Wall and sub-floor water drain barrier panel for basement water-control systems

#1. Field of the Invention

#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.

#2. Prior Art

#The foregoing aspects and other features of the present invention are explained in the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an elongate wall and sub-floor water drain barrier panel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

#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

#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.

#The flat transitioning area 15 shown in the drawings is a preferred embodiment in that it provides a flat longitudinal surface 15a 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.

#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.