Far Hills, NJ is a historic town with many a wet basement
Far Hills is a Borough in Somerset County, NJ. Formed in 1921 from portions of Bernards Township, the Borough has approximately 900 residents and an area of 4.8 square miles (U.S. Census 2010). Far Hills shares school system and other public services with nearby Townships.
The Borough was planned in the late 1800’s for large lots. The ten acre zoning laws are still in effect today. The train station from the late 1800’s is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
Notable attractions in Far Hills include the Leonard J. Buck Botanical Gardens, and the headquarters for the U.S. Golfing Association and Museum.
Heavy rains can cause a wet basement
Top soil will absorb some of the water but as rain continues to fall the absorbent layers become even more saturated and the water begins to follow the underground ‘paths of least resistance’ called Capillary Veins.
Think of these Capillary Veins as underground streams of seeping water. As this water approaches your home it collects in the loosely packed soil that is pressing against your foundation. In the meantime, the undisturbed soil about 2 to 5 feet from your home is much more solid and is unable to percolate the ground water away fast enough causing it to rise around the foundation of your home.
As the water level continues to rise the weight of the water causes pressure to build (Hydrostatic Pressure). This pressure forces water into settlement cracks in your home’s foundation and sooner or later, into your wet basement.
A French drain can fix a wet basement
The earliest forms of French drains were simple ditches, pitched from a high area to a lower one filled with gravel. These were described and popularized by Henry Flagg French (1813-1885) a lawyer and Assistant US Treasury Secretary from Concord, Massachusetts in his book Farm Drainage. Mr. French was very proud of his cellar drainage system where he surrounded a drain tile with gravel and kept his cellar dry.
What is a French drain? A French Drain is installed underneath the basement floor on the inside perimeter of the basement. The French drain A-1 Basement Solutions installs is also known as a Deep Channel Pressure Relief System. This is because it relieves the hydrostatic pressure (water pressure) from the footing area.
[tcb_dynamic_field type=”featured” alt=”Profesisonal Basement Waterproofing Experts in Verona, NJ” title=”Profesisonal Basement Waterproofing Experts in Verona, NJ” data-classes=”tve_image wp-image-527″]