[[email protected]]

Hi!

I'm curious if anyone has had similar work done and can share pricing
experience on fixing a drainage issue I have in my backyard. And
where the folks who do this type of work are listed in the yellow
pages.

The distance from the low point of my backyard to that 5-foot-deep
existing storm sewer basin would involve 150' Manhattan distance of
trenching (less if you cut across the front yard diagonally) , and
going under a concrete sidewalk and a concrete curb. I'm envisioning
a trencher, and a jackhammer might be the toys needed. Maybe a small
backhoe depending on how big these basins are.

The issue I' trying to solve is that during heavy rains, water will
pool in my relatively flat backyard and while it never threatens the
house, I'd much rather not have a soggy backyard (and dog) most of the
spring. The root cause is that there's only 1.5 feet of drop between
my backyard and the storm grate 3 houses down that the water is
supposed to go to, and settling has occurred over the years. I can't
simply build up my yard without making the upstream neighbor's problem
even worse (it's possible I can get this upstream neighbor to go in on
the cost since it will benefit them as well).

I've talked to the city engineer, and they've said that private
property standing water issues are outside their purview, but they
reviewed the grading and drainage plan of my home's subdivision and
indicated that I could have a private catch basin installed in my back
yard and for about $200 total in permit fees, tie into the city storm
sewer basin that exists at the front of my house ($100 for the tie in
permit, $50 permit to bust up the curb, and $50 permit to bust up a
sidewalk square).


I know I can't fit it in the budget in the coming couple of months, so
I'd hate to waste a contractor's time to come out and quote, but just
want to get a feel for what it might cost so I can start saving, or
decide to live with the water.

Thanks for any shared experience or advice on this!

Jim

[DerbyDad03]

How much water is there? Any chance of using dry wells? Some
strategically placed 55 gallon drums with holes cut in the bottom would
collect (number of drums) x (55 gallons) before it would start to pool.

I sunk a 55 gallon plastic drum right outside my basement door since
the bottom is well below grade and my basement used to take on water
during torrential downpours. I sunk the drum, covered the area with
some patio blocks and I've never had a wet basement since.


lid wrote:
Hi!

I'm curious if anyone has had similar work done and can share pricing
experience on fixing a drainage issue I have in my backyard. And
where the folks who do this type of work are listed in the yellow
pages.

The distance from the low point of my backyard to that 5-foot-deep
existing storm sewer basin would involve 150' Manhattan distance of
trenching (less if you cut across the front yard diagonally) , and
going under a concrete sidewalk and a concrete curb. I'm envisioning
a trencher, and a jackhammer might be the toys needed. Maybe a small
backhoe depending on how big these basins are.

The issue I' trying to solve is that during heavy rains, water will
pool in my relatively flat backyard and while it never threatens the
house, I'd much rather not have a soggy backyard (and dog) most of the
spring. The root cause is that there's only 1.5 feet of drop between
my backyard and the storm grate 3 houses down that the water is
supposed to go to, and settling has occurred over the years. I can't
simply build up my yard without making the upstream neighbor's problem
even worse (it's possible I can get this upstream neighbor to go in on
the cost since it will benefit them as well).

I've talked to the city engineer, and they've said that private
property standing water issues are outside their purview, but they
reviewed the grading and drainage plan of my home's subdivision and
indicated that I could have a private catch basin installed in my back
yard and for about $200 total in permit fees, tie into the city storm
sewer basin that exists at the front of my house ($100 for the tie in
permit, $50 permit to bust up the curb, and $50 permit to bust up a
sidewalk square).


I know I can't fit it in the budget in the coming couple of months, so
I'd hate to waste a contractor's time to come out and quote, but just
want to get a feel for what it might cost so I can start saving, or
decide to live with the water.

Thanks for any shared experience or advice on this!

Jim

[[email protected]]

said:
How much water is there? Any chance of using dry wells? Some
strategically placed 55 gallon drums with holes cut in the bottom would
collect (number of drums) x (55 gallons) before it would start to pool.

I sunk a 55 gallon plastic drum right outside my basement door since
the bottom is well below grade and my basement used to take on water
during torrential downpours. I sunk the drum, covered the area with
some patio blocks and I've never had a wet basement since.

Thanks for your response.

That's an intriguing idea.... I wonder what a couple of these might
do. It's certainly more than 55gal when we get a good downpour, but
often I wonder if it's less. I guess how much it helps depends on how
porous the ground is already. The ground gets soggy for a long time
as the rain builds up before teh pooling occurs which makes me
envision the soil getting saturated as a prerequisite. I'm not sure
how much delay empty drums would buy me. Hrmm.

So this is an empty drum with holes on top and bottom? Any gravel?
I'm having trouble picturing it. It sounds like a good first thing
to try since no trenching or plumbing is involved. Where did you
get the drum from?

Thanks again for the ideas.

Jim

[buffalobill]

this is your property and your rainwater? refer to your survey and
permit and permission to drain water onto the city according to their
specifications. get that home improvement loan and get started before
your spring planting season.
expand your needs for the entire property, not just the puddle: could
your rain from the roof be tied into this? what other water-catching
areas are bothering your basement? driveway drainage? garage drainage?
damp spots? when the pool goes in where does the backwash connect to
this? when a new storage shed or garage goes in, is this pipe in danger
of damage? what else can you install in the same hole, water garden
spigot to the yard? combine trenching projects: deck post holes?
water/sewer to poolyard/garage? cable tv to the garage? an extra
poolside sink? depending on your location in the world, you may need to
get your estimates and get started now. your yard is already may be
collecting water from the neighbors higher topsoil and it's not fixing
itself.

lid wrote:
Hi!

I'm curious if anyone has had similar work done and can share pricing
experience on fixing a drainage issue I have in my backyard. And
where the folks who do this type of work are listed in the yellow
pages.

The distance from the low point of my backyard to that 5-foot-deep
existing storm sewer basin would involve 150' Manhattan distance of
trenching (less if you cut across the front yard diagonally) , and
going under a concrete sidewalk and a concrete curb. I'm envisioning
a trencher, and a jackhammer might be the toys needed. Maybe a small
backhoe depending on how big these basins are.

The issue I' trying to solve is that during heavy rains, water will
pool in my relatively flat backyard and while it never threatens the
house, I'd much rather not have a soggy backyard (and dog) most of the
spring. The root cause is that there's only 1.5 feet of drop between
my backyard and the storm grate 3 houses down that the water is
supposed to go to, and settling has occurred over the years. I can't
simply build up my yard without making the upstream neighbor's problem
even worse (it's possible I can get this upstream neighbor to go in on
the cost since it will benefit them as well).

I've talked to the city engineer, and they've said that private
property standing water issues are outside their purview, but they
reviewed the grading and drainage plan of my home's subdivision and
indicated that I could have a private catch basin installed in my back
yard and for about $200 total in permit fees, tie into the city storm
sewer basin that exists at the front of my house ($100 for the tie in
permit, $50 permit to bust up the curb, and $50 permit to bust up a
sidewalk square).


I know I can't fit it in the budget in the coming couple of months, so
I'd hate to waste a contractor's time to come out and quote, but just
want to get a feel for what it might cost so I can start saving, or
decide to live with the water.

Thanks for any shared experience or advice on this!

Jim