Often overlooked, the presence of an opening at wall/floor joint, whether intentional or just natural concrete shrinkage, should be sealed. One reason for this is Radon Gas. Its a fact Radon Gas enters the home through the smallest of foundation cracks. In the past it was a common practice to leave an opening at the wall/foor joint to allow a potential basement wall leak to run down the wall and enter the drainage system via this opening. It also increases humidity, musty smells and insects.

Video Transcription

Hi! It's Todd of Missouri Basement with another healthy basement tip. You know customers always asking me, Todd what exactly is a closed system. So today, I want to show you some of the aspects and methods involved in installing the closed basement drainage system. One aspect of the closed basement drainage system is where the wall and the floor meet or the cold joint. Just take a look here. As you can see, we have special flange or gasket here and a wall protection vapor barrier creating a very tight virtually air tight seal. This prevents any soil gases such as radon gas or humidity, ground humidity from coming up into the basement environment. It's very healthy and this vapor barrier is also sealed at the top of the wall. Now below here, is your drainage system. So anything that's behind this seal would be guided towards your drainage system and into your sump pump. So well, we've the solved the water issue, we've done so in a healthy way. By sealing this cold joint off, we know we have to introduce secondary problems or the introduction of the soil gases such as radon into the living space, high humidity levels into the living space and at the same time you don't have to worry about smells or odors from stagnant water coming through any type of open channel. This is the healthy way to install a basement drainage system. Now consider enough 40% of the air you breathe upstairs comes directly from your basement. I think you'll agree that a tight seal at the wall floor joint in your drainage system is healthier for you, and it's healthier for your family. Now this is Todd from Missouri Basement with another healthy basement tip.