Abstract:
A sub-floor, perimeter, L-shaped water drainage panel for new construction basements having walls and supporting footings for receiving and draining water running down the walls and/or water entering at the wall/footing interface. The plastic drainage panel is molded with a plurality of spaced frustroconical wells on vertical and horizontal sections thereof, to engage the wall and footing, and space the panels therefrom and to be filled with wet concrete composition, when the floor is poured, to support the wall and footing against the basement floor and prevent relative movement therebetween.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to improvements in wall and sub-floor water-control systems for receiving, channeling, collecting and expelling ground water from interior basement walls to beneath the floor of basements and over the footing or other subterranean rooms having walls, wall-supporting footings and a floor. The problems caused by the invasion of ground water into basements and other structures are numerous. Generally such water seeps into basements from the walls and perimeter of the floor at the floor-wall and wall-footing joints, and/or through floor cracks, due to external hydrostatic pressures of water in the ground.  
           [0003]    2. Prior Art  
           [0004]    Wall and sub-floor water drain conduit systems are known in the patent literature but most such systems present problems with respect to strength, clog-resistance, drainage capacity in both lateral and longitudinal directions over the footing, and other disadvantages which have prevented their use in commercial installations.  
           [0005]    Reference is made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,245,443; 4,745,716; 5,051,044 and 5,771,643 as examples of proposed wall/footing water drain panels which are installed in position at the junction of the footing and the foundation wall prior to the pouring of the basement floor. Generally, these elongate panels are fabricated of relatively thin plastic which, depending upon design, can become crushed or distorted to some extent under the weight and pressure of the wet concrete composition poured thereagainst when the basement floor is formed, thereby narrowing or closing the water-escape channels between the panels and the wall and/or the surface of the footing. Also, in most such panels water is channeled in only one direction, down the wall and outwardly over the footing to the drain, while blocking the flow of water longitudinally along the surface of the footing. This presents problems when water escape is blocked or minimized in the lateral direction for any reason.  
           [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,716 discloses a nestable wall/footing water drain panel embodiment which provides substantial structural contact between the poured basement floor and both the foundation and the footing and which permits water escape in both the lateral and longitudinal directions through narrow conduits. The barrier panels of this patent are either cut or bent to form an upper wall diverter panel section and a lower footing diverter panel section in which the narrow water-escape conduits must be aligned and non-crimped. There is no planar or flat longitudinal conduit-free area to permit the panel to be bent or molded at an angle without interfering with drainage conduits nor is there any planar or linear longitudinal conduit-free area at the discharge edge of the lower panel section to prevent or block entry of the concrete floor composition into the narrow water-escape conduits.  
           [0007]    Finally, reference is made of U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,821 which discloses a system for protecting exterior foundation walls from water from backfill, which comprises covering the walls with a water barrier film having projections for spacing the backfill from the surface of the wall. The thin barrier film is rollable, and has a bottom section which is provided with an embossed fold line or bending area to allow for transition between the vertical foundation wall and the horizontal exterior footing. The barrier film excludes water from penetration to the wall rather than admitting water and channeling it over the footing to a drain. Also, the barrier is not molded in L-shaped rigid configuration.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention provides a nestable water-escape barrier panel which is molded in a 90° configuration, to conform to the angle between a foundation wall and its supporting footing, and which comprises a plurality of evenly-spaced frustroconical or tapered polygonal recessed well areas, such as pyramidal areas, which project from the outer surfaces of the barrier panel to provide a plurality of relatively small support areas with the wall and the footing, between which water is able to flow freely in all directions down the foundation wall and over the surface of the footing into a conventional footing drain or drain tile, or aggregate drain bed.  
           [0009]    The tapered recessed well areas have larger openings at the inside surface of the barrier panel to receive the wet concrete composition and be filled thereby by displacing air as the basement floor is poured and flows over the wall footings and against the basement wall to a level below the top of the barrier panel. When the concrete floor cures, the concrete within the wells or recesses provides a plurality of evenly-spaced posts which engage the basement wall and the footing, against the thickness of the barrier panel, to provide high structural strength against any flattening or distortion of the barrier panel or movement of the basement wall, as may be caused by lateral soil pressures pushing the wall against the floor, or the weight of the floor against the footing. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    The foregoing aspects and other features of the present invention are explained in the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an elongate wall and subfloor water drain barrier panel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a side edge view of the panel of FIG. 1 positioned against a basement wall on the surface of a wall-supporting footing and covered by a poured and cured basement floor; and  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a wall view along the line  3 - 3  of FIG. 2 illustrating the spacing between and the relative sizes of the frustroconical projections on the upper wall-engaging vertical section and the lower, footing-engaging horizontal section of the panel.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0014]    Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the present wall and sub-floor water drain panel  10  is a strong, flexible, semi-rigid panel molded from a suitable plastic composition, such as a polystyrene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, nylon or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene polymer (ABS), in an L-shaped or 90° angular fixed shape so as to conform to the angle formed between a basement wall  11  and its supporting concrete footing  12  as illustrated by FIG. 2. The panel  10  has an upper, vertical wall-engaging section  13  and a lower, horizontal footing-engaging section  14  separated by longitudinal flat transitioning area  15  which enables the panel to be molded in angular or L-shape without any interference with the molded frustroconical depressions or wells  16  or  17  on the panel sections  13  or  14 . The vertical panel section  13  carries a plurality of uniformly-spaced, linearly-positioned wells  16  having walls which taper downwardly and inwardly to a seat or frustrum  18 . Section  13  also is formed with an upper longitudinal marginal border  19 .  
         [0015]    The flat transitioning area  15  shown in the drawings is a preferred embodiment in that it provides a flat longitudinal surface  15   a  outwardly from the wall/floor interface, which increases the volume of the water flow area along the interface, makes room for any cement which might be exuded at the interface, thereby permitting the drain panel to seat against the wall and the floor, and imparts structural rigidity.  
         [0016]    The horizontal panel section  14  also carries a plurality of uniformly-spaced, linearly-arranged wells  17  having walls which taper downwardly and inwardly to a seat or frustrum  20 . As illustrated by FIGS. 2 and 3, the wells  17  on panel section  14  are larger in diameter and are deeper than the wells  16  on panel section  13  but both have wide inlet ends to permit the wet concrete composition of the poured basement floor  21  to enter and fill the wells  16  and  17  down to their floor or frustrum  18  and  20  to support the panel  10  against the basement wall  11  and footing  12  and prevent collapse or narrowing of the water-flow space  22  between the panel section  13  and the surface of the wall  11 , and the larger water flow space  23  between the panel section  14  and the upper surface of the footing  12 . The marginal border  19  at the top of panel section  13  provides a barrier which prevents the wet concrete floor composition from flowing against the surface of the wall  11  and behind the panel section  13 , and provides a uniformly-spaced continuous inlet  24  to permit water to flow down the surface of the wall  11 , such as from cracks, down into the water-flow spaces  22  and  23 .  
         [0017]    The water-flow space  23  between the panel section  14  and the footing  12  is larger than space  22  because the greatest volume of incoming flood water generally enters between the base of the wall and the supporting surface of the footing or by gravity flow through hollow cement blocks, in the case of cement block walls. The water flows down in all directions through inlet  24  and spaces  22  and  23  and eventually flows over the edge of the footing  12  down into an aggregate drain tile  25  such as a porous drain pipe embedded in a gravel field. Also, the water flow space  23  is required to drain water which accumulates along the surface of the footing, from the wall/footing interface, and flows longitudinally along the length of the footing, as well as water which flows down the wall through water flow space  22 .  
         [0018]    Thus, the horizontal section  14  of the present drain panel  10  has an outer longitudinal marginal border  26  which extends beyond the edge of the footing  12  and preferably is tapered downwardly, as illustrated, to prevent the flow of the wet concrete floor composition under the panel section  14  and into the water-flow passage  22 .  
         [0019]    As can be seen from the present drawings, the outer surfaces  18   a  and  20   a  of the projections  16  and  17  provide a plurality of evenly-spaced small round contact areas with the wall  11  and footing  12 , thereby minimizing any reduction in the area of the water-flow spaces  22  and  23  and permitting free water flow transversely and longitudinally behind and under the panel sections  13  and  14 .  
         [0020]    Most preferably the present semi-rigid water drain barrier panels  10  are molded of super high impact styrene polymer in a thickness of about 0.04″ and then formed into the desired configuration. The spaced wells  16  molded down into the surface of the upper vertical panel section  13  have an entry diameter of about 1.38 inch, a depth to floor or seat  18  of about 0.38 inch, and a wall contact area  18   a  diameter of about 0.40 inch, providing a water flow passage  22  and inlet  24  about 0.38 inch wide between the panel section  13  and the surface of the wall  11 . Panel section  13  has a height of about 4.25 inches above the surface of the footing  12 , and the panel  10  preferably is formed in lengths of about six feet.  
         [0021]    The preferred transition area is a chamfer or level area  15 , as illustrated, since it imparts maximum rigidity to the panel  10  to retain its L-shape, and it also maximizes the water-flow space adjacent the interface of the wall  11  and the footing  12 .  
         [0022]    Alternatively the present panel sections  13  and  14  can be united by means of a living hinge or integral flexible hinge which allows the panel  10  to be opened into L-shape for installation.  
         [0023]    The lower horizontal panel section  14  has a width of about 6 inches so that its outer marginal area  26  extends about an inch beyond the outer edge of the footing  12  to prevent the wet concrete composition from any back flow under the panel section  14  which would block the water flow from space  22  into the drain tile  25  conduit.  
         [0024]    Panel section  14  also has formed therein a plurality of uniformly-spaced, linearly-arranged wells  17  molded down into the surface thereof but to a greater depth than wells  16  in section  14  to provide a larger water flow space  22  between the underside of panel section  14  and the surface of the footing  12 . The frustroconical wells  17  have the same entrance diameter of about 1.38 inch as wells  16  but they taper at a larger angle than wells  16  and to a depth of about 0.5 inch down to floor or frustrum  20  to form footing contact areas  20   a  having a diameter of about 0.6 inch and a water flow space  22  height of about 0.5 inch between the underside of panel section  14  and the surface of the footing  12 .  
         [0025]    The design of the present drain panels  10  enables the wet, concrete floor composition to flow into the wide entrance areas of the tapered wells  16  and  17  to fill them and form uniformly spaced cured concrete posts or stand-offs which provide uniform structural strength between the basement floor  21  and the vertical basement wall  11  and the horizontal footing  12 . More importantly, the plurality of uniformly spaced, small diameter contact areas  18   a  and  20   a  minimize the overall area of the drain panel  10  which contacts the wall  11  and footing  12  to less than 20%, preferably less than 10%, and maximize the area of the wall and footing which is free of contact and is open to the free flow of water in all directions. For example, the spaced contact areas  18   a  and  20   a  of the preferred barrier panel illustrated in the drawings cover only about 8% of the total surface of the wall  11  and the footing  12  beneath the panel sections  13  and  14  to provide a maximized water flow area of about 92%. The tapered shape of the wells  16  and  17  facilitate flow of the wet concrete composition to fill the wells and also minimizes the space within the water flow areas  22  and  23  which is displaced by the wells, to maximize the capacity of the water flow from areas  22  and  23 .  
         [0026]    Preferably, the present wells  16  and  17  are linearly arranged to enable the barrier panels to be nested and stacked, to minimize packaging and storage space, and to enable the panel lengths to be overlapped by one or more well lengths to conform to the overall length of the wall/footing area being covered, and to be overlapped to an angle of 90° in corner areas, if desired. Otherwise the plastic panels can be cut to desired lengths and angles, butted together, and caulked if desired.  
         [0027]    Marginal border  19  of panel section  13  may be flat or planar, as illustrated, and left in place after the floor  21  is poured and cured, or may be cut along the floor line, after the floor is cured, in order to admit water from the floor into the inlet  24  which is level with the floor. Also, marginal border  19  may be tapered towards or against the wall  11  to close the inlet opening  24  while the floor  21  is being poured, to prevent entry of any wet concrete with the water flow space  22 . Thereafter the border  19  can be cut along or above the floor line using a cutting blade tool.  
         [0028]    Also, as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings, the inlet  24  of the panel section  13  may be sealed along its entire length by means of a continuous water-permeable, air flow-preventing strip member  24   a  such as an open-cell foam of elastomeric material for purposes of blocking the escape of objectionable odors and dangerous gases, such as radon, from the ground into the basement rooms. The strip member  24   a  may be adhesively-bonded to the panel section  13  or to the wall  11  where shown in FIG. 2 or between the rows of projections  16  in space  22 .  
         [0029]    Finally, the present invention encompasses the use of drainage panels in which the vertical section  13  extends to any desired height above the floor and/or which is integrated or nested with full wall panels of similar dimpled plastic wall boards which enclose the entire basement wall periphery and provide an enclosed peripheral radon-trapping space  22  which can be vented to the atmosphere and vacated by means of a standpipe and fan. Adjacent panels can be nested and bonded together by means of sealing caulk and the upper ends of the dimpled panels can be sealed with caulk to enclose the overall air space  22  against the escape of radon or other gases and odors except through the provided venting means.  
         [0030]    It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the invention. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.