How much does a basement drainage solution cost?

An interior basement drainage solution generally runs $3,000 to $30,000, with most jobs landing between $6,000 and $12,000. The length of drain — how many walls have to be trenched — is the biggest factor, followed by depth, the number of sumps, and access. We price it after we measure your basement on a free inspection.

What is an interior French drain?

It is a perforated pipe set in drainage rock in a trench around the inside perimeter of the basement, beside and below the footer. It collects water as it enters, carries it by gravity to a sump pit, and the sump pump discharges it outside. The slab is poured back flush over the top.

Why trench beside the footer instead of using a drainage system on top of it?

Because a drainage system on top of the footer keeps gravel off the footing and lets water undermine it over time. Trenching beside and below the footer lets us pack drainage rock around the pipe and keeps the footing protected. It is more labor, and it is the right way to do it.

Will the drain show in my finished basement?

No. In a finished space we top the drain with concrete and pour the floor flush, so you can put flooring over it and never see it. In an unfinished utility basement we can leave it as an open gravel trench to save some cost.

The Root Fix

The Basement Drain That Actually Stops the Standing Water

Standing water on the basement floor, puddles along the wall after a heavy rain, dampness that never seems to dry out — those are signs your basement needs a real drain. We install an interior drain system that catches water at the wall and carries it to a sump pump, so the floor stays dry and the air clears up. Installed from the inside, with no damage to your yard.

Schedule Free Inspection Call (866) 338-8559

The Basement Medic Difference

Why Homeowners Call Basement Medic

We Protect the Foundation Your House Sits On

Our drain goes in beside and below the footing, not on top of it. Pulling the water out never weakens what's holding up your home, a shortcut some crews take.

Sized to Your Basement

Some basements need two walls treated, some need all four. We measure how much water you're actually dealing with before we quote, so you only pay for the drain you need.

We Make Sure the Water Has Somewhere to Go

A drain only works if there's a real exit. Ours always ends in a properly sized pump that sends the water outside, away from the foundation.

Finished to Match Your Basement

In a finished basement, we pour the floor back flush so you can lay flooring right over it. In a utility space, we can leave it open to save on cost. Your call.

How Water Gets In

When the Water Has Nowhere to Go, It Stands

Water intrusion happens at and along the foundation walls. If the water has nowhere to drain to, it stands. The moisture rises into the floor framing and the whole basement goes damp and smells of wet earth within a day.

The root cause of a chronically wet basement is almost always drainage, and you cannot solve a drainage problem with paint or a dehumidifier alone. You have to collect the water at the point it comes in and give it a path out. That is what a basement drain does, and it is the foundation that the sump pump and the wall waterproofing both depend on. Skip it and you are mopping the same floor every spring.

Poor grading
Short or clogged gutters
Incorrect slope around the house
Wall cracks
Condensation
Hydrostatic pressure from saturated soil

Not One-Size-Fits-All

Every Basement Gets Its Own Drain Plan

No two basements drain the same way. Some need only two walls trenched, some need all four, and some only need a sump where the water collects. The length of drain is the single biggest driver of price, so we measure the wall and the water before quoting anything. We plan the drain around where your water actually shows.

Completed interior basement drain with freshly re-poured concrete perimeter against a white vapor-barrier wall

The Solution

How We Keep the Water Off Your Foundation

The Basement Medic drain sits near the foundation footer to collect water, drop it into the pipe, and carry it to a sump pit. Here is how it goes in.

1. Cut the trench at the footer

We open a 10-by-10 trench around the inside perimeter, beside and below the footer. This is the part that sets our solution apart. Many companies set a small drainage system on top of the footer, which means they cannot pack gravel around it and the footer keeps getting undermined as water passes. We trench lower and to the side, so the footing stays protected.

2. Slotted pipe in drainage rock

A 4-inch slotted pipe beds in washed drainage rock. The rock gives the water an easy path to the pipe instead of forcing it up through the slab. With proper pitch and depth, the trench carries the water to the lowest point of the basement, and on a wet night you can hear it run through the rock toward the pit.

3. Tie in the wall

We drill weep holes in the bottom course of block so the water trapped inside the block cores drains into the trench, and where needed we run a drainage mat up the wall to catch higher seepage.

4. Terminate at the sump and discharge out

The trench terminates in a sump pit, and the sump pump lifts the collected water and discharges it through a line to the exterior, away from the foundation.

Cutaway diagram of the Basement Medic interior drain solution: a slotted drain pipe in drainage rock in a trench beside and below the footer, weep holes in the foundation wall, water carried to a sump pit and out a discharge line, with hydrostatic groundwater pressing on the wall. — The interior drain solution: collect the water at the footer, carry it to the sump, and discharge it outside.

We come in beside the footer with the actual trench, catching the water and keeping it off the footer. The drainage-system guys set their system on top of the footer, and there’s a lot of undermining still happening with that.

— Daniel, Basement Medic

Two Ways to Finish

Open Gravel or Re-Poured Concrete

There are two ways to finish the drain, and the right one depends on what you want from the basement. In an unfinished basement — a utility cellar or a mechanical room — we can leave the drainage field topped with gravel, an open trench that lets water drip straight down to the pipe. It costs a little less and works fine where nobody is finishing the space.

If you ever plan to finish the basement into living space, we top the drain with concrete and pour the floor back flush. You can lay flooring over it and never know the drain is there. A dry, finished basement carries real resale value, because a buyer knows they are not inheriting a floor that floods every March.

Work-in-progress interior basement drain trench with exposed drainage rock along the foundation footer

Basement Drainage FAQ

Questions Homeowners Ask

Give the Water Somewhere to Go

A free Basement Medic inspection maps where your water comes in and how much drain it takes to carry it out.

Schedule Free Inspection Call (866) 338-8559