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Default What is best way to drain water away from house and solve leaky basement problem.



On the west end of my small house in Cincinnati (the backyard), [I just
recently bought the house, so I don't know its history] there is a
small crest about 12 feet from the house that drains water toward the
basement. (On the other side of the crest, the land slopes away from
the house to a vacant lot.) Also, the backyard slopes from south to
north, so there is a particularly low area at the Northwest corner of
the house. That low corner is about 15 feet away from a spot where the
water drains away from the house. On the Northeast corner of the house
(the frontyard), there is a narrow slight slope from the corner down
the driveway that drains all the way to the street. On the Southeast
corner of the house (frontyard again), there is mostly a narrow slope
generally towards the front that goes to the road, but there is a
slight rise about 8 or 10 feet from the house. (M

There are two gutters that run parallel to each other. The
gutter on the South side of the house runs West to East (back to
front), and has a downspout in about the mid-point of the house that
drains into a pipe that is located in a window well. There is also a
downspout at the SouthEast corner of the house. The mid-point gutter
is almost surely the cause of a leak in the basement because after a
moderate rain a week ago (following a fairly long dry period), water
came into the basement through the window in the window well that
housed the downspout. I don't know where the pipe that services the
downspout ultimately goes, but I would guess that it is supposed to
drain into the front of the yard, and I would further guess that it was
designed to go into a storm sewer drain that is probably located
somewhere in the front yard.

The parallel North side gutter runs from East to West (front
to back), and it has only 1 downspout that is at the corner (Northwest
corner), and has pipe that was designed to go to the part of the
backyard crest that slopes away from the house. However, the pipe
doesn't currently properly drain because it was not properly sloped
downward and because it does not reach the downward slope. Thus,
during the last moderate rain, I got a small amount of leakage in the
Northeast corner of the basement.

I should also add that the basement has a sump pump, which
does not appear to be working well because the last moderate rainfall
caused some leakage in the basement although the ground was still firm
after the rain.

My basic question is should I attempt to divert the water
away by doing simple grading and gutter repair or should I attempt to
repair the weeping tiles that work with the sump pump or possibly
should I attempt to install a french drain. Any tips on the best way
to solve this problem would be appreciated -- right now, I am totally
conflicted as to what is the best way to proceed.

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Default What is best way to drain water away from house and solve leaky basement problem.


wrote:
On the west end of my small house in Cincinnati (the backyard), [I just
recently bought the house, so I don't know its history] there is a
small crest about 12 feet from the house that drains water toward the
basement. (On the other side of the crest, the land slopes away from
the house to a vacant lot.) Also, the backyard slopes from south to
north, so there is a particularly low area at the Northwest corner of
the house. That low corner is about 15 feet away from a spot where the
water drains away from the house. On the Northeast corner of the house
(the frontyard), there is a narrow slight slope from the corner down
the driveway that drains all the way to the street. On the Southeast
corner of the house (frontyard again), there is mostly a narrow slope
generally towards the front that goes to the road, but there is a
slight rise about 8 or 10 feet from the house. (M

There are two gutters that run parallel to each other. The
gutter on the South side of the house runs West to East (back to
front), and has a downspout in about the mid-point of the house that
drains into a pipe that is located in a window well. There is also a
downspout at the SouthEast corner of the house. The mid-point gutter
is almost surely the cause of a leak in the basement because after a
moderate rain a week ago (following a fairly long dry period), water
came into the basement through the window in the window well that
housed the downspout. I don't know where the pipe that services the
downspout ultimately goes, but I would guess that it is supposed to
drain into the front of the yard, and I would further guess that it was
designed to go into a storm sewer drain that is probably located
somewhere in the front yard.

The parallel North side gutter runs from East to West (front
to back), and it has only 1 downspout that is at the corner (Northwest
corner), and has pipe that was designed to go to the part of the
backyard crest that slopes away from the house. However, the pipe
doesn't currently properly drain because it was not properly sloped
downward and because it does not reach the downward slope. Thus,
during the last moderate rain, I got a small amount of leakage in the
Northeast corner of the basement.

I should also add that the basement has a sump pump, which
does not appear to be working well because the last moderate rainfall
caused some leakage in the basement although the ground was still firm
after the rain.

My basic question is should I attempt to divert the water
away by doing simple grading and gutter repair or should I attempt to
repair the weeping tiles that work with the sump pump or possibly
should I attempt to install a french drain. Any tips on the best way
to solve this problem would be appreciated -- right now, I am totally
conflicted as to what is the best way to proceed.



Getting the grading right is always the first priority. Assuming you
can do that, it's where I would start. Make sure grading slopes away
from the house and all water from the downspouts is discharged at least
6 ft away, 10 is better.

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Getting the grading right is always the first priority. Assuming you
can do that, it's where I would start. Make sure grading slopes away
from the house and all water from the downspouts is discharged at least
6 ft away, 10 is better.


I understand the importance of grading, but the strategic question I
have is if I am going to tear up the land around the house, whether I
should possibly fix the pipes and the sump pump drains or whether I
should just grade the land and hope that it takes care of the problems.

Thanks,


JD

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Default What is best way to drain water away from house and solve leaky basement problem.

On Mon, 07 Aug 2006 19:11:35 GMT, "Joseph Meehan"
wrotF:

wrote:
Getting the grading right is always the first priority. Assuming you
can do that, it's where I would start. Make sure grading slopes
away from the house and all water from the downspouts is discharged
at least 6 ft away, 10 is better.


I understand the importance of grading, but the strategic question I
have is if I am going to tear up the land around the house, whether I
should possibly fix the pipes and the sump pump drains or whether I
should just grade the land and hope that it takes care of the
problems.

Thanks,


JD


97% of the time grading IS the one and only problem.



Should he use just ANY old dirt? Or is there a certain kind - maybe
clay - that will do a more effective job?


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Default What is best way to drain water away from house and solve leaky basement problem.

"Joseph Meehan" wrote:

46erjoe wrote:

-snip-
97% of the time grading IS the one and only problem.



Should he use just ANY old dirt? Or is there a certain kind - maybe
clay - that will do a more effective job?


While I would lean towards clay, I would tend to think your question may
vary depending on the local conditions.


I wouldn't use clay within a couple feet of my walls. Actually a
couple years ago when I rebuilt 1/2 my foundation I had 40 tons of
backfill trucked in. It was a sandy mix with rocks in it. I
called it 'creek-bed' - my brother-in-law, who has worked on
construction sites more recently than I had another name for it.
[maybe rubble-- at any rate it was what we called something completely
different 30 yrs ago & 50 miles away]

Clay holds unbelievable amounts of water that you don't want near your
foundation. As the base for a pond it might be good-- but I
wouldn't introduce it to my landscape.

Jim

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Default What is best way to drain water away from house and solve leaky basement problem.

Jim Elbrecht wrote:
"Joseph Meehan" wrote:

46erjoe wrote:

-snip-
97% of the time grading IS the one and only problem.


Should he use just ANY old dirt? Or is there a certain kind - maybe
clay - that will do a more effective job?


While I would lean towards clay, I would tend to think your
question may vary depending on the local conditions.


I wouldn't use clay within a couple feet of my walls. Actually a
couple years ago when I rebuilt 1/2 my foundation I had 40 tons of
backfill trucked in. It was a sandy mix with rocks in it. I
called it 'creek-bed' - my brother-in-law, who has worked on
construction sites more recently than I had another name for it.
[maybe rubble-- at any rate it was what we called something completely
different 30 yrs ago & 50 miles away]

Clay holds unbelievable amounts of water that you don't want near your
foundation. As the base for a pond it might be good-- but I
wouldn't introduce it to my landscape.


I believe you will find that clay does not hold the water, but rather
forms a barrier. It is not what you want if you want the water to drain
though it. However when you are grading away from your home, then clay is
good as it tends to send the water down hill over the top of the clay and
away from the home. You certainly don't want it if the grade is reversed,
that would just push more water against the foundation.




Jim




--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit


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Default What is best way to drain water away from house and solve leaky basement problem.

My home inspector also recommended a soil with high clay content to
form a barrier. Currently the soil around my foundation is loose
soil/rubble which will actually let water in *towards* the foundation!
That is not what you want. Makes sense to me.


Joseph Meehan wrote:
Jim Elbrecht wrote:
"Joseph Meehan" wrote:

46erjoe wrote:

-snip-
97% of the time grading IS the one and only problem.


Should he use just ANY old dirt? Or is there a certain kind - maybe
clay - that will do a more effective job?

While I would lean towards clay, I would tend to think your
question may vary depending on the local conditions.


I wouldn't use clay within a couple feet of my walls. Actually a
couple years ago when I rebuilt 1/2 my foundation I had 40 tons of
backfill trucked in. It was a sandy mix with rocks in it. I
called it 'creek-bed' - my brother-in-law, who has worked on
construction sites more recently than I had another name for it.
[maybe rubble-- at any rate it was what we called something completely
different 30 yrs ago & 50 miles away]

Clay holds unbelievable amounts of water that you don't want near your
foundation. As the base for a pond it might be good-- but I
wouldn't introduce it to my landscape.


I believe you will find that clay does not hold the water, but rather
forms a barrier. It is not what you want if you want the water to drain
though it. However when you are grading away from your home, then clay is
good as it tends to send the water down hill over the top of the clay and
away from the home. You certainly don't want it if the grade is reversed,
that would just push more water against the foundation.




Jim




--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit


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