Dry Basement turns Wet Basement Part 1 of 3

Living in the Midwest provides us with a variety of weather and soil conditions.  One day it's hot, the next it is cold.  One day the concrete is level, and the next day it's not.  One day your basement is dry, and without warning, the next day your basement is wet.  How can this be?  Well...there are several contributing factors, however today let's talk about drainage tile.

Depending on the era the home was built and of course the builder, will determine either the type of drainage tile, or if any tile exists at all. 

History of Tile Drainage

The existence of tile drainage systems have been recorded, in 200 BC and the first century AD, respectively. Tile drainage was first introduced to the United States in 1838, when John Johnston brought the practice from his native Scotland to his farm in Seneca County, New York. Johnston labored to lay 72 miles (116 km) worth of clay tile on 320 acres (1.3 km2). The effort paid off by increasing his wheat yield from 12 bushels per acre to 60 bu/acre. Johnston, "Father of American Tile Drainage", continued to advocate tile drainage throughout his life, attributing his success as a farmer to the formula "D,C, and D" (dung, credit, and drainage).

The expansion of drainage networks was an important technical aspect of Westward Expansion in the 19th century. Although land in the United States was parceled out in accordance with the Public Land Survey System as established by the Land Ordinance of 1785, development, especially of agricultural land, was often limited by the rate at which it was made capable for cultivation. For example, although Iowa was made a state in 1846, maps depicting land ownership show below-average population densities in the northwestern region as late as the 1870s, a corner of the state that today is still noted for its high water table and numerous lakes, marshes, and wetlands.

States throughout the region faced similar limits to agricultural intensification. Many states offered government incentives to improve land for farming. For example, legislation in Indiana prompted an Act of Congress in 1850 that provided for swamplands to be sold at a discount to farmers on the condition that they drain the land and bring it into agricultural productivity. To facilitate this process, most states set up government agencies to oversee and regulate the installation of tile drainage systems. Even today, ballots for elections in rural America often include candidates for local drainage supervisory boards.

The decades following the American Civil War saw rapid expansion of drainage systems. For example, historical literature from Ohio notes that in the year of 1882, the number of acres drained was about equal to the area of land drained in all previous years. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps contributed to the tile network throughout the Midwest, much of which is still in use.

Interestingly, it appears clay drainage tile or orangeburg drainage tile wasn't introduced to homes as a source for water drainage and pressure relief  until the 1950's.  Since that time the drainage tile materials have changed and most commonly are the four inch corrugated flexible drainage tile. 

Orangeburg

Orangeburg pipe (also known as "fiber conduit") is bituminized fiber pipe made from layers of wood pulp and pitch pressed together. It was used from the 1860s through the 1970s, when it was replaced by PVC pipe for water delivery and ABS pipe for drain-waste-vent (DWV) applications. The name comes from Orangeburg, New York, the town in which most Orangeburg pipe was manufactured. It was manufactured largely by the Fiber Conduit Company, which changed its name to the Orangeburg Manufacturing Company in 1948.

Orangeburg pipe was made in inside diameters from 2 inches to 18 inches out of wood pulp sealed with hot pitch. Joints were made in a similar fashion and, due to the materials involved, were able to be sealed without the usage of adhesives. Orangeburg was lightweight, albeit brittle, and soft enough to be cut with a handsaw. Orangeburg was a low cost alternative to metal for sewer lines in particular. Lack of strength causes pipes made of Orangeburg to fail more frequently than pipes made with other materials. The useful life for an Orangeburg pipe is about 50 years under ideal conditions, but has been known to fail in as little as 10 years. It has been taken off the list of acceptable materials by most building codes.

It was observed in early usage that Orangeburg was susceptible to deformation from pressure. Thus, manufacturers urged "bedding" the pipes in sand or pea gravel to prevent rupture.

 What Does ALL of this Mean to Us?

Well unfortunately all of the low cost conduit called "orangeburg" has a very measurable failure rate, and a tendency to clog.  So, dry basements in the state of Iowa last year can easily become wet basements this year.  The drought has caused so much shifting in soil and foundations many of these drainage tiles have broken.  Some have clogged over the years, and suddenly the water is looking for a new place to go since the drainage tile is now unable to complete its intended job.  End result, water in your basement.   So, dry basements can turn wet without notice.

Water in the basement is never fun and usually leads to additional repairs.  Please give us a call today to set an appointment for a no cost estimate on drying out your basement with modern up to date basement waterproofing technology.  Call us at 1-515-289-1606 or click here for more information.