Apparatus for controlling water seepage at a structural interface

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG.
1 is a partial perspective sectional view of a typical structural interface which in an exemplary embodiment is a foundation wall 10 supported on a footing 20 which interface may include a notch to prevent or limit relative movement therebetween.
The subterranean wall is generally covered on its exterior surface with a ground fill, and in any case the wall may include a water barrier and a hydraulic pressure reducing drainage system not shown in the drawing but known in the art.
Absent the water control apparatus of the present invention, an interior floor 30 rests directly on the footing 20 and in abutment with the wall 10.
This substantial contact severely constrains expansion and contraction of the various structural elements as discussed above.
An interior drainage conduit or tile 40 is buried in a porous material 50 such as crushed stone which in part supports the interior floor 30.
The drain tile is generally coupled to a sewer or attendant drainage system to eliminate water accumulation below the floor by gravitation but may be also be assisted by a mechanical pump as known in the art.
Water and moisture from the exterior of the wall may seep through the interface between a bottom surface 16 of the wall and the top surface 22 of the footing and then up through the interface between the foundation wall and the side surface of the floor.
This is particularly true in instances where the bottom surface 32 of the floor forms a strong bond with the upper ledge 22 of the footing.
Water may also flow over the top of the wall and through cracks in the wall and then run down along the wall and accumulate on the floor, especially if there is a bond between a side surface 34 of the floor and the interior surface 14 of the wall or a bond between the bottom of the floor surface 32 and the top of the footing 22.
The deleterious effects of such a structural arrangement on contraction and expansion and water and moisture penetration is discussed in the Background of the Invention and requires no further elaboration