French Drain

Related terms

• Frost Heave

  Upward soil movement when moisture freezes and expands, lifting shallow footings, slabs, and steps. Prevented by footing depth and drainage.

• Footing Drain / Drain Tile

  Perforated pipe in gravel along the footing that collects groundwater and routes it away or to a sump, relieving pressure on the foundation.

• Frost Line / Frost Depth

  The depth to which ground freezes locally. Footings must bear below it (in central Ohio ~32 in.) so frost heave can't lift the structure.

• Flitch Beam

  A composite beam of steel plate sandwiched between wood members, used where a slim but very strong beam is needed.

• Girder

  A large primary beam that carries other beams or joists. The main load-collecting member, often mid-span under a floor down to columns.

• Exterior Waterproofing

  Excavating to the footing and applying a membrane/coating plus drainage to the outside of the foundation — the most thorough (and costly)…

• Glulam

  Glued-laminated timber — a structural beam of bonded dimensional lumber, often used where the beam is exposed for appearance.

• Expansive Soil

  Clay-rich soil that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, cyclically stressing foundations. A leading cause of foundation cracking and mo…