Foundation adhesive question....

[Todd]

Folks,

I'm putting a french drain into the ground in front of my house in an effort to direct rain/snow melt away from my basement....it will be no more than 2 feet down....

The entire assembly (stone, pvc pipe, etc...)will sit in a piece of 6 Mil plastic sheeting that will force all water away from the house and into the PVC....

the plastic will be attached to the foundation of the house, and then filled with rocks.

I am looking for any suggestions as to what I can use as an adhesive to glue the edge of the plastic to the outside of the foundation of the house....it has to be a weatherproof/waterproof bond that will continue to hold the plastic to the house for many decades, if possible.

(just to clarify, the plastic will be attached to the house, and then scoop under the entire french drain assembly -> so from the bottom up, it will be: Plastic, stone, PVC stone, landscape fabric, stone.)

Any suggestions for a good material would be greatly appreciated.

- Thanks,

Todd

[Larry Caldwell]

Why don't you just run the plastic to the foundation and put soil or rocks over it? I doubt that any adhesive will do what you want, and as long as the plastic dives down into the trench at a good angle, water won't run uphill.

If you absolutely have to attach the plastic, think about a mechanical connection, perhaps a sheet metal reglet shot onto the foundation wall with ram studs. I think that's too much. Once the plastic is covered with dirt, it won't go anywhere.

The PVC should be at the bottom. Plastic, PVC, stone, landscape fabric, stone. Use 2" washed drain rock. Pea gravel will plug with silt. If you have a couple feet of stone, skip the fabric, which will also plug over time.

I'm taking your situation at face value - the water is sheeting down a slope and penetrating the basement wall. However, 9 times out of 10, if the basement is wet, the water is coming off of the roof. Downspouts should run into a tight line (NOT perforated) and discharge well downhill from the house or into a storm sewer.

[marson]

I'd combine the above advice (some sort of strip anchored to the foundation) with a bead of something like sikkens or np1 between the plastic and the concrete.

[DK]

I'd use the expensive grade asphalt roofing tar. It is cheap and comes in pails and tubes and provides a little extra protection in case something destroys your plastic.

[Greg]

When I did mine I used foundation tar, brushed/rolled it on the whole wall, then while wet laid the plastic up against it, I would say that is a permanently stuck plastic.