Abstract:
A method and device for enhancing water percolation around a building or improvement area includes drilling a series of seepage holes beyond the deflector plates with drainage rods installed in the respective holes extending downwardly into the soil. The drainage rods comprise a cluster of integrally joined generally tubular features each formed with a lengthwise extending slot. Migrating ground water intercepts the rods, enters the slots and drains down the rods to enhance water percolation into the soil.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/579,362 filed on May 11, 2006 also filed as PCT/US2004/039172 which is a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/737,345 filed on Dec. 16, 2003. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention concerns drainage around buildings and more particularly from around the foundation of a building. Rainwater percolates down into the ground around the foundation and can enter the basement through cracks in the concrete or block walls. Grading is commonly used to direct surface water away from the building. Drain tiles are usually laid around the foundation footings to prevent water from collecting around the foundation by draining it away through the tiles.  
         [0003]     These measures are sometimes ineffective primarily due to particular soil conditions, the topography of the land, the level of the water table, etc.  
         [0004]     In co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/579,362 and published PCT application WO 2005/060499, both incorporated herein by reference, there is described a basement wall protection system involving the installation of a series of sloping deflector plates around the foundation buried in the soil which direct water percolating down through the top soil layer away from the foundation. While effective, sometimes water in surrounding soil regions migrates into the soil adjacent the foundations beneath the deflector plates at a high enough rate to cause problems.  
         [0005]     It is the object of the present invention to enhance the effect of the deflector system heretofore proposed to further minimize untoward effects of excessive moisture in the soil around a building.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The above object and other objects which will become apparent upon a reading of the following specification and claims are achieved by installing specially configured drainage rods into a series of seepage holes drilled in the ground around the building or pairing perimeter. A series of deflector plates may be placed against the building walls. The drainage rods are sufficiently rigid to be driven into the predrilled seepage holes in the ground. These rods are installed into the seepage holes promote percolation of water through the soil around the rods. The tubular features remain clear of debris as the ground expands and contracts. The drainage rods are long enough to reach a level preferably at least one foot below the building footings from a point just below the grade, i.e., typically about 6 to 10 feet long but can be much longer to reach the water table.  
         [0007]     The generally slotted tubular features allow water to enter all along their length and rapidly draining down to a level below the footings to enhance percolation of water into the soil. This dries the soil in a depression cone pattern around the rods to reduce the level of moisture in the soil adjacent to the building. The entrance of air from the top of the rods allows rapid draining of moisture from the soil around the rods by preventing a vacuum from developing. The plastic material of the rods cannot be penetrated by moisture and the hydrostatic pressure in the ground tends to compress the slots and inhibit silting in of the tubular features to thus remain open to water drainage and entry of air. The drainage rods can be easily removed if necessary since roots cannot get a grip on the plastic material or the configuration of the clustered slotted tubes.  
         [0008]     The rods are specially designed to be are earth/soil friendly and will not crack under any soil movement that is caused by seasonal temperature changes. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]      FIG. 1  is a pictorial view of a building with a series of drainage rods used in the method of the present invention installed about the foundation walks and driveway,  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of a section taken through the foundation wall and surrounding soil showing the series of drainage rods illustrated in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0011]      FIG. 3A  is an enlarged sectional view taken across one of the drainage rods shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 .  
         [0012]      FIG. 3B  is a fragmentary view of a top end of the drainage rod shown in  FIG. 3  showing a fusing together of the shape at one end to block upper end and to enable driving the rod into a predrilled hole in the ground.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3C  is a fragmentary view of the top end of a drainage rod showing a clamp compressing the end tool facilitate driving it into a hole.  
         [0014]      FIG. 3D  is a fragmentary view of the upper end of drainage rod with a pointed cap added to block the upper end.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3E  is a fragmentary view of an upper end of a drainage rod with a flat disc attached to block the upper end and to facilitate driving into a predrilled hole.  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a pictorial view of an excavated foundation corner showing installation of two deflector plates.  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is a fragmentary sectional view through a building foundation and adjacent soil with drainage rods and deflector plates installed.  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a fragmentary sectional view through a building foundation with a sidewalk running next to the foundation and adjacent soil areas, showing diagrammatically the soil drying effect of the drainage rods.  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  is a fragmentary sectional view through a building constructed on a slab with a sidewalk along the side, showing diagrammatically the drying effect on the soil of installed series of drainage rods. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0020]     In the following detailed description, certain specific terminology will be employed for the sake of clarity and a particular embodiment described in accordance with the requirements of 35 USC 112, but it is to be understood that the same is not intended to be limiting and should not be so construed inasmuch as the invention is capable of taking many forms and variations within the scope of the appended claims.  
         [0021]     Referring to the drawings,  FIGS. 1 and 2  show a building  10  which has installed below grade a series of drainage rods  20  according to the method of the present invention. The series of rods extend about the perimeter of building foundation  24 , as well as along paved areas such as the walk  12  and driveway  14  from which water is shed during a rain shower.  
         [0022]     A continuous series of interlocked deflector plates  16  may also be installed in a trench at a shallow depth below grade as described in detail in the above-referenced applications. In addition, above grade sealing strips  18  can cover the upright section  17  of the deflector plates  16  to prevent water from flowing past the upright section  17 .  
         [0023]     The deflector plates  16  have a portion extending out approximately one quarter of the height of the basement wall and slope down at about a 15° angle as described in the referenced patent applications apart.  
         [0024]     As described in the referenced application, the sections of the deflector plates  16  are assembled together with tongue and groove connection. At the corners a notched plate  32  underlies the deflectors  16  meeting each other at the corners as seen in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0025]     The elongated drainage rods  20  are installed in predrilled holes drilled into the bottom of the trench in a linear series spaced apart a short distance on the order of 16 inches.  
         [0026]     The series of drainage rods  20  are installed spaced out from the foundation  24  a short distance and penetrate to a minimum depth of preferably about one foot below the footings  26 .  
         [0027]     If the water table is sufficiently shallow, the drainage rods  20  should be installed to reach that level.  
         [0028]     To install the drainage rods  20 , a sloping bottom trench is dug away from the foundation of a width of about forty-two inches and from 16 to 21-26 inches in depth.  
         [0029]     A series of holes about 1½ inch in diameter are drilled into the ground as by using a powered auger to a depth preferably reaching a minimum of one foot below the building footings  26 .  
         [0030]     The drainage rods  20  are then installed in the holes. A cylindrical  21  cap can be used to block out the upper ends of the rods  20  and to allow hammering the rods  20  into the predrilled holes.  
         [0031]     The drainage rods  20  are preferably of an extruded high density polyethylene but other materials particularly of plastic may be used.  
         [0032]     The sectional configuration of the drainage rods  20  is shown in  FIG. 3A . This shape consists of a cluster of slotted generally tubular features  28  extending lengthwise along the rods  20  and surrounding a central slotted generally tubular feature  30  also extending along the length of the drainage rod  20 . The drainage rods  20  are about one inch across the diagonal. The slots  29  and  31  extend lengthwise and allow water to enter into each generally tubular features  28 ,  30  all along their length, which then collects and flows downwardly through the features  28 ,  30  to enhance percolation of water into the soil.  
         [0033]     The pressure of the water in the rods  20  and the entrance of air at the top allows rapid percolation into the soil. The slots  29  are formed by a wall defining each tubular feature  28  curving back towards a central region of said rod  20  with a gap forming the longitudinal slot  29 . The center tubular feature  30  also has a gap forming the slot  31 .  
         [0034]     The tubular features  28 ,  30  tend to be compressed radially when the soil is saturated by moisture by the effects of hydrostatic pressure to narrow the slots  29 ,  31 . This effect tends to prevent silting in of the tubular features  28 ,  30  over time, allowing free continued flow of water downwardly preferably to the level of the watertable as indicated in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0035]     Thus, the drainage rods  20  will intercept moisture migrating towards the house and cause it to percolate rapidly downwardly below the footings instead of reaching the foundation walls.  
         [0036]     The smooth plastic construction also tends to defeat any tendency for roots to grip the drainage rods  20  enabling them to be pulled up for inspection if desired.  
         [0037]     As seen in  FIGS. 3B , the ends of the drainage rods  20 , can be fused at  19  to create a rounded blocked upper end to facilitate driving and penetration during installation and to prevent silting in of sold from the top of the rods  20 .  
         [0038]     In  FIG. 3C , a clamp  34  has been installed at the upper end to form a blocked upper end to facilitate driving into predrilled holes.  
         [0039]      FIG. 3D  shows a pointed cap  36  installed on the upper end to also block the upper end of the drainage rod  20 .  
         [0040]     In  FIG. 3 E , a flat cover plate  38  is attached to block the upper end and to facilitate driving of the drainage rod  20 .  
         [0041]      FIG. 6  shows the effect where a sidewalk  40  deflects the water runoff to where the series of drainage rods  20  are installed below grade. A cone pattern  42  of dried out soil is created around the rods  20  which intercepts moisture migrating into a dry zone  44  beneath the sidewalk  40  to maintain dry soil conditions. As water is drained from the soil surrounding the rod  20  a cone-shaped depression in the water level forms the dry area is open to the air which allows the moisture to readily drain down as water percolates in the soil at the bottom of the drainage rods  20 .  
         [0042]      FIG. 7  shows the same effect with a building built on a slab foundation  46 , with the cone pattern  42  preventing moisture migration beneath the slab  46 . The drainage rods  20  can be shorter for the application.  
         [0043]     The earth is backfilled into the trench as seen in  FIG. 5 , covering the deflector plates  16  and drainage rod  20  upper ends.