain system or draining to an exterior or interior sump pump. These methods have the potential to be extremely unreliable.

The main reason that we do not recommend exterior french drains as a primary means of basement waterproofing is that they will clog. Catch basins and pits can fill up with water – supersaturating and causing back flow around the pipes – resulting in a bigger mess than you had before.

Want to read more of James Pratt’s Book? – Click Here.

1. Floor / wall joint
2. Floor crack
3. Wall crack
4. Bulkhead
5. Window
6. Over the sill plate and down the wall

In this post I am going to go over the first way water enters a basement –
the floor / wall joint.

Floor/Wall Joint

The floor/wall joint intersection is the most common entry source of water infiltrating the basement. This is where the foundation wall meets the floor. The water comes in from the outside over the footing under the foundation wall and up through the intersection where the foundation wall and floor converge. This type of wall seepage is seen most commonly when it rains. The reason for this is due to the over-dig mechanic previously described. If you have 3” to 4” or more of water in your basement, the source of the water is probably from the floor/wall joint. Water may seep in from other locations, but the most heavy water intrusion will be from the floor/wall joint.

Due to the nature of concrete, when one concrete structure is poured and another concrete structure is poured next to it (or on it), a seam is created between the two concrete
structures. For example, the footing is poured – the foundation wall is poured – and finally, the floor is poured. Each concrete structure (the footing, the wall and the floor) is poured separately. There is now a seam between each of these three structures. This allows the potential for water (under pressure) to come into the basement area. The points of entry are over the foundation footing, between the foundation wall, underneath the foundation and up through the seams between the foundation footing and the floor. This floor/wall joint seepage is very common and is a predominant reason for basement flooding.

James Pratt gives us information about sump pump power, sump pump drop-offs, and different kinds of sump pumps.

Have questions about sump pump installation or just want more information about sump pumps in general? Head over to BasementTechnologies.com!

The second most reliable system is the interior pipe and stone system. This system, however, does have inherent problems due to the fact that it can underexcavate the foundation wall by sucking dirt into the system creating a potential clog. These types of systems also pump out more water than is necessary. In determining the top two ways to resolve a basement waterproofing problem, the question is asked –

“What do we do after we gather the water that is threatening the floor?
Where do we put it?”

There are many options for drainage of the water that threatens the floor.

1. A gravity fed drain to the exterior – A problem with the gravity fed drain to the exterior is that it involves digging underneath the footing and continuing at a greater depth to pitch the pipe to an area where the pipe will meet air. This scenario involves a house being on a hill and is not a desirable option.

2. Draining to a drywell on the exterior – the problem with this method is possible saturation causing a back-up. This back-up could cause more problems on the interior of the home than you had before you tried to solve the problem.

3. Draining to a sewer drain underneath the floor – in most states, this is not a legal option and extreme caution should be used. Back-up sewerage into the sub-floor area is a possibility which makes this a very unrealistic and undesirable option.

4. Sump pumps – the most realistic and successful method for draining the water from the basement area is to utilize a sump pump. There are many varieties of sump pumps. The best sump pump is one with a sealed lid that pumps to the exterior. The exit point is through the band board (where the first floor joints are situated) to the outside – straight down to a Freeze Stop and then to a 4” pipe and out onto the lawn or to an area where the water can be pumped without causing further disruption to the landscape.

There are pumps available that do not look like sump pumps. Pictures left are pictures of sump pumps that are currently available on the market.

Want to read James Pratt’s Book? – Click Here.

James Pratt, Founder and President of Basement Technologies compares old-style deep french drain systems with newer high-tech patented basement waterproofing systems.

In 1997, BBT decided to go international after Pratt created literature that would educate companies all over the world on the intricacies of running a successful waterproofing company. Pratt’s detailed manuals cover every aspect of his business — from the installations, marketing and sales all the way down to the book- keeping. This comprehensive literature, offered in conjunction with the unique patented products designed by Pratt, has made BT an international powerhouse in the basement waterproofing industry. Dealers come to Boston for two-week training sessions upon initiation and are given access to BBT’s patented basement waterproofing and dehumidifying products.

“The concept of having a turn-key business start-up package, with all of the methodology and functionality, made complete sense to me because when you start in any business, there’s a learning curve. That learning curve can be devastating,” Pratt explains. “Offering  support during that learning curve … is very important. Otherwise, there’s a high crash-and-burn factor.”

Click Here to read the entire article.

James Pratt, President of Basement Technologies talks about why you need a sealed-lid, aesthetic pump and why they are much better than unsafe, common sump pump set ups. This is important for both homeowners and people who are looking to sell a home.

Find More Information About Sump Pumps:
Sump Pumps and Sump Pump Battery Backup
Advice for Selecting a New Sump Pump

Hydraulic Cement

Hydraulic cement has been installed where the wall meets the floor by many people for many years. Although this may work for a short period of time, it is surely not a permanent solution for basement waterproofing. Hydraulic cement is a special fast-setting cement that adheres to existing concrete. It will create a bond between the old concrete and the new hydraulic cement. Concrete shrinks and expands with the changing of the seasons and the difference in temperatures from the outside to the inside. The bond between the old and the new cement will (over a period of time) create a new crack which will eventually let the water in. That is why this method (although a realistic and viable approach) is not a permanent solution and will ultimately fail. Therefore, we do not recommend hydraulic cement as a permanent means of stopping water in a basement.

Want to read James Pratt’s Book? – Click Here.

Let us Solve Your Basement Waterproofing Problems:
Advice for Selecting a New Sump Pump
Basement Waterproofing